Day 7-10: Massages, Scooters, Bagan Pagodas, Inle Lake
Day 7
Sarah landed safe and sound. We got our best deal for a taxi yet! The strategy of picking up a taxi from the departures gate has proved amazingly successful. Our Myanmar parents took us out for Chinese buffet lunch at a 5 star hotel. It's been a very interesting juxtaposition to flip between staying at hostels and working with other backpackers to get the best deals, and living in the lap of luxury.
I can definitely see myself enjoying a more comfortable style of travel in the future. I'm glad to be able to enjoy the "roughing it" approach today, and hope I will remember these experiences in the future, knowing the day to day experience a "young person" wearing a hiking backpack is going through. What stands out most for me in this travel is to adventure and challenge of the logistics. It's not just about seeing something new, it's about figuring out how to get bus tickets for that location when talking with someone who does not speak your language. It's about breaking through communication barriers, and connecting with people over simple things. It's about meeting other globe trotters and exchanging thoughts, ideas and experiences. This isn't possible when staying at a hotel and having concierge or travel agents take care of logistics. I'm sure there will be a whole new set of experiences that open up though.
We went to soju market after lunch, and then walked over to Shewadagan temple so that Sarah could make a visit. Enjoyed a beautiful sunset at the pagoda and did some good people watching.
We were able to get some foot massages in the way home. Our masseurs spoke very limited English, but we were able to share some laughs as we tried to communicate names and interests.
Day 8
We booked bus tickets to leave for Bagan in the evening, and went down to a travel agent to find the cheapest/ easiest way for Adam W to get back to Yangon from inle lake, and for Sarah and I to make our way to Laos. Sarah and I got flights for $90USD each into Eastern Myanmar, and will take the bus into Thailand and then into Laos. Our alternative would have cost an extra $300USD and cost 20hours of transit time, so this will be a good opportunity to see the Thai landscape!
We then went for some awesome full body massages ($8CAD/hr each) before our Burmese cooking class. Our Myanmar mom pulled some strings and we ended up in a personal class with a chef of 20years learning to cook a traditional Marangue fish dish. There is usually a wait list of several months! The experience was awesome and the food fantastic!!
We got back home and had some delicious home cooked food before heading for the bus station. The bus was extremely comfortable. It was the classiest transportation method I've ever enjoyed. Fully reclining seats with leg rests and individual TVs. Amazing!!
Day 9
We arrive to Bagan early in the morning (6am). We rented some scooters and went down to a local joint for some breakfast. It seems that fried egg toast means French toast! Fantastic find!
Took our scooters around to visit the temples in the area. Most of them have no entrance fee, and no control. You're able to explore anywhere as you wish. It's not quite the usual experience while travelling, but I think this might be one of the advantages of getting to a country relatively early in its tourism lifecycle.
We stopped in a small little village and got a tour from a very outgoing 12-year old girl with an absolutely fantastic haircut! The villages are self sufficient, they grow their own beans, cottons and peanuts. A 93-year old lady with a beautifully creased face taught me how to make thread from the cotton they grow. They also roll their own cigars with bananas leaves and tobacco. They were quite impressed with my "O's".
We left the village tour and travelled down a back road to a temple that one of the locals suggested for a sunset view. It was still a bit early so after exploring around we went to a very western, very fancy hotel for lunch. It was a nice glimpse into the comfortable travel style... Pools, bungalows, and amazing views. It was a nice change of pace from the backpacker hostel, roadside restaurant style we've been used to.
We made it back to our temple for sunset and had a post card perfect view of pagodas, temples and forests. The evening was super relaxing and laid back. Some fantastic picture taking opportunities too!
Darkness falls quite quickly once the sun goes down, and we had dinner at a local outdoor side of the street place. All of these places have a TV, and the vibe is like a family room, with people from the community coming to watch movies together. We watched "I still know what you did last summer" while smoking some local cigars after dinner.
Day 10
We got up early to watch the sunrise. We decided to go to one of the spots marked on our map. The temple was quite tall, and filled with other tourists. It was a completely different experience from the sunset the previous day. After another great set of pictures, we headed to the bus station to head out to Inle Lake. The bus took all day and went through a mountain pass, the views were quite striking. It was actually worth travelling during the day to see the country side.
There was a festival happening at Inle Lake and the town was over flowing with locals. As we walked around in the evening there was a definite Calgary stampede vibe to the place. A lot of inebriated people being loud and rowdy. A lot of them were dressed quite fashionably; off-center tilted caps, tight jeans, fake leather jackets...
Some nice dinner, and a confusing chaotic walk home and we got home for the night!
Day 11 (lake your), 12 (sleep in, massages and winery tour), 13 (Mandalay tour) are coming up!
We are flying from Mandalay to Keng Tung (eastern Myanmar) tomorrow morning!