Enchanting Myanmar and KL sidetrip

After I posted my Myanmar Travel Photo Diary in facebook, a lot of my friends messaged me to share the details of my trip. This inspired to take time to write down a detailed account of my trip. Myanmar is probably not in your travel list this year, or anytime soon. Hopefully you will think twice of visiting it soon rather than later.

The Route

There is no direct flight from Manila to Myanmar. So we decided to stop over in Kuala Lumpur then fly to Yangon via Air Asia. Please note that the airport terminal of Air Asia is in the old domestic airport which means that facilities are below standard. If airport situation is one of your non-negotiables, then this option is certainly not for you. :)

Price per Person: ~P11,000 inclusive of all flights (Manila - Kuala Lumpur - Yangon - Kuala Lumpur - Manila)

Hotels:

Yangon: Motherland Inn 2 ($30/ 3 pax)

Bagan: Hotel Thirpitsaya ($65 / 3 pax)

Kuala Lumpur: Prescott Hotel in Sentral ($40/ 3 pax)

Overall Itinerary

We spent 7 days for the whole trip. This is definitely not enough to explore the whole of Myanmar but since we are all working girls, this is the only length of time we can afford to be out of the office.

Day 1 was spent traveling from Manila to KL to Yangon. We took the 6:30 AM flight from Manila to KL. We had a 4-hour layover in KL. We decided to just lounge in the airport instead of going to KL Sentral. We arrived in Yangon around 7:30 PM.

Day 2 was spent going around Yangon City (Shwedagon Pagoda, Kandawgyi Lake, Chauk Htat Gyi Reclining Buddha). When we were planning for the trip, going to Bagan was a non-negotiable. Since we were working on a tight schedule, we decided to take the 9-hour bus ride to Bagan at night. The bus ride was a bit smooth so we were able to get some acceptable sleep.

 

    Sunrise in Shwedagon Pagoda

     Reminiscing our youthful years

Day 3. We arrived in Bagan around 4:00 AM which was perfect since we were still able to continue our sleep before we explore Old Bagan. This day was spent going around Old Bagan. We rented a van for US$ 45 and usually the driver will also serve as your local tour guide. We prioritized visiting the major Pagodas.

Day 4. This was more of a DIY itinerary for us. We went biking around Old Bagan. You can rent bicycles at the hotel for US$ 3. To complete the experience, we also tried riding the horse car. It was time to head back to Yangon to catch our flight.

Day 4. We arrived around 6:00 AM in Yangon. We decided to freshen up and get some power nap first. Our flight back to KL was around 6:00 PM which meant we had a few hours to explore the rest of Yangon.

    Yangon High Court

Day 5 was spent exploring KL. We just stayed for a night in KL. We had dinner with one of Nickie's friends who is based in KL now. 

    Mandatory picture in petronas

       Thanks Elsa for bringing us here!

    KL at night 

Day 6 was time to suffer from major separation anxiety and face the fact that vacation finally ended.


Trip Highlights

It's the people you are with that makes the journey worth taking. We met new friends and the truth is we might never see them again in this lifetime. Meet Teemu and Henrik, our scandinivian friends :) 

Breakfast remains to be our favorite, non-negotiable meal of the day. My girls and i enjoying our breakfast in Hotel Thiripitsaya.

I now understand why people love to bike. I had my first lesson last November 2013. After 6 months, I found myself biking around in Bagan! 

One horsepower for the win! Sure we have Calesa in the Philippines. This horse taxi is similiar to our Calesa but I guess what made the ride different is the countless pagodas. 

Humans of Myanmar

For the many times that I have traveled, I realized I became better in dealing with people and striking a conversation with random people or rather my fellow wanderers.

I travel abroad not because there is nothing to see in the Philippines. I travel abroad because I want to discover what lies beneath. 

I am grateful to have visited Myanmar in its barely unexplored state. They just recently opened up their country which means the inflow of tourists is still low.

When I'm abroad, I have random rhetorical questions to myself. Things like "what if I were born here?", "what if I get assigned here?". These questions make me thing that I could have been an entirely different person.. probably with a different belief, way of living and lifestyle.

Meet these Burmese people who inspired me in many different ways

1. Uu

Uu stationed himself in Ananda Temple. His dream is to be a tour guide so when he is not in school he goes to the temple and volunteers to impart his local knowledge to the tourists for FREE! This is his way of practicing his English and getting himself comfortable in guiding the foreigners. 

2. Mau-Mau

Mau is a seventh grader who sells postcards in one of pagodas. This kid will surprise you of his fluency in English! He first asked me where I came from then he started asking me if I have Philippine peso bill as he was collecting bills. Then I asked him to show me his collection. Dude, he had a bunch from all over the world. This kid certainly charmed the other tourists as much as he charmed us. He then started talking about the history of the paintings in the walls. He learned English by listening to the other tour guides. Way to go Mau. I will never see you again but I know you will be a good tour guide someday. 

3. Myo

Myo was our driver who ended up as our tour guide--all for the price of one. What was consistent during our trip was Burmese people were genuinely kind-hearted.

Myo was definitely one of them. 

The Most Liberating Jump

Cliffdiving is not the most adventurous thing you've probably heard but for someone like me who has fear of heights and a lousy swimmer (whatever that means)--THIS IS AN ACHIEVEMENT!!!

Well after that jump, I realized that it's all in the mind. Sometimes we fear something more than we want it. 

Just do it. 

Close your eyes and JUMP!!! 

Probably the longest five seconds of my life!

Tali Beach

April 2014

Conquered Mt. Pulag

Every start of the year, most of us prepare a bucket list. I kinda have one too. "Kinda" because I have a floating list in my head but it's not really written down in a diary or shared in facebook. I am fond of using the phrase "one off my bucket list".. wait.. I don't have one!

Conquering Pulag was in my floating list.
Traveling alone again was there too.
Doing my first climb was there too.

That being said, I think I had enough reasons to convince myself to sign up for a Pulag trip, alone.
I've pretty  much prepared myself emotionally and physically for this trip.

I didn't know what to expect so I just had to over prepare and it helps that my brother who is a mountaineer was so passionate to brief me with all the hiking tips.

The trip was priceless. There are so many stories to tell. Most of it are epic ones. It was a triumphant feeling to reach the summit. 

But most of all, I think this trip was memorable because of the new friends I met. It was FUN. 

Topload ride! Flex the biceps and hold on tight! 

This is where we ate breakfast before heading to the actual hike. 

When traveling, I always want to make the locals smile :) 

Coffeetime in the camp site!

Waking up at 3am to go to the summit was the hardest. It was freakin cold!!! But hey, i did it!!!

Sea of clouds :) 

Backpackers United!!! 

So on our way back from Jang Jang to Baguio, it's time for some gin shots inside the jeepney along the winding road! 😂👍 not a good idea but it was fun! 

The boys of BU! Backstreet boys! 

Girls! Represent!!!

Goodtimes Pulag friends!! 

Kota Kinabalu

I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday weekend than to be surprised by Kota Kinabalu's hidden charm! This place is underrated. Not so many people talk about how amazing this place is but KK should be in your Asia tour bucket list :)