Before you go
At the time of writing this you are required to apply for an E-Visa before entry. The website was buggy for me with multiple browsers refusing to acknowledge the drop down menu selections. I eventually realised success with Internet Explorer whereas my travel buddy got it to work on her iPhone. You will be asked to pay $50 and upload a passport photo to complete your application. I paid $6 extra for the express tourist visa and received approval within 10 minutes.
There really is no need to bring USD despite the information on the internet. There were ATMs in all the places we stopped off in. You can also purchase a tourist sim card in the arrivals lounge. There are a number of packages available, I opted for the 5GB with call credit for 6500 kyatt and it lasted me until Yangon.
Accommodation Options
During our stay we came to appreciate the Ostello Bello hostel group, with hostels in Mandalay, Bagan and Inle Lake. The one in Bagan has a pool, although it was closed for maintenance when I stayed, which I would highly recommend after a day of temple-ing. These hostels are some of the best I have stayed in catering to all the needs of a backpacker, a great breakfast, charging ports everywhere, travel desk, free tours (do have the courtesy to tip your guide if you avail of a free tour), toiletries, laundry, entertainment such as beer pong or movie night and even super comfortable day beds for those with an early check in or late check out.
Before our trek we stayed in Kalaw as the starting point of our trek was located here. The Pine Hill Resort has a heated swimming pool (Kalaw is at a higher elevation) and is set in beautiful mountain and forest surroundings. The staff are incredibly accommodating and there are even omelette chefs at the buffet breakfast. We paid less than $60 for one night.
In Yangon we chose accommodation close to the airport due to the limited time we had available between flights. The Inya Lake Hotel is a higher end choice of accommodation and cost us just under $100 for one night. The swimming pool is colossal and views of the lake spectacular.
Mandalay
Our first night in Mandalay, we were pretty beat from travelling and an early start so after showers and naps we walked to the Chinese night market where we ate a noodle hotpot and steamed fish with a couple of cold local beers for just 14,500 kyatt (around $10). We felt very safe walking around at night and with the local custom of honking as a warning to others, there was no fear of us straying into the path of a passing scooter.
Our first full day in Mandalay had us rising at 4am to go to the viewing point at Mandalay Hill to watch the sunrise. You will be asked for 1000 kyatt (around 70 cents) to enter here. On the way down we visited Kuthodaw Pagoda where the worlds largest book is housed in multiple stone tablets ensconced in their very own little white shrines.
After breakfast and a mini power nap our driver returned for us at 9 am and we left for some more sights via a gold leaf workshop and silk factory. At the gold leaf factory we watched as the workers pounded away at some gold sandwiched between bamboo paper and leather for 30 mins. This cycle was repeated multiple times to obtain the desired result. Of course, at the end of this little tour you are taken to the showroom to browse their products which included jewelry, hair accessories and 24 karat face cream at $50 a pop! The silk factory was a lesson in pre industrial revolution working life and watching the workers on their wooden looms weaving intricate patterns makes you reflect on how disconnected we have become from what we consume. As with the previous workshop you are ushered to a showroom where you can purchase all manner of silk clothing such as scarves from $15 upwards.
Weaving looms 
Weaving silk scarves 
24 karat cheek!
The big ticket Instagram pic location is Mingun white temple and if you want some stunning photography you will coordinate your outfit for colour contrast. The clear winner for temple outfits was P-Riddy in her coral and white ensemble.
Our day trip included all the temples, a tourist zone pass is required at 5000 kyatt and gives you access to all the main sights. It cost us 70,000 kyatt (less than $50) for our driver and air conditioned private taxi, we could have gotten a tuk-tuk for 50,000 but to be honest with the temperature in the mid 30’s we were truly grateful for the cool relief in between sights. With only one full day in Mandalay this was also the best option to get in all the possible sights in such a short space of time.
