#  >  > Travellers Tales in Thailand and Asia >  >  > Vietnam, Nepal and Burma  Travel Forum >  >  Mingalabar! Myawaddy, Mawlamyine & Yangon 2016

## katie23

Hi all, earlier this month I went on a short backpacking trip to some parts of SEA. My route was Manila -> Kuala Lumpur -> Vientiane -> Udon Thani -> Mae Sot -> Myawaddy -> Mawlamyine -> Yangon -> KL -> MNL.  It was quite hectic, as I made the trip in less than 2 weeks, since I had limited vacation time. I knew that my trip would coincide with the Water Festival (Pi Mai in Laos, Songkran in Thailand & Thingyan in Myanmar). I didn't initially want to travel during the festival as I knew that it would be chaotic, but it was the only time that I could get a break from work.  

I'll include a few highlights from the other countries that I visited before crossing over to Myanmar, since I may not be able to make separate threads for them (pic threads are time-consuming), so please bear with me.  Cheers!  :Smile:

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## katie23

I've visited KL a few years ago, and since there was no direct flight from MNL to Vientiane or Yangon, I thought of including KL in my itinerary to visit some of the places that I wasn't able to. 

One of the places that I went to this year was Batu Caves. It's ~30 min from KL Sentral station by commuter train. There's a Hindu temple carved out of the limestone rocks and there are 207(?) steps leading up to the temple.  When going up to the temple, shorts are not allowed for women (but sleeveless shirts & tank tops were permitted). Fortunately, I was properly attired and didn't encounter problems with the fashion police. lol. I went up the stairs, looked around & took pics, then went down again. The Indian women who visited there were dressed in their best sari or salwar kameez. Kinda like wearing Sunday's best for church, which was nice (for me), as I like seeing people wearing their native costumes. Anyway, here's Batu Caves.

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## katie23

I went around a few places in KL. My last stop was Central Market, to look at native products and other knick-knacks. I didn't buy anything, just window-shopped. I still had many days of traveling ahead of me and I didn't want to overstuff my backpack with touristy souvenirs. So here's Central Market - to go there, get off at Pasar Seni station and walk a bit.

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## katie23

After 2N in KL, I took an early flight to Vientiane, Laos. I met BLD, his lovely wife & cute kids. We had lunch at a Lao-Viet resto (Viet food but Lao style).  Then we went to That Luang temple, among other places. The next day, I went to Buddha park which is a few km away from the city center and is past the Lao-Thai friendship bridge.

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## katie23

Here's the BLD and his lovely family. (BLD, if you don't want your pic here, let me know & I'll delete it from PB.)



Here's one pic from Buddha Park. It's a tourist spot with a lot of Buddhas and figures from other religions (Hinduism and there were Christian statues too, which I felt was weird in that place).  


That's my handbag. Since I can't be in the pic, I placed my handbag there.  :Razz:

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## katie23

To get out of Vientiane, I went to the bus station near Talat Sao mall. I took the International Bus, which goes to Udon Thani in Thailand. Some of my busmates were: a German backpacking couple, 2 TEFLer ladies (American), some Filipinos (teachers in Laos & were on the way to Phuket for a beach holiday during Songkran) and others were Lao or Thai. I arrived in Udon Thani, dropped off my stuff at my hotel (with my own bathroom, so that I could wash my clothes! lol), then went off to look for something to eat.  

I had the option to eat at Central Plaza mall, which was near my hotel, or at some umbrella-type stalls. I chose the latter, since from previous experience, street food in Thailand is good and I haven't experienced any tummy aches (yet).  

I decided to try my luck at this stall, which didn't have any English subtitles for the names of food. So I just pointed at the pic in the tarp. I ordered the topmost entry.



This was my lunch: beef with basil leaves. What is this dish called?

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## katie23

This pic is for withnall and/or baldrick. She's a good cook.  :Wink: 



These were my lunch buddies. I saw a lot of people (men & women) wearing those floral shirts. Are they commonly used during Songkran?

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## katie23

I looked around Central Plaza mall a bit.



I walked around the city center, and came across another mall, UD Town mall.



As I've said in my other thread, I found Udon Thani to be similar to other small provincial cities back home.  
"Same-same but different" feeling.

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## katie23

As I've said in the other thread, I saw some "silver foxes" in Udon Thani. I saw some younguns too, maybe they're TEFLers? I hope whoever these ppl are, they're not members of this forum! 

Time for a selfie!  :Smile: 


Here, look at our selfie! (girl in black showing pic to girl in red)

Girl in the backgrd is for withnall or baldrick. lol

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## katie23

Saw these ladies enjoying their Songkran moments

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## katie23

The next day, I was up bright & early to make my way to Phitsanulok, then Mae Sot. I passed by many sleepy towns (Nakhon Nowhere) and had my first experience (in this trip) of the dreaded... squat toilet!  :Sad:

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## katie23

Where (which town) is this? Does anyone know?



When I saw this signboard, I was glad because I knew that the end (of traveling for that day) was near.

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## somtamslap

> This was my lunch: beef with basil leaves. What is this dish called?


 Pad krapow nua.

Very nice too.

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## katie23

I was seated on the front seat of the minibus, so I had good views. This shot reminds me of the song, Take Me Home Country Road. It also reminded me of a drive in the US - I rode in the car of a friend and we were headed toward the mountains. Again, the feeling of "same same but different". 



It was a nice sunset...

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## Neverna

> I decided to try my luck at this stall, which didn't have any English subtitles for the names of food. So I just pointed at the pic in the tarp. I ordered the topmost entry.
> 
> 
> 
> This was my lunch: beef with basil leaves. What is this dish called?


In Thai: ผัดกะเพราเนื้อ - _Pat gaprao neua_. Stir fried beef with basil leaves.

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## katie23

The next day, I took an early morning walk around the Mae Sot neighborhood, before having breakfast at the guesthouse. 



Breakfast at the GH, included in the room price, which was ~550 baht for a spacious room with double bed, A/C, toilet & shower. Good price, I think.   :Smile:

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## Neverna

> These were my lunch buddies. I saw a lot of people (men & women) wearing those floral shirts. Are they commonly used during Songkran?


Yes, very much so.

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## katie23

Thanks for the replies, somtamslap & neverna. The beef with basil was delish, and freshly cooked too! The owner cooked it after I pointed out my choice. She also asked me if I wanted chili in the beef, and I said no. I was able to make it through the pointing & calculator system. Point what you like (including my need for Coca Cola, which turned out to be Est Cola - but it was okay, since it was my first time to encounter Est Cola). After the meal, I approached the owner, asked how much, then the owner punched some numbers on the calculator. I took out some money, problem solved and belly filled with good & cheap food.  :Smile:  

Btw, thanks for all the greens! I have a gold cabbage now! Yay! Can I exchange it for cash? I'd like to have a liposuction. lol. On second thought, I'll save the cash for my next trip.  :Razz:

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## katie23

I'll backtrack a bit, and show a few more pics of pre-Myanmar. I might not be able to make separate threads for Vientiane (but it deserves a thread of its own) or KL or UT due to time constraints - I have work & a life too. lol. 

So anyway, here are some pics of the Patuxay Victory Monument in Vientiane. 

These ladies were pretty and wore native costumes (which I always like to photograph).

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## katie23

Patuxay Park at twilight


with some Chinese ladies

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## barrylad66

thanks for taking the time to post your pics up. looking forward to the Myanmar
portion    :Smile:

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## Davis Knowlton

Good job, Katie. Thanks for making the effort!

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## katie23

Thanks for the luv, barrylad & davis.  :Smile: 

So to continue, back in Vientiane it was getting dark & I was getting hungry, so I walked back to the direction of the riverside (Mekong). I chose a guesthouse near the river, since from past travels, that's where the action is.  There's a night market selling all kinds of night markety stuff, plus some food stalls.

This was my dinner at a food stall - Lao style fried noodles, grilled squid & Beerlao.

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## crocman

> Here's the BLD and his lovely family. (BLD, if you don't want your pic here, let me know & I'll delete it from PB.)
> 
> 
> 
> Here's one pic from Buddha Park. It's a tourist spot with a lot of Buddhas and figures from other religions (Hinduism and there were Christian statues too, which I felt was weird in that place).  
> 
> 
> That's my handbag. Since I can't be in the pic, I placed my handbag there.


You've had a haircut mate.

Great thread as usual Katie. Good to see you you caught up with BLD and the family.

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## Davis Knowlton

^And slimmed down too.....

