Maureen's Travel Blog

Breakfast brought to our apartment by 2 cheery Burmese girls. All manner of cakes, pastries and croissants and a pot of coffee all on bamboo woven trays. We enjoyed this on our balcony looking out on the White sand and turquoise ocean (sorry to go on about the view).

We had booked a fishing boat for this morning, which arrived on our bit of beach to collect us at 8. We thought we start early before the intense heat of the day.

The boat was a sampan style again, shallow and quite precarious, I’m guessing to avoid rocks and coral below. It had a portable motor rather like a strimmer, which could be ripped up out of the water quickly.

Fitted with snorkel and flippers I was soon gazing amongst the new underwater landscape of rocks and coral at an incredible variety of tropical fish as well as old lobster pots.

We anchored up at various snorkelling locations before being taken to the fishing village over on the other side of an island, eventually arriving at the desert island where we pottered about looking for shell treasures on the beach.

Lunch of delicious avocado salad and another local delicacy at a small local restaurant, set us up nicely for a chilled out afternoon of swimming exploring and just lazing.
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We returned to the same restaurant for dinner and this time asked them to supply the ingredients for a Pinocolado which was not on their list of cocktails- they were of course very obliging, as we have found the local people to be everywhere we go. Just $8 for a fantastic meal and including 2 cocktails!!!

We watched several hot air balloons pass over us sillouetted against the pink morning light as we headed for the airport.  (I’m rather proud of this photo which was taken from a moving vehicle, and includes not only the oxen which was the subject of the photo, but also hot air balloons and a temple, I understand there was even a pig inside the cart, but couldn’t stretch my luck to tha!) Saying our goodbyes to Kie Soe, we were warned that our flight will detour via Heho.

Our flight finally turned in over the Bay of Begal, clear turquoise blue, then almost touched the white sandy beach which was to be our last destination before returning to Yangon in a couple of days’ time.

A taxi was waiting to take us to Sandoway Residences and wow, what a sight to behold when we arrived!! We were greeted with an ice cold damp flanel, to refresh ourselves, and a cool fruit juice, under the shade of palm trees, before being shown our apartment ON THE BEACH. The door opened into a room like a barn with every amenity we could wish for plus a full wall length view of the ocean and our own balcony and area of beach just outside with our very own sun beds and canework sunshade. Of course, we dumped our stuff, jumped straight into our swimmers and made for the warm clear sea. After lingering a while in the buoyant waters, we returned to our sunbeds to dry off and the next thing we found ourselves sipping coconut juice through a straw and then the white flesh was skillfully chopped up for us to eat, by a young Burmese girl who carried varieties of fruit in a cane tray on her head!  In the shade of Palm trees, white sand between the toes, eyes closing listening to the sound of the ocean and no tourists… just a few local people as it was end of season – had I died and gone to heaven?!

A little while later we found a comfortable beach restaurant for lunch – avocado salad and some delicious prawn concoction with beers. So good, It was definitely going to be seafood for the next few days!

The afternoon was spent just relaxing, swimming and exploring along the beautiful quiet curved bay.

In the evening Patricia wanted to seek out a beach awning type restaurant at the other end of the beach made known to her by friends, about a 2 mile walk.  There was in fact a whole row of these little family run food outlets and we first called in at one of these along the way with Happy Hour for Pinocolado!  The choice of restaurant we made for dinner was run by a lovely family – grandfather, daughter and son in law (not sure which way round) and 2 delightful toddlers, one of which clearly took to me and I asked the parents if I could take him home back to England. I don’t think they were very keen! We walked back along the beach in the dark, passing the little stone carved mermaid on the rocks looking out to sea.

Today we were collected by our guide at 8am after early wake up call … loud singing from speakers around the hotel.   An early start before the 40 Degree heat of the day, we took a walk through the desert and besides the numerous ancient stupas, we delighted in seeing an owlet up in the tree and a huge kingfisher, by our standards, on a wire.

I got some super photos of these birds which I will post up when I get home as they are on my high zoom camera. We then drove out to a gold stupa beside the River with a spectacular view up and down the river, then an early lunch in a small outdoor restaurant called Queen. I chose a delicious coconut milk and we shared a selection of items including watercress salads avocado salad and spring rolls with spiced dip.

We then returned to the hotel for siesta because of the intense heat, even hotter than the day before. We spent some time in the gardens by the pool with a swim or two before the sun beds started filling with other guests. Then we returned to the cool of our room to rest.  What a beautiful surprise in the form of a flower decoration on each of our beds. 

Later I decided must have one of the special massages on offer at the hotel and wow, that sorted out my knots! They certainly mean business in this part of the world.

Our driver and guide appeared at 5 as agreed and took us to a much quieter location to watch the last of the hot red sun disappear behind the Bagan landscape. We were then dropped off at The Coconut Rice restaurant where we enjoyed a more adventurous dinner and walked back to our hotel nearby afterwards.

Packed and bed for early start in the morning… off to the coast!

