Myanmar, the hidden gem
Next stop, Myanmar. First destination, Yangon. I think it was my 2nd time in a propeller plane, I thought this was the end, but we made it to my first stop in this unknown, for me, country. I think I always get very nervous when I go for the 1st time somewhere, this was not an exception. Everything looked so different than in Thailand, maybe I was even the only tourist, or maybe there were two more. I guess I had a cultural shock, as it was nothing like what I had visited before. I took a taxi to the hostel, and when I was trying to look for the hostel everyone was looking at me, like I was kind of an alien. I wonder what they think about someone that looks completely different than them?
I think my firsts impressions started to change after I was a couple of hours there. People was smiling more to me, they kept looking but at least I was getting smiles from everyone. I met some nice people in the hostel and we went for a walk to the harbour and sat in a very local bar, that for sure we were the only women that ever sat there, women here don't smoke and don't drink, as it is not very well seen. You can only see man in the bars, so of course once again we were the centre of attention. What was super impressive was that kids were serving the beers to us!
Next day I went for a walk and ended up in the biggest pagoda I have ever seen! I was sitting for a while and this Burmese guy approached me and started explaining me a lot of things about the pagoda, Buddhism an their culture. He said he wanted to practice his English with tourists, so he was there every day. I got to learn that because I was born on a Thursday, my planet was Jupiter, my animal was a mouse and my lucky number was 19, so I had my corner in the pagoda, Thursday corner, where you could make a wish while you wash the Buddha, the animal and the planet. Also what was super interesting was that here they have 8 days of a week, Wednesday it's divided in two days. I guess I have learnt something new!
Meeting people you met on previous travels is a great feeling, this time my solo trip was not that solo. Sometimes is good to have a familiar face with you.
Taking a bus here is a very interesting adventure, they definitely drive like crazy, but was a nice ride to the beach, Ngwe Saung. Almost after 7 hours in the bus we arrived to this nice and small beach village. Let's see what stories I will have here.
Ngwe Saung, is a very little beach town, with absolutely no tourists. Spending one nice day riding a bike, that broke after 5 km and a nice afternoon in the beach was enough. I did learn that Burmese people use this tree root with water in their faces and arms to protect themselves from the sun and to refresh, this is called Thanakha, and this nice girl gave some to try.
Taking the next bus was an adventure. If you think you have been in a long bus ride, let me tell you this was around 24 hours, we had to change 3 buses, stop every 20 mins somewhere. This was the longest bus ride so far. You can enjoy the landscape and see the real countryside, but after a couple of hours you just wish your destination was closer and that the roads were better, I guess it's part of the adventure no?
We arrived in Ngapali around 5am in the morning, and thank God the guesthouse was expecting us there so we could sleep for a while.
I guess the long ride was worth it. The beach looked like paradise, nice sandy beach, with beautiful palm trees and nice warm water. The most funny thing was that every single person was coming to us asking if they could take a picture with us. I think I have got my minute of fame here and became a celebrity for a while. I even got a bracelet as a present from this Burmese guy at the beach, I guess he liked me :)
We found the best restaurant so far in Myanmar, the food here it's not so nice, very oily and not very tasty. But this restaurant, called the Sea Queen, had so far the best food I have had here. The owners were a Burmese family and everyone had a role in the restaurant, when we paid they gave us free fruit and a nice shell bracelet. We came to the same place next day and they had our nice corner table reserved for us. We got again a new bracelet and nice fresh fruit, I must confess my bracelet collection is growing.
Next bus ride was back to Pyay, for about 12 hours. When you think the bus ride is over, it's not the reality, you still have like 5 hours to go and you just want to kill yourself, but this is part of why this country is so special and unique.
Arriving to Bagan. What to say when you are in a city with more than 2000 temples, you don't know how to ride a moto, so you just walk from one temple to another, wondering around under the hot sun. So many different temples, but I must confess after visiting a couple of then, they all look the same, shame on me, but it's true.
Burmese People keep smiling at you, and asking for pictures, this feeling is so nice, thinking that a simple picture makes them so happy, I just take pictures with everyone, I feel like a movie star and I get free smiles that fills you with great energy.
After a few days in Bagan, we arrived to Kalaw, small city where we will rest for one day to start our 3 day trekking in the mountains. What can I say, it was just the best experience ever. We had a great guide, who took us around, explained us a lot of thigs.l and made this trip unforgettable. We slept the first night in a homestay, and our neighbor was a buffalo sleeping underneath us and the local family sleeping in the kitchen, they pay them some small money to host tourists and share with us. We had some great local food, maybe the first days I thought food was not that great, but I guess I got used to the oil and the taste. Our 2nd night was magical, sleeping in a monastery, full of little monks, with who we ended up playing some games and the guys football. We walked 19km, 18km and 15km the last day, we ended up in Inle lake, most beautiful landscape and floating gardens. We took some boats and went to the biggest city Nyaung shew, were we got stuck for 5 days because of the water festival and Burmese New year's. We definitely got so wet, there was no way to escape the water, so we juat decided to fight then back and enjoy the water, at least it was refreshing.
As it was New year's, our plan had to change a bit, we stayed in Inle lake for 5 days and then we moved to Mandalay, our last stop if this amazing journey. Guess what? Water fest was not over yet, so we had 2 more days of getting soaked. I really didn't want to see more water anymore, they spent so much water, I guess they don't know that in some places water is very rare to find! Not much to say about Mandalay, looked like a very poor city, but people still smiling every time they looked at you!
What can I say, most unique and pure expirence so far. With great people we met in the road, who knows maybe we will meet again somewhere in this small world.
I will keep smiling and charging my heart with these unique experiences! Thank you for convincing me of joining this trip to Myanmar with you, definitely I will remember it for ever!
My today's phrase is "What's meant to be will always find it's way"!
Next adventure, Malaysia!
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