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## barrylad66

sorry katie,forgot to give you a luigie. incoming  :Smile:

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## Kurgen

> sorry katie,forgot to give you a luigie.


do you use tongues for that?

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## barrylad66

> Originally Posted by barrylad66
> 
> sorry katie,forgot to give you a luigie.
> 
> 
> do you use tongues for that?


that will depend on the situation   :Smile:

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## katie23

^I'm almost afraid to ask: what is a luigie?  :Confused: 

Thanks all for the greens.  :Smile: 

Anyway, the next day, I walked to the mighty Mekong and took pics. It was very dry (not surprising, because of the present El Nino). BLD said that during rainy season, this area would be filled with water.  He also said that those palm trees were newly planted, just in time for Pi Mai. 



They also built those Buddha scuptures and temples in time for the festival.

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## katie23

It was very hot in Vientiane, reached 42-43 C.  Even though I'm a tropical girl, I'm only used to 36 or 37 C (in PI), so the heat at midday was very draining for me.  SInce Laos is landlocked (as well as N. Thailand), there were no sea breezes for cooling.  It's a good thing that I live in an archipelago where there are sea breezes (but yeah, we get our share of typhoons & earthquakes). 

Anyway, I like seeing what people ate in their travels, esp. if it's local food. So I'll post my food pics too.  This was my lunch: stir fried veggies with chicken (in oyster sauce, I think). 


This was my dinner: crispy fried noodles with chicken, kale & other veggies.

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## katie23

After dinner, I strolled around the night market. Saw the usual stuff, but it was still interesting. Saw a lot of pretty Lao girls too!


Nice clothes... seller not included.  :Very Happy: 


I did buy some small trinkets and a pair of those loose, elephant-print pants/trousers that's common among Kao San Rd ppl. I found out why those trousers are liked so much by backpackers - loose, cotton, dries easily, and easy to use in squat toilets! lol

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## katie23

This was breakfast at my Vientiane GH (included in the room price). I've found that hostel/GH brekkies differ - some w/ fruit, some w/o. Some with jam, some w/o. Some are self-service, while in some, you have to order then they prepare it for you. 



After breakfast, I checked out and went to the bus station near Talat Sao. Those are the 2 German backpackers. Turned out that we were all riding the same bus to Udon Thani and we all stayed in the same GH.

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## katie23

I found Vientiane very quiet as a capital - a big change from the skyscrapers of KL. I also felt very safe roaming the streets at night; I think crime rates are low? It was still very provincial (for me).  The airport was small, and only a few km after the city center, there were ricefields and other farms. The Talat Sao mall was closed already when I passed by around 6:30 pm, which was unusual for me (that a mall closed too early).  BLD said that there's no Western food franchise - no McD, KFC, Starbucks or Pizza Hut. There's only a Thai food chain (forgot the name).  It was quite refreshing.  :Smile: 

Anyway, here are some scenes at the VTE bus station.

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## katie23

The bus left the terminal late (by ~1 hr), because of Songkran traffic. So we all boarded the bus, then went to the Thai-Lao friendship bridge to be stamped out of Laos. Here's the Lao immigration queue.

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## katie23

Then we boarded the bus again, crossed the river, then went down again, this time to be stamped into Thailand. Lots of people at the borders because of Songkran.


The ppl on the left side are exiting Th, the ones on the right side are entering Th. I think these are the people who walked or have their own vehicles, and not those who rode on the International buses.

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## katie23

Fast forward to my day of travel across the northern Nakhon Nowheres in Th. At the Tak bus station, I saw these soldiers. I don't know if they're en route to their homes for the holidays, or to their camp.  


I also saw this hill tribe woman (well, I think she was). I think she had a very interesting face, but she seemed to be in pain, and I wondered why. I photographed her stealthily; I was inside the minibus already and I used the zoom on my cam.

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## katie23

Tak bus terminal


Another one of those floral Songkran shirts. Most stores were closed due to the festival.

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## katie23

This was the decor on the dashboard of the minibus from Tak to Mae Sot. I found it quaint in a "same-same but diff" way.  :Smile:  In PI, there would be sampaguita flowers (Jasminium sambac) around the mirror, and an image of Jesus or Mary.  In Th, there are similar flowers and an image of Buddha instead.

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## katie23

Fast forward again to the day of my crossing the Myanmar border. (Yay for some! lol)

Here are the views at the vicinity of the Mae Sot border.


This is the taxi which brought me from the GH to the border.

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## katie23

There's always these guys on standby...


In case people needed to buy foodstuff for the journey...

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## katie23

I had to get off the taxi and be stamped out of Th here...


During the stamping process, a Th official asked me if I had a visa for Myanmar. I said I didn't need one, because of ASEAN.  He was surprised - seems he didn't know that other ASEAN nationalities can enter Myanmar visa-free. I think Thais can only enter Myanmar without visa by air. 

Anyway, after being stamped out of Th, I had to walk to the Thai-Myanmar friendship bridge, when I saw this overloaded vehicle.

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## katie23

Walking along the Thai-Myanmar friendship bridge and crossing the Moei river. 

This is still on the Thai side


Thai immigration - Tak

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## katie23

Walking along the Friendship bridge. Since it was Songkran/Thingyan, there were a lot of Burmese people crossing the border and going home to their provinces, usually with large bags of goodies.



Saw some beggars along the bridge


Saw this signboard against the drug menace

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## katie23

I was surprised to see some food stalls and plastic chairs/tables down there


I also saw some people crossing the river via boat. Is this legal, since they didn't go through the stamping process on both sides???

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## sabang

> Coca Cola, which turned out to be Est Cola


I actually prefer the stuff to coke- cheaper too. More of a nutmeg flavor touch. I'm no big cola fan, but I suppose you've got to mix something with your whiskey.

Nice thread kate, looking forward to Myanmar. Thanks for sharing.  :Smile: 




> Is this legal


Kinda grey area- but it goes on plenty in border regions. Khongjiam on the Mekhong in Ubon Province is loaded with Laos workers- in restaurants, market traders, OK's etc. They seem to just come and go as they please, there is a regular flow of boats crossing the river, including a regular ferry longtail boat. No immigration in sight.

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## katie23

By the time I was near the end of the bridge, the "boaters" had also crossed the river.


When I was going through the pics on my comp after the trip, it's when I noticed that there was so much trash on the Burmese side of the river. Sad...

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## katie23

@sabang - I found the Est cola bland, maybe bcos I'm used to the taste of Coca cola. I'm not a big fan of cola either, but during this trip, I drank cola/soda just to break the monotony of bottled water. Thanks for the info re: the "boaters".

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## katie23

A few meters onwards, I saw these monks.


The ppl waved me to go farther on for stamping. I wasn't stamped in the area where there's a man wearing dark blue shirt. I was told to enter an office farther on (not just a window) near where those monks are. 


As I've said in the earlier thread, I was interviewed by the immi officer. So far, it's the longest interview that I've had re: entry into a country. A tout there asked if I had a visa, and I had my ready answer. It's good that the immi officer knew the rules too. He interviewed me about my purpose & length of stay, etc. He also said that I was "very bootiful" and said that the other officer was still single. lol. The whole incident made me a bit uncomfortable, but I smiled and acted nice, since they had my passport.  I think they're not used to other Asean ppl entering through that border, just mostly Westerners.

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## katie23

This is M, the tout who "helped" me. After my passport was returned, M walked with me and asked where I would go to. He seemed to have the protection/approval of the immi officers, since they also said that M was single and a good singer. lol 

So anyway, I told M that I needed a ride to get to Mawlamyine, but that I wanted to look around a bit and see a market. So M led me to some side streets and I took pics of the small day market.

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## katie23

Mingalabar! Mingalabar is the equivalent of Hello. 
Thank you is "che su ti ma deh" (or sounded like that). You can also say "che su peh".

I knew that I was in Myanmar already, since I saw these ppl with thanaka cream on their faces. The cream acts as a sunblock.  



From wikipedia: Thanaka cream is made by grinding the bark, wood or roots of a thanaka tree with a small amount of water on a circular slab which has a channel round the rim for water to drain into.

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## katie23

More of the market


After I've had enough of the market, I told M that I would like to return to the main road.  At the main road, I saw this. Thingyan, the water festival, had already started.

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## katie23

View of the Myanmar arch from the Burmese side.


More water festival stuff






M procured me a seat in a shared taxi.  Fares were hiked up because it was Thingyan and fewer vehicles were around.  I was charged 30,000 kyat (pronounced as "cha") for the 5-hour ride. M said that it normally costed 25,000 kyat only. I thanked M for his efforts and gave a tip.  

