In my opinion, this unspoilt, relatively untouched corner of Asia should be at the top of everyone's list. Preferably you'd have longer than 10 days to explore, but if - like me - you've not got enough time on your trip, or you've just taken some annual leave from work, you might only have a short amount of time.
That was my predicament. I was deciding between Myanmar and Vietnam, but I'd spent a little too long in Thailand; I'd heard you needed at least a month in Vietnam so I opted for Myanmar instead - plus, there was something alluring about not knowing many people who'd been.
10 days is definitely do-able, because I've done it. It should come as no surprise that you'll have to leave some places out though, and you'll pretty much have to have your journey planned out (not my ideal way to travel, as I like to wing it when I'm backpacking). But there's nothing to say I can't go back again...
It's true, you could just stay in each place one night, but I'm a firm believer in needing two nights in a place in order to properly get a feel of it. Plus I need time to get over night buses... they're rough.
By coach: The easiest - and cheapest - way to travel around Myanmar is by bus. It came as a shock to me when travelling Asia that their public transport is waaaay better than ours in the UK. Everyone's friendly, the transport is actually pretty comfortable and it's really well connected - all of my hostels knew what buses to get from where, and the timetables. So this is a mode of transport I'd recommend.
By flight: You can fly, but honestly, you get to see way more and get to interact with the locals more when you get a bus. Everyone was trying to speak to me, even though they didn't speak very good English, and they even all woke me up when I'd fallen asleep on my way to Kalaw. Save the planet, opt for the bus!
Train: I really wanted to travel by train at least once while I was in Myanmar, but I was advised that trains were unpredictable (as is the case for most trains in Asia) and I just didn't have the time. If you do, I've been told they're a great way to see the stunning scenery, be taken to places off-the-beaten-path and to interact with the locals. This article by Culture Trip delves into the beauty of Myanmar train travel.
By e-scooter: Once I got to Bagan, e-scooters were the best mode of transport for zooming around the old archaelogical zone. They were so efficient, and way easier to control than regular scooters - that feel like death traps - in Thailand.
Uber: Uber actually launched in Myanmar in 2017, so unfortunately I didn't get to try it out so I could give my verdict.
Yangon
So the journey into Yangon was stressful to say the least. There were two of us who'd travelled from Chiang Mai the day before, and arrived in Mae Sot when the border had closed, so we stayed there for one night (I recommend Sleep Nest Hostel if you're going to do the same). If you want to know more about the border crossings between Thailand and Myanmar, check out this blog I wrote which details the visa process as well as how to travel across the border.
We got to the border all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after a good nights rest. We sailed through Thai immigration, and walked over the friendship bridge into Myanmar's Myawaddy border. We were immediately welcomed to the country by immigration officers and another guy, who told us a bus had just gone but another could take us. We thought 'how lovely of him', so he took us through - the seasoned traveller's among you are already shaking your heads... I can feel it through the screen. But hey, I was a newbie! He took 500 Baht (about £12) in payment from each of us (seemed cheap for a 10-hour ride) and we were put on a minibus. Not ideal, but there was only two of us, and it didn't look like they were filling it to capacity anyway.
WRONG. We drove five minutes round the corner and in jumped 13 more passengers...for a 9-seater van! We had to share our back seat row with two Burmese gents and an entire van of non-English speakers, not for 10 hours... but 13! So whatever you do, buy your ticket beforehand or look for a coach! We also overpaid so the moral of this story is don't accept kindness from strangers at the border crossing... sad, but mostly true.
So, Yangon. We arrived at 11pm, so I was desperate for sleep. The following day we walked around the city, bought a Telenor SIM card (highly advise as the WiFi isn't great) and then visited the Shwedagon Pagoda. Although I was pretty much 'templed out' by this stage (I'd been in Asia for 5 weeks), I was still amazed by this pagoda. The sheer size of it was impressive, and the detailing of the entire area was beautiful. It's 8,000 Kyat (£4.50) to enter and 3,000 Kyat to rent a sarong (so remember your own!). I highly recommend checking it out - we went around sunset, so it was cooler, less busy, and we could see it all lit up.
Afterwards we headed to 19th Street because we'd heard great things about the food there. The only thing I can compare it to is a less crazy and smaller version of Bangkok's Khao San Road. There's lots of restaurants and bars to choose from, and you can get a mojito for 900 Kyat (50p!) - just because they're in the Lonely Planet guide doesn't mean they're good though! But, 50p.
The following day I actually just had one of those days you get when travelling where you literally don't want to do a thing (ill-advised when you only have ten days in a country!) so I took it easy until it was time to go to my night bus. I wandered around the streets a little bit, picked up what looked - and tasted - like a yum yum from a street food stall, and attempted to buy travel sickness tablets for my bus ride. FYI English is not widely spoken in Myanmar, and Google translate doesn't help. I felt like I was recreating the scene from Bridget Jones where she tries to get a pregnancy test in France.
I've heard good things about the circle train though. If I could turn back time I would have got off my ass and done it. A couple from my trek have blogged about their experience, and it's well worth a read. It made me want to go back and do it!
My hostel booked my night bus to Kalaw, and I'm pretty sure all other hostels will do that too. But if not you can always book a ticket online, or take a trip to the bus station (not that I think that's necessary). Be aware that traffic in Myanmar is crazy, so be sure to leave 2 hours before your bus is due to leave.