I had rather a panic when my passport went missing and involved a phone call to the British Embassy and a trip to the local police station. This was an experience in itself.  The person on the phone, who was speaking from Hong Kong incidentally, was very helpful even planned to organise a meeting when I would next be in Yangon on our way home when the office was going to be closed.   We arrived at the Police Station to find a group, only one in uniform, sitting on a circular outdoor terrace in a very laid back fashion. To cut a long story short, I gave a brief statement and then it turned up!  Suddenly all serious faces turned to smiles and relief.

Too hot to be out in the midday sun, we set off from the police station to view a plethora of stupas and monasteries dating back to the 11th century. We stopped at a local restaurant for lunch before returning to the hotel for a swim and siesta.

Kyi Soe collected us at 4.30 to go to our horse and cart. This was. Hot bumpy ride through the villages and past stupas and monasteries for about an hour. We then rejoined our driver and guide to go to go to a special place where we could watch the sun go down leaving a red glow behind a landscape of stupas and monasteries. This was rather a touristy place and involved quite a steep climb up several levels of the famous Schwesandaw Temple but worth the view.  The panorama was something just magical.

We finally returned for an excellent dinner in the gardens of the hotel right beside an ancient stupa.

The sun rose behind the mountains. a golden orange ball, fading to a hazy cream colour as it ascended behind the wetlands and bird colony. The egrets and cormorants had been shrieking since before dawn.

We took our breakfast to the terrace while others ate in the dining room. The staff cut up our dragon fruit which we had bought in a market, revealing white flesh dotted with tiny black seeds. It was, however disappointingly bland to taste.

Wyn’s cheery face greeted us at the appointed hour and today’s treat was an excursion to the mountains BY BOAT.  Now I had climbed uphill by water at home through a series of locks on the canal – Tardy comes to mind – but this was something else! We passed through a series of dams with narrow openings creating mini waterfalls about a foot high, so We had to get some speed up to negotiate these little steps. Apparently the openings were closed off at night I guess to replenish the water.

We ascended about 1000 feet to an area with over 1000 stupas – just incredible! These were many hundreds of years old and some had weathered badly over time or by vandalism and looting. However they still had a charm beyond belief with their peaceful bells gently tinkling in the breeze. Many had the roots of trees wrapped around them with their branches reaching skyward. Each stupa is beautifully decorated with exquisite stone carvings. And each contains various styles of the sacred Buddha according to the different families. people from all over Mayanmar come here on Pilgrimages and they are given lunch and rest. Inside the monastery they were chanting and reciting before the great Buddha.

We walked back down passed many craft stalls to the river and along a bit to a further monastery before returning to our boat.  We speeded our way back down through the series of dams passing Kapok trees in flower along the way and women and children washing their clothes in the river, and even some young novices cooling off on a secluded bank.        Eventually we pulled in at a small village where we were to have lunch at The Viewpoint – a slightly more expensive but very nice restaurant, Wyn told us.  We all enjoyed a delicious meal together on a balcony overlooking the village and river.

This was a farewell to Wyn meal as afterwards we had to go straight to the airport to catch our flight to Bagan.  However, Wyn just wanted to fit in one more thing – an oxen market!  En route he pointed out a tribe in the back of a truck, distinguishable by their orange stripey headgear.  Then we saw a large number of oxen being led by bear-footed young lads and Wyn told us that they had bought them in China and were leading them home. 

We were on time for our flight to Bagan which only took about half an hour and were collected by our new guide Khi Soe and his driver and taken straight to Thazin Garden Hotel for  siesta, although he did give us our bearings on the way – Old Bagan and New Bagan.

After a rather restless night – very hot under the mozzie net and the sound of fishermen under our chalet with flashlights reflecting around the ceiling, I eventually got up to a beautiful dawn over the mountains with the storks, ibis and egrets welcoming the new day.

Wyn our guide, was there to greet us after breakfast at 8 as agreed. Such a happy fellow, with a wonderful sense of humour and joi de vivre. He has a very graphic way of describing things using animal sounds and body parts to make up for his poor pronunciation of some English words.

Today we headed off at high speed in the motorised sampan in the coolish morning breeze to the floating gardens. These were made up of plants that grew naturally on the surface of the water with roots like bubbles that popped if you squeeze them. We saw many types of farming in this area, including dredging the bottom of the shallow lake for weed to fertilise crops. Fishing using a special net and spearing technique. Rice fields, gourds, etc. there were many species of birds in this region, including a beautiful kingfisher, somewhat larger than our own.

We had lunch on the balcony of a restaurant in one of the farming villages. Watching monks coming in to the monastry in boatloads. I was always worried about their brown shaven heads burning in the hot sun.

During the afternoon we were taken to see a variety of workshops where local crafts and industries were demonstrated including Lotus and silk weaving, Boat building, Silversmithing, Paper making and Cheroot making skills. We also saw members of a Tribe who have brass rings put around their necks from an early age. The rings are added to over years making their necks very long. It looked exceedingly uncomfortable. We were told that this ritual is dying our with new generations.

On the way back we called in to see the place where Burmese cats are bred and saw many of these, ranging in colour from chocolate brown to a silver grey, in an open area in an island with little houses and play rooms created specifically for cats.