That's all for the town of Myawaddy. I could've looked for the pagoda with the crocodile statue, but I didn't want to get wet. So I stayed in the shared taxi while waiting for the other passengers to arrive.

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## katie23

The next series of photos were taken from inside the car, beside the driver, as we were traveling. As a foreigner, I was given the prime seat in front.  When I saw how cramped they were at the back, I was thankful for the front seat, even if I paid the foreigner price, which was around 3x of what the locals paid.  

So anyway, here are the pics.

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## katie23

We filled up at a petrol station a few km from the Myawaddy town center.


Floral shirts again...

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## katie23

Just like in Th, there are small wats/temples along the way.

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## katie23

This is some sort of tuktuk.

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## katie23

Some construction in the countryside

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## katie23

Another overloaded vehicle

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## katie23

More Thingyan revelers

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## katie23

A tractor bringing water

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## katie23

Some roadside stores






Telecoms tower, I think

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## katie23

The long and winding road


We followed this overloaded Toyoto Probox for quite some time.

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## katie23

My shared taxi was also a white Toyota Probox. I think it's similar in size to an Avanza.  The driver said that I was lucky because this part of the road was newly opened, so travel time to Mawlamyine was significantly decreased. The driver was very informative and spoke English well. He's an electrical engineer but now drives a taxi. I asked him about his former passengers, and he said that I'm his first Asean passenger, as other foreigners were Westerners. So I told him I'm good luck for him, and gave him some PI currency as souvenir.  :Smile: 



I found this dangerous - drunken revelers on the highway on motorbikes, without helmets. 


The soil was reddish, and the road was like a roller coaster at times.


To be continued...

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## Luigi

> Where (which town) is this? Does anyone know?


No, but it's a common theme around the North Central region (Sukhothai, Plok, etc.)

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## biff

Thanks Katie, for using your time, to post another very good, travel thread..

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## beerlaodrinker

> Here's the BLD and his lovely family. (BLD, if you don't want your pic here, let me know & I'll delete it from PB.)
> 
> 
> 
> Here's one pic from Buddha Park. It's a tourist spot with a lot of Buddhas and figures from other religions (Hinduism and there were Christian statues too, which I felt was weird in that place).  
> 
> 
> That's my handbag. Since I can't be in the pic, I placed my handbag there.


Hi Katie, glad you took the time to post up your trip, it was a pleasure meeting you and I would of loved to have shown you a few more sights but the weather that day was 43 degrees and I had somewhat of a hangover, ( note to self, don't drink whiskey at Lao party's) just to damn hot. keep the pics coming, I must say that I was pretty relieved that I was able to purchase a cold beer at That luang temple.i had to laugh that they made you and my wife hire a sinh before entering the complex, yet I had no problem sourcing a beer, that's problynwhy I like living here, quirky stuff like that makes me laugh

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## katie23

Thanks for all the replies and the greens.  :Smile: 

Btw, when I was in Myanmar, the conversion rate was 1 USD ~ 1,170 kyat. Banks & money changers were closed because of Thingyan, so I had no option but to exchange at my hotel, wherein their rate was 1$ = 1,000 kyat. 

A taxi around Yangon from place to place should cost ~2-3,000 kyat.  Taxi fare from a hotel in Yangon city center to the airport costs ~ 8,000 kyat. Taxis in Yangon don't use the meter. My fare in the shared taxi (Myawaddy to Mawlamyine) was ~30 usd, 5 hrs travel. The bus fare (VIP bus, 3 seats per row) from Mawlamyine to Yangon was ~13 usd, 6 hours travel on night bus. 

From the Yangon city center, it takes 45 min to 1 hr to get to the airport. Hope that helps. 

I'll add pictures next time. Cheers!

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## Headworx

A great thread and pics, as usual Katie. I worked there somewhere around 1985-86 and things were VERY different to what you've shared. The exchange rate was something like 7 Kyat (officially) and 70 on the black market. So depending where you changed your money it was either the most expensive country in SEA or the cheapest!. I recall the notes were odd denominations like 15, 45, 90 Kyat so counting out a figure like 4570 Kyat to pay a bill was a nightmare!. 

Back then, visitors had to declare how much USD they had on arrival and on the way out, the military at the airport would check how much you had left and that you had stamps from official money changers showing you'd changed your money with them. Next problem was visitors could stay for 1 week only, no extension available. They could only visit Yangon, Mandalay, and Pagan, and had to fly between the 3 cities because no road travel for foreigners was permitted. There were only 4 or 5 flights a week into/out of the country to Bangkok and Singapore, but there were lots of flights to Russia and China. 

We got around all these problems because we were working for MOGE (Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise) which was owned by the government which was the Military, who made up all these rules to discourage visitors in the first place. So we changed our money on the black market, had Burmese drivers licenses, drove anywhere in the country we wanted to, ignored things like curfews and fuel rationing, stayed as long as we wanted, etc. Hell, my bodyguard/translator was a 4 star General so _anything_ was possible (not that anyone needed a bodyguard, it was a very safe place). 

I think I have a few pics from driving a truck from Yangon to Mandalay on the way to a job we did in the North West of the country and will have a look for them tomorrow. It was a strange experience there at times, we were working in places where very few young people (if any) had ever seen a white person, let alone a dozen of us and all sorts of exploration equipment that must have looked like it came from a sci-fi movie.

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## Phuketrichard

i was there in 1988 an traveled by train abit.
Johnny walker red and a  carton of 555 cigs picked up at Bangkok airport went  a long ways  :-0
Richard Reitman Photography | Burma scanned slides 1988
It was quite bit more peaceful than

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## Headworx

Some pics from about 30 years ago to go with Richards. I use to post all the better pics to my family in the West back then so unfortunately, don't have many I hoped to still have with me.

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## katie23

Thanks for sharing your experiences and photos/slides, Headworx & Richard. Before/After pics are always interesting to me.  

Which reminds me, my dear departed Dad had a lot of B/W photos of Vietnam from the late 60s to early 70s, and I meant to scan them and maybe put them up in my Vietnam thread. However, time passed and I forgot about it, being busy & all. I'm sure some of the "silver foxes" here, esp the Vietnam vets like Davis, will be able to recognize some of the places.  Is the other vet, Ltnt, still around? 

@headworx - Wow re: that overloaded vehicle! I thought the overloading was bad now, but it was worse before! Re: your 5th pic, is that the Sule Pagoda in the background? I may have a similar pic - have to look for it. If that's the Sule, the road is wider now & there are lots of vendors (with plastic chairs & tables) along that road leading to the Sule. 

I noticed that most of the men (young & old) wore the Longyi (the long tubular skirt) 30 years ago.  Nowadays, the young people prefer Western clothing, as you've seen in the pics. However, some still wore traditional clothes when they went to worship in the pagodas. I think after a generation, the people won't wear traditional clothes daily anymore - they'll just maybe wear them for ceremonies & such, which I find a bit sad, but that's modernization...

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## katie23

@headworx - the denominations of kyat now are: 5,000, 1,000, 500, 200, 100 & 50.  So easier to count money. Hotels will either quote their prices in usd or kyat.  V, a fellow Filipina who I met at the airport on the flight back, said that when their family ate at a hotel, the prices of the entrees in the menu were quoted in usd.  They spent more on food that they normally would, because many places were closed due to Thingyan.  For them (in their location), it was either to eat at hotels or eat at streetfood stalls. They didn't want to risk having diarrhea, so they ate at hotel restos. 

@BLD - salamat (to you & your family) for being good hosts. I'm contented with the places that you toured me around. I also didn't want to tour much at that time, because of the heat. As I've said before, I'm not used to landlocked countries with 40+ temps.  After you guys brought me back to my GH, I rested in my room, then went out again when it was cooler. Walked to Patuxay Park & took pics.  I had a great time in VTE. Cheers!

The "sinh" that BLD mentioned is a long wraparound skirt worn by women in Laos. Mrs. BLD and I both wore shorts, and we had to cover our legs before we could be admitted inside the temple complex. How come BLD was allowed to show his legs and we weren't? Unfair! Lol.

My net is acting up & can't post pics. Will try next time... need to do some comp work too.

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## Smug Farang Bore

Nice pics..

When ya coming to Cambo?

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## Headworx

> @headworx - the denominations of kyat now are: 5,000, 1,000, 500, 200, 100 & 50.  So easier to count money.


Well that would make life a LOT easier!. 

I don't recall where the 5th picture was taken, or what the name of that Pagoda was. We traveled around a lot so it could have been anywhere, but obviously it was in a larger city with cars instead of ox-carts as the main means of transport.  