Doomed businesses which went under 
Our ride for 5000 kyatt 
Iconic U Bein Bridge
To get to Bagan we had wanted to take the slow boat which I am told offers great river views. Being low season we took the sleeper train instead. For only 4000 kyatt (less than $3) each we got a 2-berth bunk to Bagan. The train was the only mode of transport we couldn’t book through an agent or online. For tickets you need to go to the departure train station and purchase your ticket no more than 3 days in advance. The experience was a good one, and although the sleeper is basic and looks like it gets a cursory clean, it was comfortable. There is a ceiling fan which oscillates and the windows are best left open for ventilation. I strongly suggest opting for the bottom bunk as the positioning of the fan makes for a perfect redirect of bugs entering the window to jettison onto the top bunk, generally at about face level.
Bagan: Temples Galore
The view from Tower Hill (resort)
In low season, ballooning to see the vast expanse of temples scattered below you on a lush carpet of foliage, is unfortunately not an option. In high season this activity will set you back around $350 for a 45 minute flight. Having viewed the temples at sunset from the Viewing Tower (7,500 kyatt approx $5USD admission), however, I can imagine that a balloon is the optimum experience to grasp the expanse of history dotted beneath you.
To get around the sights on the ground you can rent an E-bike. These bizarre machines look like a scooter but reach a top speed of 35-40 (really though?) kmph. It feel like someone shrunk them ever so slightly and all my limbs and body parts felt comically just a little off scale to operate it comfortably. Take it from someone who did not – check the horn and brakes work and the wing mirrors stay in position when you drive. I paid 7000 kyatt (around $5) for a full day’s rental but was quoted 4000 for a day by another rental agency so it may pay to shop around or bargain.
I challenge even the hardest history nerd to not get templed out in Bagan. We had the benefit of a free tour through the hostel but with the relentless heat I found it incredibly difficult to focus on the information being imparted to us. The tourist fee for Bagan is 25,000 kyatt (less than $17), although our guide was at great pains to tell us only the main temples have checkpoints and if you avoid the main entrances you may not have to pay this fee. Although Myanmar has opened up to tourism in recent years, it is not, as yet, over touristed. This may be set for change though as the talk of becoming a visa free county for certain foreign nationals.
We had inquired at our hostel about renting motorbikes but were told that foreigners cannot obtain a permit and therefore rent. However, we met with a Ukrainian man at Mingun who had, in fact, rented from an expat in Mandalay and was told that so long as he didn’t get into trouble and cooperated with police if stopped there shouldn’t be any issue. Yegor also told of some backpackers he meet who recounted that it is still possible to go off the beaten track and end up in a village where the locals scatter upon the sight of a foreigner walking through the streets. I myself found myself the recipient of many photo requests. My favorite must be the family who all squatted close to our tour group to watch as our guide gave us a mini history lesson. Soon the oldest matriarch came and gestured her wish to take a photo and over the next 20 minutes she encouraged various family members and total stranger’s kids to do the same before we dispersed, she returned proudly with a beaming smile to show me the laminated printout of the photo she had taken. It was such an adorable moment of innocent curiosity and connection and it tickles me to imagine it being displayed in her home and the stories which may accompany it told from her perspective that day. Be prepared to have your five minutes of fame if you are light skinned, with fair hair and blue eyes!
I can personally recommend the food in Unforgettable and Moon Restaurant, with a plethora of flavorful side dishes, in the first, and a green mango salad, in the second, which made me forget my love and fidelity to Thai papaya salad as soon as it touched my lips. I had read less than complimentary reviews of Burmese food but honestly did not get a single bad meal in my week stay. Burmese food has borrowed a lot of it’s flavors from nearby counties; Indian curries, coconut rice, stir fried noodles and tables are adorned with pickled chillis to add a little fire if so you desire.
Trekking: Kalaw to Inle Lake
A 6 hour 15,000 kyatt ($10 USD) minibus ride takes you to the higher and therefore cooler town of Kalaw and brings some reprieve from the heat. After our experience in the extremely cramped minibus I would recommend taking the less frequent yet larger bus for the sake of your knees and buttocks. The Pine Hill resort is a little slice of luxury with a heated pool, breakfast buffet to salivate over, complete with omelette chefs and real freshly brewed coffee and the most attentive staff I had seen so far in the trip. Admittedly this could be due to low season but I couldn’t help but giggle as after asking for directions to the bar at reception, we arrived a moment later to be greeted by all the reception staff and the bar staff to take our order. Don’t expect any great shakes (excuse the pun) in the cocktail department however, you will not be getting any hipster level mixology here despite the impressive looking drinks menu.
