MYANMAR - another world

Hello from Dargaville,

now I have been back in New Zealand for almost 2 months. I'm a bit behind with the reports. The last report was from Vietnam. From there, I traveled to northern Thailand. More about that in the next report! After two weeks in northern Thailand, I spontaneously flew to Bali. Yes, I know - Bali again ^^.

I still feel most comfortable there of all the places in Asia.

This time I met up with Jacqui and we spent two weeks in Bali. Back at our usual accommodation, we went to the beach almost every day. I jumped into the waves, read a book, or simply watched the hustle and bustle on the beach.

It's especially entertaining when the waves are a bit bigger and you can't even get into the water - luckily, some people still try :D Even though I've been there a few times now, there is still a lot to discover in Bali.

This time we made our way to Tirta Empul, an important temple complex and sacred mountain spring in the village of Manukaya in the center of Bali.

Local Balinese and Hindu worshipers come to the temple to dip their heads under the water spouts in a cleansing ritual.

Of course, many tourists also perform this ritual. Personally, I decided against it because, for me, and I think for many others, it doesn't have nearly as much meaning as it does for the Balinese believers.

Tanah Lot is a Hindu pilgrimage temple located on a rock formation off the coast of Bali.

After the sun has set, thousands of bats come out of their caves and take their rounds.

Kuala Lumpur - Batu Caves

After these two truly relaxing weeks, we flew to Kuala Lumpur. From there, Jacqui went to the Philippines. I met up with Vic again in KL, and we both headed towards Yangon, Myanmar. Honestly, we didn't know much about Myanmar beforehand. Nevertheless, we were both very interested in exploring this country.

Although Myanmar is a neighbor of Thailand, which is one of the most popular destinations in Southeast Asia, Myanmar is significantly less developed in comparison. When we arrived in Yangon, we already noticed that this country is different from what we have seen so far in Asia. The smells in the streets, in particular, were very intense. The Burmese seem to use a specific spice for most of their dishes, and the smell would accompany us for the next 3 weeks.

Fortunately, it didn't bother us until about 2 weeks later ^^ On the first day in Yangon, we made our way to the Shwedagon Pagoda.

It is considered the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar and dominates the skyline of Yangon.

A tour guide at the pagoda explained the structure of the pagoda to us. This brief introduction was more than enough, so we declined a tour.

We don't know enough about Buddhism to fully absorb and understand all the information. So we were satisfied with walking around on our own.

The next day, we took the train further south to Kinpun. The goal was the so-called 'Golden Rock'. The golden rock is considered the number one pilgrimage site for the Burmese and is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Myanmar. The rock is located right on the edge of a precipice, and you might think it will fall off at any moment. Unfortunately, it was raining continuously, and we could hardly see the rock. I couldn't even take a photo because my phone is not waterproof ^^ Once again, we were the only tourists alongside countless monks.

The Burmese often waved when they saw the train passing by :)

From June to September, Myanmar is in the rainy season. Especially in the south of the country, it rains every day for a few hours.

ornate pagodas everywhere in Myanmar

We actually wanted to go further south, but we decided against it because of the rain.

So we took the train back to Yangon. We booked a ticket in the simplest class. The train journey was the highlight of our short trip to the south of the country. We sat on wooden benches with the window open. There were no window panes, and sometimes we were so close to bushes and trees that we had to take cover to avoid getting hit by a branch.

Then we took a bus for another 12 hours to Mandalay, where we spent 4 days.

It was unbearably hot, and we could hardly motivate ourselves to do anything. However, there is not much to see in Mandalay either.

We crossed the Irrawaddy River by boat to visit the so-called Hsinbyume Pays Pagoda.

A highlight in Mandalay was definitely the visit to the cinema! We watched the new 'Lion King' for less than €3.00. At the beginning of the movie, the national anthem of Myanmar was even played.

After 4 days, we escaped the oven called Myanmar. The next place, Pyin Oo Lwin, was only 45 km away, but the climate there was much more pleasant.

We rented a scooter and went on a hike, the highlight of which was a beautiful waterfall.

Goteik Viaduct - the highest railway bridge in Myanmar

In Bagan, instead of a guesthouse, we booked a hotel. It was still very cheap, and we spent 4 days in 'luxury'.

Despite the nice accommodation, we managed to go on an e-scooter ride through Bagan.

Bagan is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site, and out of the original 10,000 temples, only 2,000 remain. In the evenings, we watched the sunrise over Bagan from a hill.

From there, we had a great view of all the temple complexes.

Our last stop was Inle Lake. Here, we booked a boat tour of the lake and the surrounding canals.

Inle Lake is home to the Intha people. Intha means 'children of the lake'. Over 70,000 Inthas live around the lake and in 17 villages spread out.

It's no wonder that life here mainly takes place on the water.

The so-called leg-rowing fishermen have a very special technique for fishing.

They stand on only one leg at the back of the boat. The other leg is used for rowing, so they have their hands free for fishing.

The lake is surrounded by a picturesque mountain landscape that invites you to go hiking.

Water buffalos as pets :D

Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time for hiking. And maybe it was a bit too hot :P

After a 10-hour bus ride, which was delayed by 2 hours due to a breakdown, we arrived in Yangon, from where we flew to our next destination - Thailand.

Best regards!