Katie back then, it was quite rare to see any men not wearing a longyi and sandals unless they were businessmen in a major city or Military. Due to company safety policy we gave all our workers jeans and coveralls + boots to wear during their work hours and they didn't like having to wear any of it!. But they were paid _very_ well (USD $100 a month minimum + meals + accommodation) so they cheerfully complied  :Smile: . The people in my first foto are a road building crew, everything was done by hand (no machinery at all was used) so it was back-breaking hot work from sunup till sundown. They got paid USD $3 a week!. 

I haven't been back there since the projects we did ended, so the photos shared in this thread have shown us how things were and how things are now. Interesting.

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## beerlaodrinker

> Originally Posted by katie23
> 
> 
> @headworx - the denominations of kyat now are: 5,000, 1,000, 500, 200, 100 & 50.  So easier to count money.
> 
> 
> Well that would make life a LOT easier!. 
> 
> I don't recall where the 5th picture was taken, or what the name of that Pagoda was. We traveled around a lot so it could have been anywhere, but obviously it was in a larger city with cars instead of ox-carts as the main means of transport.  
> ...


Find any oil?

----------


## beerlaodrinker

[QUOTE=

The "sinh" that BLD mentioned is a long wraparound skirt worn by women in Laos. Mrs. BLD and I both wore shorts, and we had to cover our legs before we could be admitted inside the temple complex. How come BLD was allowed to show his legs and we weren't? Unfair! Lol.

[/QUOTE] it's coz I've got great legs katie

----------


## katie23

@bld - yeah, true, the Bld's legs are nicer than his mrs or mine. <envious>  

@smug fb - tnx. I went to Cambodia last year, when I did a Th-cambo-vn trip, so I won't be going anytime soon. Unless TD crowdfunds my next trip. Lol

@headworx - the military's presence is still very obvious in myanmar. Along the way, we passed by several checkpts & i noticed that the driver had to give cash at every chkpt. My papers weren't asked, since I looked local & I hid my camera when a chkpt was near. I had all the necessary papers, but checking them would take time & we had a long drive ahead.

Btw, tnx for all the greens.  :Smile:

----------


## Headworx

> Find any oil?


Several shallow gas shows and a sniff of oil in 1 well, but nothing in commercial quantities. It would be good to go back in there with the technology and techniques available these days. Maybe it will open up for exploration and some Majors will buy up acreage now it's no longer a full-on Military dictatorship country.

----------


## katie23

Fast forward to Yangon for a bit.  

Headworx posted some photos from the 80s, one of which (photo 5) I think is the Sule Pagoda.  It's in the city center, near the Independence Monument and a park. In the spirit of then/now, here are pics of the Sule Pagoda & surrounds in 2016.

----------


## katie23

I left my guesthouse early and walked to the Sule Pagoda to take pics before the water craziness started. Since it was still early, people were just starting to set up their shops.

----------


## katie23

These sleeping beauties haven't waken up yet.


Nice colonial-style buildings in the vicinity

----------


## beerlaodrinker

> Fast forward to Yangon for a bit.  
> 
> Headworx posted some photos from the 80s, one of which (photo 5) I think is the Sule Pagoda.  It's in the city center, near the Independence Monument and a park. In the spirit of then/now, here are pics of the Sule Pagoda & surrounds in 2016.


i love those old a buses, really adds a bit of character to the place. I'm hanging out for someone to introduce a Vientiane Yangon flight. Lao airlines threatened to do it but it never eventuated, under Asian and the so called open sky policy maybe this will change. Lao govt just gave airasia landing rights from Bangkok to Luang Prabang and Bangkok Vientiane, maybe things they won't hold the monopoly anymore?

----------


## beerlaodrinker

> Originally Posted by beerlaodrinker
> 
> 
> Find any oil?
> 
> 
> Several shallow gas shows and a sniff of oil in 1 well, but nothing in commercial quantities. It would be good to go back in there with the technology and techniques available these days. Maybe it will open up for exploration and some Majors will buy up acreage now it's no longer a full-on Military dictatorship country.


its been some 35 years since I stomped geophones in the oilfield so yeah I can imagine the technology has radically changed , got a few Lao based mates working exploration in Myanmar now and the reports I'm hearing are pretty positive, they are focused on copper and gold  exploration but as you know it takes 20 years or more to discover something worth mining , economy worldwide now is shit but if your persistent then who knows ? At least they are putting the cock on the block and having a go. Could be a similar scenario to Laos, win win situation really

----------


## hallelujah

> Originally Posted by beerlaodrinker
> 
> 
> *Find any oil*?
> 
> 
> Several shallow gas shows and a sniff of oil in 1 well, but nothing in commercial quantities. It would be good to go back in there with the technology and techniques available these days. Maybe it will open up for exploration and some Majors will buy up acreage now it's no longer a full-on Military dictatorship country.


It's all in the fucking food.

----------


## beerlaodrinker

Methane curry gas? How to tap into that market? You might be onto something there.  That's got me thinkin now, I'm gonna pm Loytoy and withnall to see if we can come up with a commercial viable mix of a a bucket and withnalls  ass trumpet

----------


## hallelujah

There's probably enough oil in most Myanmar dishes to power a small vehicle for a day or two. No need to worry about expensive offshore drilling- just order your dinner and you're good to go.

----------


## Phuketrichard

and easy to get as it all floats to the top
no digging involved.

----------


## katie23

Hi all, I haven't forgotten this thread. There are dozens more pics, but I haven't resized the pics or uploaded to PB. Am very busy with work & other stuff at the moment.  

So just a lil story for now. On my 2nd (and last) nite in Yangon, I joined some fellow guests from the hotel, mostly young ppl. We went to a bar/club, which was some distance frm my hotel. It was near the Shwedagon Pagoda.  

Upon entering the club, at first it looked like an ordinary club. But then, I was surprised to see the outfits of the ladies there. Most wore skimpy tight outfits. While we, as tourists, were just in shorts & shirts, normal tourist attire. The girls were fully.made up - face & hair. I had a feeling they were prozzies but I wasn't sure yet. 

Later on, I went to the Ladies' room. More surprise! It was large, not just the typical cubicles. Squat toilets there too. What kinda surprised me was that it was more of a dressing room than just an ordinary toilet. There were ladies in stages of undress, changing frm jeans & long skirts, to their skimpy outfits. Some ladies were doing their makeup too, or their hair. Was quite a revelation. Since my looks blend in, they didnt mind me & I was able to observe discreetly. So that's when I had my hunch confirmed that most of the girls there were "workers".  

At the tables, there were some older men who were with the girls - some were Chinese as I recognized the language. There were a lot of security guards in the place - even on the dance floor. I found that weird. 

Sorry, no pics of that event, as I didnt bring my gadgets as I thought they might get wet again (it was Songkran/ Thingyan).  :Sorry1:

----------


## katie23

Continuing with the journey from Myawaddy to Mawlamyine. There were many other overloaded vehicles...



First time that I saw this type of palm tree

----------


## katie23

The shared taxi that I rode passed by several checkpoints. This was one of them. When it got nearer, I hid my camera (to skip the questions & paper-checking). I noticed that everytime we passed by a checkpoint, the driver gave some money, and no receipt was given...

----------


## katie23

This is supposed to announce a township, but I don't know which one


The taxi had this on the dashboard. It's supposed to celebrate Thingyan or the water festival, according to the driver.

----------


## baldrick

great thread Katie

roads look pretty good

----------


## katie23

Some roadside huts




We stopped by this roadside restaurant. Some passengers got off for a kidney break.
Many other shared taxis taking people to their provinces for the 5-day holiday.

----------


## katie23

Bridge over troubled waters.. I think this is the Than lwin (?) river. To those who want to know, please check the map, as I've forgotten...

----------


## katie23

@baldrick - yeah, the roads were good. The driver said that I was lucky, since there was a stretch of road that was newly opened (just that week) and that the travel time was significantly decreased. I think they opened the roads in time for the holidays and for people going to the provinces.  In Yangon, the fly-overs were also newly opened to the public, in time for the water festival.

When I was researching on land travel from Myawaddy, some blogs & sources said that traffic to & from Yangon was just one way. Myawaddy to Yangon is allowed during odd days, Yangon to Myawaddy during even days only. To be safe, I planned my trip (Myawaddy to Mawlamyine) on an odd-numbered day. I think they made a new road in 2014(?) and two-way traffic is now possible everyday from the Myawaddy border to Yangon.

