Without really knowing what to expect, I boarded the plane from Bangkok for the short flight over to Yangon, the capital of Myanmar (formerly Burma). This is a country that has been under strict military control until it was released in 2011, during that time it had been fairly void of tourists and supposedly represents a way of life in Asia that feels like you have jumped back at least 50 years in time. I was well aware that tourism infrastructure would be at a minimum and limited over priced hotels (if you can even find a room) had over 300% price increases in the last few years. The wet season has also begun so heavy periods of rain and potential mud slide issues on the long highway halls were to be anticipated.
Landing in the capital provided views of a lush green city that looked to be set in amongst a forest. Of course it was pouring down with rain and the taxi ride to my hotel was spent dodging the abundance of pot holes and almost a constant river of rainwater along the most roads. I had managed to secure a booking at Hn Inn in downtown Yangon which also provided a free airport transfer as I booked two nights at $23 each. When checking in a very friendly manager was put on the phone to me who advised the hotel was full for the night and she would send me to her friends more expensive hotel in the next street at no additional charge, she organised a taxi due to the rain, even for such a short distance which was no more than a few hundred metres. The streets all seemed to be in a constant state of repair with roadworks at every turn.
Not seeing any other tourists about, I ventured around and found a little restaurant on a back street packed with locals, ready to sample some of Myanmars local cuisine I eagerly joined them. I wasn't sitting more than a few minutes after ordering a local Myanmar tap beer (at only 60c each!!) before two locals invited me over to join them for drinks and some sort or fried nuts beer snack. They had broken English but we managed to converse quite easily, noting their friends were coming soon, which I thought meant would be time to move away to make space, but it was just a sign the party was just getting started. For the next few hours we sampled beers and locally produced spirits with stories of life in Yangon. We were also smoking some sort of green cigars(known as cheroot) which looked to be wrapped in maybe banana leaf. These were some of the most genuine friendly people I have ever met, after ordering a variety of dishes for me to try out, they insisted on paying for some of my food and drinks even though they clearly did not have much money at all, they even all walked me back to my hotel to make sure I made it ok.
Waking up early the next morning I headed down to the river front and knocked back a couple of coffees and 3 decent sized freshly sliced mango's, all for under a dollar. It seems what would be spent in some of the overpriced accommodation would be offset by a very reasonable cost of living. Along the streets there were locals set up with little plates and cans full of rice or corn, which they were selling to feed flocks of pigeons, I assume maybe this has something to do with the heavy Buddhism following in the country and the respect for all living beings. Back at my hotel I enjoyed a traditional Burmese breakfast which was toast, fruit, coffee, eggs and some sort of noodle soup which didn't particularly grab me. After packing my bags and switching hotels, I managed to score a second breakfast although the satisfaction from instant coffee and creamer loaded with sugar was starting to wear thin.
The monk back on Koh Phangan had spoken very highly of the impressive Buddhist monument in Yangon, Shwaedagon. This place is the most sacred Buddhist Pagoda for all Burmese people of which over 90% will visit in their lifetime. This truly impressive Pagoda, standing 325ft tall and is totally covered in plates of gold that combined are rumoured to weigh over 60 tonnes. The peak is tipped with a 76 carat diamond, the crown also containing a further 5,448 diamonds and 2,317 rubies.
I spent the afternoon wandering its vast marble floors (which were extremely wet in the rain) with my little sidekick who kept waiting to borrow my camera to work on his photography skills. After some time meditating in one of the statue halls I sat down to a freshly prepared noodle salad with a local family, from their look of amazement I may have been their first ever foreign customer. The food was delicious and at only 50c including two bowls of soup, an absolute bargain. Afterwards I met a recently graduated engineering student who showed me around for an hour and discussed his plans to try and get a job in Singapore after he finished studying English, as he has not had any lucky utilising his degree in Myanmar. He felt extremely lucky to be living within walking distance of ShwaeDagon, which he visits every day like many other locals.
Back at the Hn Inn where I was saying, the very knowledgeable and obliging manager sat down and helped me work out a rough route I could take around the country to finish up in Mandalay in 20 days. Advice from Will at the meditation retreat back in Thailand was to check out a beach 6 hours West of Yangon which sounded like a perfect idea to me, however it was strongly advised against these few relaxing days as there was so much to see, spanning over some decent distances. I gave up on the beach and booked a bus for 7am to take me to the Golden Rock South East of Yangon.
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