Kalaw
Unfortunately I can't recommend too much in Kalaw, because as I mentioned in my previous post, everything was shut due to the full moon festival. But I do know that a lot of people stop over before their trek, even if it's just to get a good nights rest. A couple of hardcore backpackers I met (who had even less time to do Myanmar) went straight from their night bus to their trek, but I say no thank you to that.
This is where I sorted out my overnight trek to Inle Lake with Eversmile - I wrote a post about it, too.
Inle Lake
This was my favourite place in Myanmar. I don't know if it's because I did the most here, or because I had blue cheese and red wine here (it had been a while!), or just because I loved it in general. I'm going to go for the latter.
We arrived at about 3pm from our trek, where we (we being me and Johanna, who I'd met on the trek and happened to be staying with at the same hostel) had arranged to meet up with four guys (also from the trek) at the Red Mountain Winery. So, after checking in to our hostel (Song of Travel) and a quick shower, we hopped on a couple of bicycles and rode to meet them.
We realised about half way there that this was a terrible idea after just finishing a trek, and also probably not advisable after a few wines on the unlit roads of Myanmar. But live (hopefully) and learn, right?
I loved the winery; the sunset views were great, I had some tasty red wine, and I was incredibly excited to have blue cheese! However, unbeknownst to us it closes at 6pm and as soon as the sun goes down, the mosquitos come out in full force. And I am a magnet for them!
Me and Johanna booked a full-day boat tour with our hostel for the following day for 15,000 Kyat (£8.50) each. It's a little more than some boat tours, but prices were hiked up for full moon on those ones anyway - I say hiked up... Asia is so damn cheap you lose all concept of costings. We got a lot of bang for our buck.
It included:
Sunrise and breakfast (using that term loosely as you only get a moon cake)
Full moon celebration, plus dragon boat racing
Trip to the market
Visit to a blacksmith
Cigar rolling workshop
Visit to a lotus weaving shop
Floating gardens
Pagoda entry
Floating villages
Lunch with Intha family
Canoeing
All in all it was well worth it and I had a great day out. They're so easy to sort out too, just walk down to the jetty and hire one for yourself, or get a group together and make it cheaper!
We hired a day bus for our trip to Bagan, again through our hostel. This was another 13-seater, but this time there was only 13 people in it! And it was only 12,000 Kyat (about £6.80). It was with a company called Rainbow - it was ok, but nothing to write home about. But compared to my first journey, I was all for boring!
Bagan
The final stop of my trip. My hostel was perfectly situated in New Bagan, but even if it wasn't it doesn't matter because you can hire e-bikes to get around anyway! These are perfect for novice's like myself (you should have seen me attempt my first ride on a scooter in Thailand - think Jay from the Inbetweeners!), because they're quiet and not very fast. There was a group of us that hired them for 3,000 Kyat (£1.70) each for 24 hours so that we could explore the thousands of Pagoda fields!
For sunset we all chipped in for a boat trip along the river (25,000 Kyat - £14 - between 6 of us) and we got the best views!
And on my last day in Bagan I spontaneously agreed to a cooking class at a nearby village, with a girl I'd spent the day with (Allison). We met four ladies at a food market down the road from where we were staying: two ladies from the travel company we'd booked with, Wonder Bagan, a lady from the West Pwa Saw Village (the one we were going to visit), and our guide for the day.
First order of business was buying all the produce:
The guide told us all about the different fruits and vegetables, and told us that the people in Myanmar only eat food that benefits their health in some way. Cue picturing myself with a disgusting amount of McDonald's on a hangover!
Then they drove us to the village where we were welcomed with open arms (and flowers and water) and set to work in our cooking class. I was in charge of a fish curry, and Allison had the chicken curry.
After this we took a walk around the village and wandered into various lacquerware stalls, and bought some lacquerware. It's crazy the amount of time and effort that goes into one piece - it's an art, and if you're in Bagan I recommend buying one or two pieces as souvenirs/gifts.
We came back to the village for lunch, where we got to see the fruits of our labour. I have to say they were some damn good curries! But we can't take credit for anything else: the people of Myanmar know how to put on a good spread. They're the best hosts!
I can't go without mentioning my beloved coconut spoon. When I arrived I saw the women using these big ladle-type spoons fashioned out of bamboo and half a coconut shell. I said how much I loved them, and after the meal the head lady of the village gave me one as a gift! I was, and still am, absolutely made up!
If you have time I 100% recommend you do this. These women have decided to come together in their spare time and form a 'cooking team' to teach tourists how to cook Myanmar style! Everyone was so lovely, and our experience was free of charge as they were just starting out (we paid a donation, obviously)! It was the perfect amount of time too as my night bus to Yangon was at 6pm and this finished at 1:30pm.
So that was my 10-day stint in beautiful Myanmar, and I hope it'll help you when you plan your own Myanmar travel itinerary. I wish I could have done more as I'm sure I missed out on a lot of incredible places, but I'll definitely go back again. And anyone who's thinking of going - or hasn't even considered it - I recommend you look into it. If you love Asia and are looking for authentic experiences in places that haven't been heavily catered to tourists, then you'll love it here.
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