----------


## katie23

I liked this road lined with palm trees


Saw an elephant being transported. There were 2 trucks - one with the elephant, another with monkeys, plus many workers or handlers in both trucks. I think they belonged to a circus group. My pic of the monkeys was blurred.  :Sad:

----------


## katie23

Young rubber trees.  According to the driver, the main products in this region are rubber and rice.


Mountains in the distance

----------


## katie23

After passing by many ricefields and rubber plantations, it was good to see this sign


Passed by some roadside temples


The flowers which symbolize the water festival in Myanmar. They bloom during the summer months.

----------


## katie23

When we were in the vicinity of Hpa-an (I think), the shared taxi veered off the main road to drop off a fellow passenger in her village. 

Tuktuk, Myanmar style

----------


## katie23

This is the village hall, I think


Part of a traktor (?)

----------


## katie23

Village life

----------


## katie23

Different kinds of houses in the village

----------


## katie23

I liked this pic because it shows the kids running to greet their Auntie who's just arrived


This is their Auntie who works in Thailand and has brought back many goodies

----------


## katie23

Shed for charcoal

----------


## katie23

More pics of the village

----------


## katie23

I guess this household has internet


There was a pond nearby


And some farm animals

----------


## katie23

This was the house of the mother of my fellow passenger, N. That's her mom.


My guess is, since N works in Thailand and sends money back home, her family was able to build a better house, made of concrete. It's a small bungalow, but an improvement over the mom's wooden house nearby. There were a lot of concrete houses in that street/village.  

I'll end for the moment with a pic of the kids, now on the porch, waiting for their Auntie to distribute the goodies.  :Smile:

----------


## hallelujah

> Hi all, I haven't forgotten this thread. There are dozens more pics, but I haven't resized the pics or uploaded to PB. Am very busy with work & other stuff at the moment.  
> 
> So just a lil story for now. On my 2nd (and last) nite in Yangon, I joined some fellow guests from the hotel, mostly young ppl. We went to a bar/club, which was some distance frm my hotel. It was near the Shwedagon Pagoda.  
> 
> Upon entering the club, at first it looked like an ordinary club. But then, I was surprised to see the outfits of the ladies there. Most wore skimpy tight outfits. While we, as tourists, were just in shorts & shirts, normal tourist attire. The girls were fully.made up - face & hair. I had a feeling they were prozzies but I wasn't sure yet. 
> 
> Later on, I went to the Ladies' room. More surprise! It was large, not just the typical cubicles. Squat toilets there too. What kinda surprised me was that it was more of a dressing room than just an ordinary toilet. There were ladies in stages of undress, changing frm jeans & long skirts, to their skimpy outfits. Some ladies were doing their makeup too, or their hair. Was quite a revelation. Since my looks blend in, they didnt mind me & I was able to observe discreetly. So that's when I had my hunch confirmed that most of the girls there were "workers".  
> 
> At the tables, there were some older men who were with the girls - some were Chinese as I recognized the language. There were a lot of security guards in the place - even on the dance floor. I found that weird. 
> ...


Really? Prostitutes in SE Asia? Get away.

----------


## PeeCoffee

Great pictures Katie. Thank you for sharing your adventurous Songkraan.

Curious , how heavy is your backpack when loaded for a trip like this ?

----------


## katie23

@hallelujah - if you haven't discerned from my name & my posts, I'm a girl. And I don't really go to areas where the bargirls are, in my travels.  Yes, I know that prozzies exist, in all countries & of all nationalities. In my country, there are lots of Amerasian children, due to the US bases.  It's just that I don't have much contact with them.  

@peecoffee - you're welcome.  :Smile:  I usually keep my backpack from 6-7 kg, bcos there's a 7 kg limit in most budget airlines for handcarried luggage. I usually don't like paying the checked-in luggage fee, so I keep my backpack light, whether it's for 6 days or 12 days. I wash clothes if I have my own toilet. I don't have a weighing scale, but I'm kinda.used.to the  weight already. If it feels heavy, then it's more than 7 kg.  :Smile:

----------


## katie23

Just got back from a 3-day adventure in Sagada, Mountain Province, up north. My body now aches all over, and I walk like an old woman. Lol. I thought that I'm relatively fit, since.I jog & do zumba, but now my arms & legs hurt. It didn't hurt like this after the Pinatubo trek. In Sagada, we did some hiking (easy) and spelunking/caving (difficult).  We did the cave connection - enter thru 1 cave, exit thru another. It's not for the faint of heart or for large mammals. There are places where u have to climb the rocks & hoist urself up (thus my arms hurt) and some places where you have to use a rope to go up or down, else you fall into a dark abyss. Even though my body hurts, I'm glad I did it now, bcos I might not be able to do it when I'm older, greyer or larger. 

Lots of (white) backpackers & local tourists during the weekend. Seems Sagada is getting famous among the backpacking crowd. Lots of local tourists too, mostly in tour packages w/ minivans. Mostly younguns, but a few families (w/ kids) and some middle-aged ppl too. I'd like to return there soon, while I'm still young, since I wasn't able to do all the advwntures offered, due to time & budget constraints. Will try to make a pic thread of it too. Time & internet permitting.  :Smile:  btw, this trip was DIY, like most of my trips.

----------


## fishlocker

Great stuff Katie, cant wait for the cave expedition pics. No easy trekking that I have seen thus far from the prior pics. Looks dusty and hot and that alone would tucker this f ish out.  I ,being from a northern zone bake in S.E. Asia, therefore I plan my trips in Dec/January.  I get to escape the cold of winter and enjoy the not so hot time with my betterhalfs family. So if you say it's hot it's hot being you are from the Philippines. 

Thanks for taking the time to post. I to am verry pressed for time as are most that are in the labor force. That and the fact that I haven't learned to navigate photobucket keeps me from posting most of our travel pics. Using TD gallery is slow and painful as well but I manage somewhat sometimes. 

Thanks again for sharing and safe travels to you.    the fish

----------


## fishlocker

P.S it is sad to see the trash along the streets and waterways. We had that here in the states during the boon of the industrial revolution.  Now I'm happy to say that we have cleaned the place up quite a bit. It did take a paradigm shift along with alot of media attention and I'm happy to say environmentally   things have greatly improved. 

It starts by everyone doing their share. And by setting a positive example for the kids to follow. Last time out at the farmhouse I began to pick up plastic trash and soon I had the kids doing the same.

I did find a gardetto's snack bag down the trail so I know where that came from but in time I think I made an impression on the kids. If I give them a candy bar or ice cream sandwich they know not to immediately drop the wrapper on the ground. Baby steps I know but at least we are putting one foot in front of the other.                      Their is hope for the fish yet.

----------


## beerlaodrinker

> It's not for the faint of heart or for large mammals. There are places where u have to climb the rocks & hoist urself up.


 yeah, go on rub it in. Just joking :Smile:  Sagada,s an amazing place spent a month there some 20 years ago but never went anywhere near a cave and I was a medium size mammal then, just chilled out in the village with the super relaxed locals, smoked some hash and drank some San Migs mostly. There wasn't much in the way of restaurants to go to I seem to recall, xmas  eve my Scottish mate knocked up an omelette and I got the beers in and we had a few bongs, wasn't much in the way of nightlife whatsoever ever, It took an amazingly long time to reach by bus from Baguio to, gLad to hear it's getting some tourism, very scenic place, can't wait to see your photos

----------


## Dillinger

> I was a medium size mammal then


Mammal as in whale?  :Smile: 

Nice thread katie

----------


## katie23

@bld - it now takes ~6h to get to Sagada frm Baguio. There are lots of inns, hostels & restos too. No bars or clubs (yet), thankfully. No Jollibee, KFC, McD or large establishments like SM or Robinsons. Mostly family run businesses. Food establishments sell at tourist prices, though. To be fair, the place gets alive during weekends and mostly quiet during weekdays. My friend, who traveled with me, visited Sagada in 2009. She said back then, it took 8-9h frm Baguio, due to the rough road.  No tall buildings back then too. Now, the road is paved & lots of inns. Sagada was used as a setting in one recent indie film here, which became famous among the young crowd (heartbreak being a universal theme). Now, the young ones (mostly yuppies) are going to the places where the film was shot, including the Cafe where they took coffee. Lol. All in all, good for local tourism. Nowadays, you cant go hiking or caving w/o a guide. Tourism is now regulated. I think that's good bcos if u allow ppl to just hike, they might get lost & it will be a problwm for the local govt. Place will get a bad rep too. Back in 2009, my friend was able to go to some places w/o a guide. -frm fone, sorry 4 typos.