Our 2 day 1 night trek was organised through Jungle King trekking, although there are no shortage of trekking agencies in Kalaw. We took a tuk-tuk to Lamang village where you can buy rain cover and snacks at the market and began our walk. Our guide took us through fields of crops including corn, potato, avocados, chillis, ginger, tomatoes and rice terraces, we would pass families working the land, ploughing with oxen drawn ploughs, children would grin and wave calling “Meng-kla-bah” as we passed.
Spot the water buffalo
We learned from our guide that these striking white cows are cantankerous and averse to the smell of foreigners doused in suncreams and mosquito repellent. We followed his lead as he gave then a wide berth whilst they eyeballed us evilly, flicking their tails with malice and impatiently stamping their feet. We were almost upon two water buffalo living up to their names as they were all but submerged in a muddy pool. With barely an hour to go to our lodgings for the night, we stopped at a bamboo and stone hut which served as the local convenience store. Delighted to have a cold beer after walking in the sun, we kicked back at the tables while a group of young French men joined us, a guitar appeared from inside the shop and before long, there were beers, musical requests and songs in full flow.
The sleeping arrangements at the 80 year old wooden monastery were basic with mats, pillows and blankets. The shower facilities are even more basic, there is a stone roofless outhouse around the back where you scoop water from a stone trough to bathe. Toilets are of the squatter variety. There is little need for an alarm click as the monastary cats enjoy tearing around in the pre dawn hours skirting your head and feet as they play catch. If the cats haven’t roused you, then the young monks most certainly will. Any notions I had of melodic chanting akin to the kind which accompanies 90s trance music were quite literally shattered by a cacophony of tuneless and unsynchronised yelling… clearly those chants are the work of older more practiced monks.
After a delicious breakfast of pancakes with fresh mango and pineapple the next 5 hours of trekking began, the terrain is slightly less muddy with a slightly rocky descent as you near Indein village. You will pass a little kiosk where you pay 15,000 (about $10) tourist zone fee, I wager if you were seriously strapped, you could get up early you can probably get away without paying as I saw the official walk past the monastery shortly after dawn. After our lunch stop we boarded a long boat and were ferried an hour through Inle Lake to Nyuang-shwe. On the way you can stop at multiple silversmiths and see the local long neck ladies. These women wear their first gold neck rings aged 9 and are gradually upgraded to a maximum of 24 rings. Back in older times the rings would reach 32, and when you feel the weight of them in your hand you have to wonder what kind of discomfort that must make for in everyday life.
Heho to Yangon – the final exit point
Time constraints being what they were, we took a flight from Heho airport, about a 40 minute drive from the hostel at Inle lake. This airport was one of the most chilled I’ve been to, the same guy who checks you in at the counter (singular) also boards you onto the plane. The security guy casually smokes a cigarette as he scans your carry on and waves you through with all the liquids. In saying that, as small as the departures lounge is, there are two little cafes and a shop for souvenir purchase and you have the thrill of watching your plane land and taxi directly up to the lounge window. We flew with Golden Mandalay Airlines and checked into a very lovely resort at Inya Lake.
Yangon is a bit of a Bangkok – lots and lots of traffic and I’m glad we left it until the last stop. If you want some serious shopping then go to Bogyok Aung San Market. We spent a very sweaty day shopping and exchanged our cash for some very pretty and comparatively inexpensive jewellery and bags, but be prepared to haggle and most places will deal in cash only.
I really enjoyed my time in Myanmar, the people are friendly and genuine, communication was never an issue and it was cheaper than Thailand for most things. As with most trips I take, I could have done with a lot more time. Go visit Myanmar soon, while tourism is still welcomed and the locals haven’t become jaded by over exposure and you will not be disappointed.