We returned earlier to our accommodation on the lake so that we could spend a bit of time watching the birds in the wetland conservation area nearby.
The Internet was poor here, not surprisingly being on a lake surrounded by mountains.

After a good breakfast this morning we were picked up for our hour’s drive to the airport to catch our flight to Heho. A good flight with coffee croissant and cake as we descended over dry red farmed land in this mountainous region. We were met at the airport by our new guide, Wyn, and taken along a rough winding road through villages and paddy fields.

We stopped at our first monastery where monks were sitting cross-legged inside and going about their daily tasks.

We finally stopped for lunch in a small town that has become a centre for backpackers. We found ourselves sitting down to an interesting selection of local food, including chopped fish face! All good.

In the afternoon we were taken around a local market where we bought Green Tea and I bought a huge lump of charcoal for drawing! Eventually we found ourselves in a long boat speeding along the river to the lake passing local ishermen and people steering their boats by wrapping their leg around an oar creating a rudder… intriguing! We arrived in a village of houses built of bamboo above the lake on bamboo stilts. Here we were transferred, along with our luggage, to a wooden canoe, steered by the afore-mentioned leg, through narrow waterways through a village living such a simple way of life in bamboo houses built on stilts on the lake. They seemed to want for nothing as the lake provided them with all their needs for food. Such cheerful happy people, waving as we called out mingalaba (hello, maybe a mis spelling).

Eventually we returned to the motorised boat to be taken to our ‘hotel’ further down the lake. This was a luxury stilted affair which reminded me of Tree Tops in Kenya. We arrived through lotus flowers with flocks of Ibis, storks and Egrets which were nesting in their thousands in the trees behind. We checked in and were taken to our individual stilted cottage, where we relaxed on the balcony with a glass of duty free on ice and watched the red sun go down behind the mountains, with the last of the fishers in their pointed boats silhouetted against the pink evening sky. We lingered a while watching the last flocks of Ibis and swallows fly across our thatched roof to roost in the trees beyond, before we changed for dinner.

What a fabulous day!!

Another 6 hours in the air and we finally arrived in Yangon to be met by Nye, our guide, and his driver. He showed us some of the sights of the city.  As we passed by the residence of Aung San Suu Kie, Nye started to talk about the difference she had made in the country and we told him we had watched the film The Lady before coming.

Eventually we pulled in for some samosas and green tea in a bustling outdoor restaurant. He then showed us several pagodas and temples, including The Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda in downtown Yangon which is known for its 65 meters long and 16 meters high Reclining Buddha image.  We then visited the lake with the golden floating restaurant and park around it, then the ‘friendly river’ where local Burmese are taken across the river in sampans with motors.

Finally we were taken on a walking tour of the city centre where we saw street vendors selling unusual foods and almost anything else . We passed grand colonial buildings in art deco style and some very dilapidated ones that had clearly experienced a former splendour.

By 10 the sun was very hot and we decided to return to our hotel, The Winner, for a much longed for shower and siesta.

In the evening we were collected by our guide to visit the beautiful golden Temple which was amazingly lit up as the sun went down in Yangon. We were lucky enough to experience the procession of a  Shwedagon Paya Rangoon novice monk with his family.  Very colourful and exciting. I took the opportunity of pouring water over my Buddha for Sunday, my birthday, symbolised by the Garuda or eagle…. a Buddhist ritual.

Nye knew that Patricia wanted to see precious gems.  There were no mines near Yangon but Nye took us to a factory and shop where they make jewellery and also supply precious stones like jade and rubies.  These are mined in the north of the country.  We spent some considerable time here, first watching how the jewellery was made and then choosing some tiny precious stones to buy.

We asked our guide and driver to drop us off at the nearest restaurant to our hotel in the evening, where we enjoyed some delicious local crispy prawns in coriander and lime, chicken with cashews, and fried rice with vegetables all washed down with Mayanmar beer! So good, then we walked about half a mile back to our hotel.

Up at 3.30 this morning to be picked up by taxi… A bit of fog leaving Charlbury but clear by the time we got on the motorway.  Patricia was already drinking her first coffee from flask and spilling it on freshly laundered outfit as the taxi jolted through the potholes.  Yay, we’re on our way, so exciting! fairly uneventful journey to Heathrow Terminal 4, check in then demolish the big English breakfast at 6am!! Just about to board, so more later if we can get wifi… we haven’t fallen out yet!

Some 6 hours and several time zones later…. sitting at Doha airport Gate 13 waiting for flight to Yangon.  Excellent and very comfortable flight with Qatar this far.  Lots of food and drinks and plenty of leg room.  The only minus was a slight delay firstly because an unruly passenger had to be turfed off.  Then they had some technical issues concerning the emergency door next to us but everything was resolved.  Pic of Doha airport which is spacious and modern. 25 deg outside and it’s 7 pm.

A map of Burma, or Myanmar as it is now more commonly known, gives an idea of our route around the country.  We will fly to Yangon, then north to Inle Lake, then on the road to Mandalay staying in the Bagan region.  Finally down to the coast to stay at Ngapali Beach…. more details soon