Will make a thread on Sagada when my muscles have recovered & I don't walk like an old woman anymore. Note to self: before going caving, must jog uphill & do pushups + pullups!  :Razz:

----------


## katie23

My muscles have recovered from my Sagada weekend hiking + caving adventure, so I'm in a better mood to post pics.  :Smile: 

Currency in Myanmar: they use bills, not coins. Denominations are in 5000, 1000, 500, 200, 100 & 50. (I didn't have a 100 bill when I took pics). During that time, 1 usd ~ 1,170 kyat (pronounced as "cha" or "chat"). In my experience, you can pay hotels in usd or kyat, but they'll give you the change in kyat. As for taxis & small stores, they used kyat. An acquaintance said that in the hotels where they ate, the prices in the menu were quoted in usd. One ordinary meal in the hotel cost 14 usd (for them - I didn't eat at hotels downtown).

----------


## katie23

Peecoffee asked me about how large or heavy my backpack was, so here it is. I think this weighed 6.5 kg at that time (when I weighed it at the airport). This was my room at OK Hotel in Mawlamyine. It's a single room, no bathroom inside (shared b/r). It was a small room and the room/hotel which I liked the least during this trip. I wasn't expecting a palace (since I believe you get what you pay for), but it was more exp (and less amenities) than my room in Yangon or those in Thailand.

----------


## katie23

Some scenes from the balcony of the hotel (public balcony, not in my room).

I woke up early and was able to see the sunrise. The sunrise was good, while the surrounding buildings, not so much.

 

The hotel was near the Than Lwin river.


I'm an "early bird" and my body clock woke me up at my usual time for going to the office, even though I was on holiday. It was quite frustrating sometimes. lol But since I was awake already, I got up and took pics (both in Mawlamyine & Yangon).

----------


## katie23

This ongoing construction was across OK Hotel

----------


## katie23



----------


## katie23

@dillinger - thanks for the lurv  :Smile: 

@fishlocker - yeah, it was sad to see all that rubbish on the rivers and streets... 
but then, Myanmar is not alone in having a problem with plastic & rubbish...

More of OK Hotel

----------


## katie23

Shared toilet & shower rooms (squat toilet - ugh!)

----------


## katie23

Went out and took pics of the surrounds





If you have more $$, I would recommend the Ngwe Moe (sp?) hotel - looked nice from the outside. Another one which had good reviews is Cinderella hotel in Mawlamyine.

----------


## katie23

Most buildings had generators because of frequent power interruptions.

----------


## katie23

Pics from Strand Road, which is parallel to the river.

----------


## katie23

This stage was set up for some dancing & water throwing later on



First time that I've seen this brand of soft drinks

----------


## katie23

These boats brought people across the river



That's all for now. To be continued...

----------


## katie23

Hi all, I'll revive this thread with a few pics since there's been a renewed interest in Myanmar (or Burma).  I've been busy with life, work, and other travels the past months. If you've viewed my Puerto Galera thread, then that's where I last traveled to, mid September.  

Anyway, on with the pics of Myan maa (or that's how it was pronounced by my taxi driver). He spoke English very well - he's an electrical engineer by training but now drives a shared taxi. His daughter, who's in university and whom I met later, speaks English well too.

These are some pics of Strand Road, near the OK Hotel. Hope my net cooperates.

----------


## katie23

I didn't eat street food in Myanmar, since I was afraid of tummy trouble. Some noodle sellers serve the food by hand...


These ladies seem to have overdosed on thanaka (they use it for sunscreen & beautification).

----------


## katie23

This area was near a market, so people were arriving to sell their goods.

----------


## katie23

This is the boat where most of the people came from. Maybe it's similar to the boat which capsized recently. Overcrowding and poor maintenance of vehicles is an issue all over SEA, not just in Myanmar.

----------


## katie23

This was my 2nd day in Mawlamyine, and the 2nd day of Thingyan (Songkran) too. The taxi driver, K, and his wife, M, invited me to have breakfast with them (bcos maybe they thought I was a nice person, heh!) and also maybe bcos I was their first Filipina guest ever.  K said that all his other foreign passengers were Westerners. 

K picked me up from my hotel, then we went to his house to pick up his wife and kids. I thought we would eat at their house, but they brought me to a restaurant. Along the way to his house, K stopped the car (a Toyota Probox, similar in size to the Avanza) and showed me these people making dough balls. 




They roll the flour (sticky rice flour) in their hands, put a cube of brown sugar inside.  Roll it into a ball, then drop the balls into boiling water. Then dust with grated coconut. It's similar to a snack at home (in PI), which is called "palitaw".

----------


## katie23

I liked the dress of this young lady, very colorful!  :Smile:  (not colourful, heh)

(I was taught US English, so to the UK-English snobs, just bear with it! Heh!)

----------


## katie23

The lady became shy later on


More people making the sticky rice balls. They made it as an offering and gave it to people (like me) for free.  :Smile:

----------


## katie23

I heard K (the driver) tell the women, Philippine blah3x, so I guess he told them where I was from. I was probably the first Filipina/o that they encountered, in that village. Myanmar is not a popular destination for tourists from the PI, partly because of the visa requirement. Since the need for a visa (for Filipinos) has been lifted recently, that may change in the near future. 

Anyway, we went back to the car to pick up his family. I saw a group of monks about to go on their day.


More monks (but this was taken in another place, on the way to the resto)

----------


## katie23

Before going to the resto, we went to a temple. Here's the exterior.


People praying, including my host K and his family.

----------


## katie23

Here's the altar - very gold and glittery.


Temple halls




This wasn't in an affluent neighborhood. What amazes is that even in places where the people are poor, the places of worship are always very glittery - be it Buddhist, Christian or Muslim. Same same but different. Who was it that said "religion is the opium of the masses"? Was it Karl Marx?

----------


## david44

Thanks Katie great stories and pix

----------


## katie23

Exterior of the temple - view of the river


Many more pointy glittery stuff.  Are these stupas, chedis or whatever?

----------


## katie23

After the temple, it was time to go to the resto for a traditional brekky. Saw a Hindu temple along the way.

----------


## katie23

Saw a Hindu procession too!


Some of those guys had nice butts. Heh!  :Wink:

----------


## katie23

Saw a Protestant (or Anglican) church. I liked the diversity of religions in this city.


Trucks and men wearing the longyi (traditional dress for men)

----------


## katie23

At last, we arrived at the resto. It was quite full for breakfast - must be popular.


These are the sticky rice balls, together with cold rice soup & fish (traditional breakfast in Mawlamyine, accdg to my host).

----------


## katie23

I also got to taste 2 types of noodle dishes. This one's made of egg noodles.


This one's made of rice noodles with some type of crackling; reminded me of chicharon (pork skin crackling). It doesn't look much, but I liked the taste of this better than the egg noodle dish.

----------


## katie23

This was my host, K and his family. Very nice people.  Mawlamyine wasn't much of a city, but my visit was made memorable because of their hospitality and kindness. I hope I can visit Mawlamyine again and see them.

----------


## katie23

Before we left the resto, I needed to use the loo. Here's a pic for all ya pervs.  :Wink:

----------


## katie23

After brekky, my hosts brought me to a viewpoint. Passed by this along the way - Parami Motel. It's near the railway station, but far from the city center. I wouldn't recommend staying in this place - not accessible, unless you had a car or motorbike (or you'll have to take a taxi or tuktuk).

----------


## katie23

This is where we went to - the Viewpoint.


There were other families out for the day.

----------


## katie23

Great views  :Smile: 


If you look closely, there's a bridge - that's the entrance to the city of Mawlamyine.

----------


## katie23

Panorama pic

----------


## katie23

My hosts enjoying the view

----------


## katie23

This temple was across the viewpoint


Other temples

----------


## snakeeyes

*Katie where's the beer and vodka , 
*

----------


## katie23

I'll end this posting period with a pic of my hosts. Great people with good hearts.  :Smile: 


That's all for now. To be continued...

----------


## beerlaodrinker

Great stuff (as usual) makes me wanna book a flight

----------


## katie23

@david44 - thanks for the greet. I don't get a poem from your poetic self? Lol!

