Myanmar - blown away

Come and see! This is a wild recommendation from us. Here (even more extreme than in India) we have chosen a very unusual approach to traveling and have not visited everything interesting, but only chosen one highlight: Bagan, about which I have already written a lot. From my own experience I can only say: Come to Bagan, rent a bike here (not a boring e-scooter, but a real bike), visit as many temples as possible with one or more guidebooks, take a boat trip on the Ayeyarwady where you will be by the water at sunset, and try many of the delicious Burmese salads and curries.

The temples are really interesting, cycling offers the right pace to enjoy the pagodas in the landscape, the boat trip is pure luxury, although with extremely sweaty landings (we had the big boat with deck chairs at the bow all to ourselves, but climbing the temples on the shore including steps to the temple roof was quite demanding), and the food is unusual and delicious when prepared properly: salads made from tamarind leaves, seaweed, black soybean paste or fermented tea leaves (with lots of peanuts), mild curries with the delicious fishes and prawns from the river, or conventional ones with pork, beef, chicken or vegetables (of course always with rice); and for dessert a huge (crispy on the outside) and (fluffy inside) pancake filled with bananas.

Finally, we had one more day in Yangon, which did not capture our hearts. The colonial district is not very attractive and the main attraction, the large golden Shwedagon Pagoda, was completely scaffolded. The many new buildings surrounding the old pagoda look like they are made of plastic and don't quite match our taste, but they certainly appeal to the Burmese who fill the square around the pagoda with lots of life.

Oh, the people in Myanmar (especially in Bagan) are incredibly kind and lovely, it's hard to believe.

So come and see. We ourselves may come back too - because there is more to see than just Bagan and Yangon.