Wow. Great photos. jrs
On Aug 28, 2013, at 2:38 PM, Thaths wrote: > On Wed, Aug 28, 2013 at 9:21 AM, Charles Haynes <hay...@edgeplay.org> wrote: > >> I'm leaving for Myanmar in three days, are there any silklisters in Myanmar >> that would like to meet? >> > > I was in Myanmar earlier this year. Photos from my trip: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/thaths/sets/72157634459216225/ > > >> Alternatively, are there any silklisters about things to see or do while in >> Myanmar? Our basic plan is to land in Yangon, spend a very small amount of >> time there, then make our way overland to the Inle Lake area and then to >> Bagan. Am hoping to take the "slow train" for some of the journey, and >> busses and boats for other parts. >> > > General > * Have hotel reservations. At a minimum for the first few days of your stay > in Myanmar. Medium- and high-end hotels are very heavily booked. If > possible, have reservations for your whole trip before you go. But if that > doesn't work, check into your first hotel and ask for their help in finding > you reservations for the rest of your trip. > * Myanmar is expensive compared to Thailand/Cambodia/Laos > > Yangon: > * Definitely try the food and beer on 19th street in Yangon > * In terms of beer, my favorite was Dagon draft > * Try the spirulina beer if you can find it (I tried it in someplace near > Mandalay) > > Inle Lake: > * IMO, this is overrated and crowded with tourists. I completely skipped > it. YMMV. > > Bagan: > * Stay in Nyaung U or Old Bagan > * Rent a horsecart or taxi to take you to sunrise (they know the few > remaining temples where you can clamber on top of the temples. Most temple > towers are closed these days) and show you the lay of the land > * Rent a bicycle for another 2 days and look around the temples at your own > pace > * My favorite temples were: Shwezigon Paya, Ananda Pahto, Upali Thein, > Sulamani Paya > > Slow trains: > * Except for a long boat trip and a couple of bus rides, I almost > exclusively went by trains. > * There are two beautiful, memorable slow train journeys (both into the > Shan hills) in Burma: > * Mandalay -> Pyin Oo Lwin -> > Lashio<http://www.seat61.com/Burma.htm#Mandalay - Pyin Oo Lwin> > * Thazi -> Kalaw <http://www.seat61.com/Burma.htm#Yangon or Mandalay to > Inle Lake> > * Among the two, the Thazi->Kalaw line is less crowded (and more scenic, > IMO) > * If you arrived in Thazi from Yangon (or Mandalay), you may have to end up > spending the night in Thazi. The train from Thazi to Kalaw departs at 6 am > in the morning. There are only a couple of hotels in Thazi (one of them run > by the military) and they are both not very good. > > >> Haven't decided if we should go to Mandalay or not, and am not entirely >> sure I want to stick so closely to the main popular tourist route. >> > > Sadly, half the country is still closed to tourists (through travel > restrictions or expense). There isn't that much outside of the > Yangon->Bagan->Mandalay->Inle Lake circuit. > > One thing you could do is go South East of Yangon towards > Mawlamyine. Mrauk-U would be great to visit, but is closed to tourists at > the moment. > > Thaths > -- > Homer: Hey, what does this job pay? > Carl: Nuthin'. > Homer: D'oh! > Carl: Unless you're crooked. > Homer: Woo-hoo!