@snakey - at this point in my journey (Mawlamyine), I was a teetotaler. In Vientiane, I did taste the famous Beer Lao, and in Yangon, I tasted Myanmar beer, so watch out for that! I'm not too much of an alco-drinker, so no drunken binges here! Heh...  :Razz: 

@bld - thanks for the luv. Quick, book that flight so we can have another pic thread from you! Don't forget the moobs for patsy!  :Wink:

----------


## Phuketrichard

the Mandalay Beer ( i love beer lao and feel its better  :-) ) is great as is the Mandalay Rum with soda and lime

Heading back next month

----------


## bobo746

Great pics katie i haven't seen this thread before

----------


## katie23

@p.richard - I wasn't able to try Mandalay beer. Hopefully, in my next visit I'll be able to check out Mandalay, Bagan & Naypitaw (sp?)

@bobo - thanx for the greet. This thread was buried under the rubbish, so it didn't get much airtime.  There are lots more pics from this trip which I haven't shown. But then, I'm a busy gal & my net is &%!, but will try to post more pics in the next few days. 

Thanks for all the greens! :-)

----------


## Gazza

Nice pix and nice to see people wearing the longyi. I can always tells who the young Burmese kids are in Thailand as they seem to favour wearing skin-tight drain-pipe jeans.
 :Smile:

----------


## katie23

@Gazza - most of the ppl who wear the longyi are the middle-aged or old ones. I've noticed that the young ppl prefer to wear Western clothes. I saw many of them with smartphones and they're also into the net & FB. Maybe in a generation, only a few ppl will wear traditional clothes as everyday wear. (which I find a bit sad) Traditional clothes will be relegated to ceremonies and such, but that's progress and modernization.... 

Anyway, here are more scenes from Mawlamyine.


A day/morning market. Pic taken from inside the car.

----------


## katie23

This is a school


Road going to the bus station

----------


## katie23

I mentioned to my hosts that I wanted to go to Yangon by night train. Since it was Thingyan (Songkran), the trains were not operational. They brought me to the bus station instead, to buy a ticket in advance. Here's entering the bus station...


At the bus station

----------


## katie23

Just like any bus station, there are stores selling food & drinks.


The lady who sold the ticket... quite pretty  :Wink: 


This is the bus company

----------


## katie23

Another school


When we were headed to the restaurant for breakfast, I saw 2 churches, a Protestant and a Catholic one. So on the way back, I asked if we could drop by the Catholic church. I wanted to drop by and have a look (and a lil prayer for my safe travels). The previous night, there was an earthquake in northern Myanmar, which was also felt in India. It so happened that the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge were in N. India at that time, so the earthquake got some news coverage. I was a bit scared re: the earthquake (if you'll see my other, non-pic thread). Fortunately, Mawlamyine wasn't affected by the EQ. 

So anyway, here's the exterior of the church.

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## katie23

This was different from all the churches that I've seen - there were no chairs or pews! The altar was very simple too - not ornate or glittery. I saw clearly that Christianity is not the main religion in this place.

No comments about the Catholic church please. I'm not very devout but am still a believer, so please respect that!

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## katie23

That building beside the church is a technical-vocational school. 


With my hosts. Please DO NOT QUOTE this post!

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## katie23

That church was very near a Hindu temple. I liked how the different religions/temples coexisted in the same street!

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## katie23

On the way back to the hotel, we passed by the city's Chinatown. Saw a shop collecting plastic bottles.


This area was Chinatown, accdg to my hosts.


Saw a Chinese temple too

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## katie23

Going back to the city center. Saw a lot of advertisements for Oppo & Vivo phones. Both are from China. Didn't see any Apple advertisement, but I saw a Samsung one.

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## katie23

After the wonderful breakfast and tour, I was brought back to my hotel. These are the hotel staff and manager.


After resting for a bit in my room, it was time to head out again for new adventures.

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## katie23

More of the river - water was very murky.


There was a lot of rubbish along the riverbank.  :Sad:

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## katie23

Saw these punks about to head out


Water station is ready

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## katie23

Pork anyone?


More water stations

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## katie23

Saw these Indian teens selling samosas and fruits


This one was very pretty

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## katie23

Drinks anyone?


More ladies selling street food

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## katie23

Water festival in full swing  :bananaman:

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## katie23

This was around noon, so lunchtime for these folks


These are my homeboys and gals  :Very Happy: 


That's all for now. To be continued...

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## katie23

Have some spare time and will try to continue this thread if 'net cooperates...

Street food with a punk


Streetfood with a more traditional guy

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## katie23

Fried prawns, anyone?


Salted eggs on sticks

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## katie23

Lots of condensed milk here


More homeboys (and a gal)

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## katie23

More street food


Popcorn, anyone?


Drat, my net is crap again. Until next time...

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## BaitongBoy

Eeyah!...I'm hungry, Katie!...Great job...Love your pics...

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## beerlaodrinker

Saturday morning saw me down the once a year WIG bazar (women's international group) it's a charity made up by bored housewives of miners and NGOs all the embassy's had turned up to sell there traditional food, and I left fully pissed ( Blurtered) new word?with a bunch of takeaways from about 6 different Asian nations, I wasn't disapointed either, even got some pancit and some of pampangas best Tocino, from the the lovely ladies at D flip embassy stall.your pics remind me of that day, from what I can remember.

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## katie23

@bb & bld - yeah, since it was songkran/ thingyan, there were lots of food on the streets. I wasn't brave enough to taste them, though. Didn't want to get tummy trouble.  

Re: pampanga's best tocino, yes, it's good. One of the leading brands. From a simple home business to nationwide distribution. Nice success story. I don't eat it often though - trying to decrease processed food intake.

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## Phuketrichard

just back from a 10 day motorcycle Adventure thru the Chin state
an amazing trip thru the mountains.
Photos to follow after a 1 week or so waiting period.

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## Phuketrichard

one of the many routes we had to ride,down to the river and than back up, repeated over and over again on our 1,600 kms ride thru the chin state.
 Thru mud,an hard/soft packed dirt.  



In Mindat in Southern Chin state resides the last remaining Tattooed chin ladies.  Tattooing of the face was prohibited by the government back in the late 60's, so all the ladies you see are in their 50's and older.  



Will start my own thread later when i am done tagging and editing the 12 gigs i shot on my 11 day trip

Love Burma, so unlike any other country in se asia

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## biff

Hi Phuketrichard..nice photo's...could you please tell me what bike you road..thanks

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## katie23

^^thanks phuketrichard for sharing your pics. Will look forward to your thread/pics when you've done processing them. Cheers!

Btw, just curious. Did you bring your motorbike from Th & cross via land border? Is that allowed - to bring a bike across? Or did you enter by air then rent a bike there?

Did you also see those tribes with long neck rings?

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## Phuketrichard

imade a huge mistake and ONLY rented a chinese honda dream copy, my companion took a 125 dirt bike. that the one to do it on.

You can take ur own bke in BUT it costs, need a permit, need hire a guide an dhe has to have his own transport ( NOT a Bike)  cost around $1,500 for 10 days
 I rented from Zach at    Mandalay Motorbike Rental and Tours    have done a few trips with his bikes
I will NOT go see the Padaung ( kayan) ladies as they are treated very bad in burma and in thaland treated like their a circus act.

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## Phuketrichard

newest album is up,  Richard Reitman Photography | Motorbike trip thru the Chin state

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## katie23

^thanks for sharing your pics w/ the link, Richard. Just saw the thumbnails 'cos my net is bad now. Will view them again later. Cheers!

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## katie23

^^ I've seen your recent pics, Richard, and not just the thumbnails. Very beautiful and interesting pics.  You've captured the scenes of daily life in the Chin state, including the muddy roads! Have you ever thought of sharing or writing for news outlets like CNN or BBC travel? 

Anyway, I'll try to post a few more pics again, as long as my net cooperates.

This was my lunch for that day in Mawlamyine... chicken fried noodles and Myanmar beer. 



These were the prices, in case anyone's interested.  1000 kyat ~ 1 usd

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## katie23

In my walk around the city, I saw a mosque. 



It was a Sunni mosque. I liked how the different religions coexisted in Myanmar - Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim -  I saw different places of worship. However, I know that religious tensions exist in some parts, and there's the issue of the Rohingya, but I won't go into that.

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## katie23

Drinks cart


First time that I've seen this type of reddish bananas (no pun intended, heh)

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## katie23

Mom & pop store. At home, this would be called a "sari-sari" store. Same-same...


Ladies preparing noodles

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## katie23

Cable TV provider



Dealer of cars.... free advert for them.. heh  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## katie23

As I approached the market once again, I saw this advert for Oppo phones. I also saw Oppo phones in Kuala Lumpur, Udon Thani & Manila.  I first saw the advert for Vivo phones in Myanmar.  When I got back in April, I asked colleagues if Vivo phones were marketed here - they said that they've never heard of it. However, around Aug or Sept, I saw a product launch of Vivo phones in a mall here (in PI) - they're android and cheaper than Samsung or Apple. 



