Myanmar Travel Blogs

Pondering the Padaung
Feb 21, 2005 (10 photos)

... they say in all of these countries is "What country you from?" which is a prelude to immediately trying to sell you something. In Myanmar the standards are to flatter you, "Oh, you bew-tee-full!" or the most curious is "LUCKY MONEY! LUCKY MONEY!" It ...

DEUTSCH: Myanmar
Jul 8, 2008 (9 photos)

... wieder zurueck in Yangon und morgen frueh geht unser Flieger nach Bangkok und danach nach Chiang Mai im Norden Thailands. Myanmar ist eine andere ( vielleicht auch ein bisschen vergessene) Welt und verglichen zu allen anderen laendern in Sued Ost Asien ...

The question of Myanmar (Burma)
Dec 17, 2003 (7 photos)

... contribute was to talk to as many people as possible to try and help others learn some English - a powerful tool in Myanmar as English language newspapers and magazines can be found while all Burmese-language news is under strict control of the government ...

Pagoda Marathon
Jul 3, 2008 (19 photos)

Bagan was a 2 day pagoda marathon. After this we never want to see another pagoda again. It was another long drive from Mandalay on bad roads. We took the short route and had to cross 3 sand streams along the way. We stopped at Mt. Popa for an hour just ...

I Have Friends in Rangoon
Mar 4, 2005 (5 photos)

The Burmese are fiercely loyal and protective. All along our journey Cameron and I have been adopted by everyone from monks to street urchins to shopkeepers and restaurateurs. Some have glommed onto me and some to Cameron but all have taken to us both. ...

The Road to Mandalay
Feb 10, 2005

... stare blankly when I'd say, "And then I'll fly from Chiang Mai to Mandalay." They'd inevitably ask, "Where's Mandalay? In Myanmar? Where's that?" A traveler in Lao actually asked me, "Why go there?" Keeping in mind that most people don't understand why ...

Mandalay and the Ancient Cities
Jun 30, 2008 (24 photos)

It was a really long drive from Inle lake to Mandalay. The road is terrible and we seen many trucks and buses breakdown along the way. Eventually we got to Mandalay that evening. Our driver doesn't like Mandalay, too many motorbikes he says. Motorbikes ...

New Year in Burma
Dec 30, 2007 (77 photos)

... in. The immigration officials here can hardly speak English but they are polite and make me feel welcome and relaxed. Strange. Myanmar is a foreign country run by a military junta - yet their immigration officials are 1000 times nicer to me than the ...

Burmese Daze
Feb 15, 2004 (5 photos)

Alright fellas, we're back in action. You can blame India's electricity instability for our apparent procrastination in writing an entry. The power craps out here at least 5 times a day; now we are in Delhi, where they've achieved nearly constant power ...

Visa run virgins
Jun 19, 2006 (10 photos)

... with $5 (deportation tax) and we sail across the river to another immigration office, then sail some more and hey presto we are in Myanmar (Burma). We have 15 mins to by cheap cigs (£2 for 200) before we head back to the boat, returning to the immigration ...

Burmese Days
Feb 10, 2004 (4 photos)

... , which quickly became my favorite of our travels so far, a mixture of ethnicity's from SE Asia and the subcontinent, Myanmar people continued to fascinate us for our whole trip. They are incredibly religious, mostly Buddhist, but with sizable Muslim and ...

...the road to Mandalay.... not on your Nellie...
Feb 18, 2004 (8 photos)

... prescription and at very low prices. The next morning we set off for a whistle stop tour of several ancient capitals of Myanmar. We started at Amarapura, just outside Mandalay . On the way we stopped at an embroidery workshop where exquisite (if not to ...

Beguiling Burma
Dec 17, 2003 (5 photos)

We had ruled out going to Myanmar before we left home. Not for fear of our safety; the political situation in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is very stable for tourists. Unlike Cambodia, where the July election has yet to coalesce into a functioning ...

China secures Burma route
Apr 5, 2009

... for fuel, shaving off thousands of kilometres, in its quest for more of the world's resources. China secures Myanmar energy route BANGALORE - China and Myanmar have signed an agreement for the construction of fuel pipelines that will transport ...

Myanmar Needs Help
Sep 10, 2007

... had escaped from their country to live happily and contently with very little.   It is frightful what is happening in Myanmar; innocent people and the most revered members of the population are being killed.  Valid petitions to help stop the ...

Yangon
Jun 23, 2008 (3 photos)

... grubby but are usefull to keep in a back pocket to hand to any would be guides etc. Yangon is about as modern Myanmar gets and on first impressions you may be shocked. The streets are all broken down, mud and dirt everywhere and generally very shabby. ...

Bound for Bagan
Feb 15, 2005 (4 photos)

It was black and the chill of the morning dew made me glad I'd worn my krama tied about my neck for the tuk-tuk ride to the ferry dock. The driver had just taken our luggage and we were slowly climbing out when a man's face jutted toward mine lit by a ...

Dreaming Spires....
Feb 26, 2004 (6 photos)

... promised to make him a website so that he may start working for himself and eventually buy his own car. Our last night in Myanmar was spent stuffing ourselves with yet more Masala Dosa at our favourite place followed by yoghurt and fruit at a small café ...

Idling in Inle
Feb 24, 2005 (22 photos)

... !" It was as though we were royalty or pop superstars. I've been greeted by hundreds of people since I've arrived here in Myanmar but nothing like this. It seemed as though they were about to jump out of their skins as they competed for attention with the ...

Capitalism Yangon style
Oct 26, 2005 (20 photos)

... is pretty heavy, so don't take pictures of anyone in uniform or of strategic State buildings, like the Ministerial Offices, Myanmar Economic Holdings or the Directorate of Hotels and Tourism Services ;-) The main sights I managed to see here were The ...

Chapter 32: Me and Myanmar, Part 2
Apr 10, 2004 (29 photos)

... let him know that there's a big demand for old Echo & the Bunnymen tunes in the under-priviledged youth sector of central Myanmar! On Thursday I rented a bike and rode out (in the 95-degree heat) to the ruins of ancient Bagan. It was an incredible ( ...

Visa Run
Dec 16, 2007 (1 photos)

... come here and they have the easy come-and-go process worked out so it's fast and smooth.  So I can now say I was in Myanmar and have the stamps to prove it....but I can't exactly say I got to know the place or its people.  Now, back to ...

A Political Essay
Sep 3, 2005

... death, however this occurred in December 2002, nothing changed. As an asside, the military changed the name of the country to Myanmar and the names of various cities and towns (i.e. Rangoon to Yangon) not long after the 1990 elections to 'remove ties to ...

A Trip Back In Time
Aug 9, 2005 (10 photos)

... tourists. More info on this at the start of september. I've decided to head to Pyay next on my trail through Myanmar, a small town with a great Pagoda which rather convieniently breaks up the journey to Bagan nicely. From my understanding there won't be ...

Chapter 31: Me and Myanmar, Part 1
Apr 9, 2004 (28 photos)

... a cute bar down the street where we shared some pitchers of Myanmar Beer (not bad!) and tried some of the local poison ("Myanmar Old Brandy," - 50kyat/shot). Everywhere we went, the people were incredibly eager to please, and this is a trait I noticed ...

3-day trek from Kalaw to Inle Lake
Jun 25, 2008 (54 photos)

Kalaw is a trekking base town. We had just one night here and did not really get the opportunity to explore the town. Our ramblings tooks us to the Everest Napali resturant and to the Hi-Snack bar where we met some locals and heard tales of a wily Irish ...

On the trail of popcorn
Feb 4, 2006 (3 photos)

Our host in Namhsan, Maysie, woke us at 6:15am so we could get a pickup back to Hsipaw. Tun Tun redeemed himself by persuading a driver not to drive back at night and instead wait until the morning so we could get a lift. The ride back was much quicker ...

Shaken and Stirred
Feb 20, 2005 (7 photos)

I thought that I knew how horrific traveling overland in Asia could get. I was wrong. All the warning signs were there. The day prior I culled the usual information (i.e., make and age of vehicle, amenities, road conditions, etc.) and received ...

Yangon
Sep 2, 2005 (2 photos)

We left Inle at 11am to ensure we got to the junction in time for the 12 o'clock bus, we were waiting in the tea shop by 11:10! The Burmese love to get you to the bus on time. A rather fine game of cribbage we ruined near the end when some smelly french ...

Small town shenanigans
Jan 28, 2006 (5 photos)

Susan, Guy and myself arrived at the Mandalay bus station early enough to grab a much needed coffee before we were packed like sardines in an old rickety bus bound for Hsipaw. Once it was light I forgot about how uncomfortable it was and was simply ...