Fruit stall in the market


There was a small temple at the market

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## katie23

After my lunch and a short rest, I teamed up with a couple of backpackers from my hotel. We went to the nearby township of Mudon to see the giant reclining Buddha.  

They initially needed a car/driver to go to Bago(sp?), but since it was Thingyan (songkran), vehicles were limited.  They ended up phoning the taxi driver (my host for breakfast).  The driver recommended taking a bus to Yangon instead, and from Yangon, to take another bus to Bago.  I ended up taking the same night bus to Yangon with this couple - very nice and friendly.  After the couple bought their tickets for the bus, there was still spare time, so we ended up hiring the driver to take us to the giant Buddha.  Win-win for all of us!  :Smile:

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## katie23

On the way to the Buddha, we stopped for petrol. (1000 k ~ 1 usd)


Nice smile from gasoline girl  :Smile:

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## katie23

During that day, different groups of people had different color motifs. Some wore red, yellow, green, black, etc.  This group wore red.


More gangstas  :Smile:   The building is a mausoleum for a famous monk, which we visited later.

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## katie23

Panorama shot

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## katie23

These girls were more traditionally dressed and saw them taking pics with their new phone.  
I noticed a lot of teens/young adults with cellphones.



There's another Buddha which is under construction. It'll be bigger and better, according to my host-driver-guide.  
You can see the beginnings of the face of the Buddha.

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## katie23

Start of ascent to Buddha no. 1. That's the Brazilian girl that I traveled with for the day. She's half black/white, and was traveling with her Swedish bf. She went to Sweden for studies, and speaks Portuguese, English & Swedish - it's great! They're a very nice couple - good folks.  Walking with her is our driver-guide.

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## baldrick

> There's another Buddha which is under construction


looks like a chinese style tourist attraction

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## katie23

Some views from the top of the Buddha


Peace be with you  :Smile:

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## katie23

Another panorama pic

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## katie23

View of the back of Buddha's head. That's the Swedish bf - the other half of the Brazilian-Swedish couple.


These were our guides:  the driver and his wife. Good folks too.  :Smile:

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## katie23

> looks like a chinese style tourist attraction


I didn't see any Chinese tour group in that city. Mawlamyine is not really a destination for foreign tourists, I think.  Most of the people that I saw in that place were locals.  The Brazilian girl was mobbed for photo requests from young ones. Maybe it's the first time that the locals saw someone with Afro hair.  The Swedish guy was also asked for some photo ops.  I didn't get any photo requests in that place - sad! Lol. Prolly bcos I looked local.  :Razz: 

Phuketrichard said that he never got mobbed for photo ops in Myanmar.  Perhaps because he's not a young backpacker anymore.  :Smile:  I also saw other young foringga couples being asked for photo ops in Yangon.

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## katie23

Buddha's eyelashes... they're made of rebar.  :Smile: 


There are some small chedis (?) scattered on the hillside.


From wikipedia
Win Sein reclining buddha at Mudon: 29 km south of Mawlamyine is the world's largest reclining Buddha at Mudon. It is approached by a roadway with 500 life size statues of Arahant disciples of Buddha and a hall whose chamber walls display scenes of Buddha's lifetime, and the underworld.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mawlam...uddha_at_Mudon

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## katie23

Inside the Buddha, there are scenes about the underworld and about Buddha's life


Did Buddha have many women? I don't know much of his life story as I've forgotten  much of my Asian studies/history.

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## katie23

There's also a place inside the Buddha where people can buy/donate tiles to continue the construction of the place. The floor of the place was plain cement in some areas and I guess the monks want tiled floors.

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## katie23

There were lion guards outside to protect the place  :Wink: 


This is the mausoleum for the monk who started this place.. notice the queue...

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## katie23

So we went inside and saw some folks praying


This was a statue of the monk, the one who founded the place.

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## katie23

There's a place at the back where people can bathe.  Separate areas for women & men.


After touring the giant buddha, it was time to head for the bus station and the night bus to Yangon. But first, a quick feed at a roadside eatery.  I think that was curried chicken and some veggies.

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## katie23

This was the night bus to Yangon. VIP bus, 3 seats per row. I think it was 13 usd for the 6h trip.


The seats could be reclined, and I had a good sleep.  They woke us up halfway in case we needed a feed (duh!) or use the loo. I used the loo.  It was a squat toilet, sorry no pics as I was too sleepy.  Heh.


Yangon pics to follow, I haven't resized & uploaded them to PB. To be continued...cheers!

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## BaitongBoy

> Buddha's eyelashes... they're made of rebar.


Might catch on, eh Katie?...Would last your whole trip, but may be tough on the bedsheets...

Great pics once again...

Cheers...

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## Phuketrichard

thanks for the story line.
i love seeing what new comers to Burma choose to photograph, I have been so many times now, ( that plus living in Thailand so long), its all normal

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## katie23

^cheers, Richard. Temples and Buddhas are not common sights for me, but churches and grottos are. Same same but different. Sometimes I get "templed out" too.

Will try to post pics from my Yangon trip last year. Let's see if my crappy net holds.

Grrrr. The links aren't working and my net is @#$%%. Better luck next time...  :Sad:

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## katie23

Ok, let's see if my net allows me to post pics this time. 

This was my room in Yangon, ~25 USD, Myint Myat Guesthouse. 


It had a/c and I even had my own television! 


And it had a Western toilet! Yay! I HATE squat toilets - I should buy the "shewee" if I travel again to the mainland. Heh.  :Very Happy:

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## katie23

The staff allowed me to check-in early. I think I arrived before 7am, as I had just arrived in Yangon from Mawlamyine via the night bus. I was also given breakfast - simple, but was okay for me.  :Smile: 


The GH was on the 9th floor (8/F for the Brits) of a commercial building. The views from the common area (reception + dining) were nice.

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## katie23

These pics were taken later during the day, after I had rested. More views.


Trucks carrying water-crazed ppl - it was songkran/thingyan.  :Smile: 


Panorama view

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## katie23

This was my lunch - fried egg noodles w/ chicken. Not the best fried noodles that I've had, as the noodles were soggy. The GH was in a residential area, around 25 min from the center/ Sule pagoda.


I was eating quietly on my own, then the staff, who were having a drink during their off-time, invited me to join them. These guys were very kind and accommodating, and could speak good English. I later learned that two of them were Christians (not Buddhist) - they had Christian/Western names, which I thought were just nicknames. Turned out that those were their real/baptized names. 

Please DO NOT QUOTE this post.

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## BaitongBoy

Cheers, Katie...Didn't know "veils" were mandatory there...Heh...

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## katie23

Afterwards, the guys (and their GFs) invited me to go to the city center with them, to watch some of the festivities. So we all took a taxi to Sule Pagoda. This is Central Mall,  near Sule Pagoda (taken from the taxi). 


Sule Pagoda, as taken from the taxi

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## katie23

some  locals trying to make a buck or two


They had set up a stage in this area.. some teens doing native dances


Quite pretty they were  :Smile:

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## katie23

There were water hoses and sprinklers all around the place


In that same plaza, there was a church

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## katie23

Another set of dancers


Very graceful young ladies

Shortly after watching this dance, I left the place as I had gotten soaked from the water sprinklers and I was worried that the stuff in my handbag (electronics and papers) would get wet. 

to be continued...

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## global2016

terima kasih

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## katie23

^Sama-sama.  :Smile:  

I noticed the thread bump. Unfortunately all the pix are gone, due to the Photobucket purge a few months ago. However, I hope some of the info here will still be useful. 

To get to Myanmar, I crossed the border at Mae Sot/ Myawaddy. In Mae Sot, I stayed at Baan Maitee / Maitree Guesthouse. Pre-booked via agoda. Was ~550B, with double bed, TV, toilet, A/C & simple breakfast of omelet with rice or toast + coffee. Took a taxi to the border (100B), got stamped out and crossed the Friendship bridge on foot.

At Myawaddy, I took a shared taxi to Mawlamyine (30 usd, I think). Journey takes 4-6h. Buses weren't available at that time due to Songkran. 

Most ASEAN nationals can enter Myanmar w/o a visa (by land or air) and can stay for 14 days. Thais can enter w/o visa by air. Other nationalities can get a pre-approved e-visa. 

In other blogs that I've read, they were able to explore the border town of Myawaddy by getting a day pass. You'll have to leave your passport w/ them in exchange for the day pass and pay a small fee.

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