March 8th, we arrive in Yangon around 6PM after a short flight from Hanoi. Men in longyi offer their taxi services but we take our time to get a SIM card, get money and install the GRAB (UBER in Asia) app. Five minutes later we are on our way to our hotel.So easy,we are getting used to this :-).
Myanmar has borders with Bangladesh, India,Thailand, Laos and China. We traveled the following itenerary: from Yangon to Mawlamyine, Hpa-an, Kalaw, Inle Lake, Mandalay, Monywa and Bagan before we returned to Yangon. We used the train, boat, motorcycles,e-bikes, buses, vans, tuk-tuk and our feet to get to our destination. We loved the train for its colonial experience but the motorcycle is definitely our preferred option. The military junta changed the name Burma to Myanmar in 1989 and also changed Rangoon to Yangon. Burmese people will mostly use “Burma” in daily life and “Myanmar” more in a formal, official way because this reeks of government. It is OK to use both. Myanmar has a population of 53,7 Mio in 2018, 82 people per km2. For comparison, Vietnam has 96 Mio people and 311 inhabitants per km2.
In front of the Shwedagon pagoda we bought a little sparrow to set it free but horror struck: when the bird flew up in the blue sky, a crow caught it and flew of with it. Was this an “omen” for bad luck?The Shwedagon pagoda stands 99m tall and is the most sacred Buddhist stupa in Myanmar. The gold seen on the pagoda is made of genuine gold plates and to make it even better, the top part is decorated with 5448 diamonds and 2317 rubbies. The very top – the diamond bud- is a 76 carat diamond!We were amazed at how much flowers, food and money is offered to Buddha. Myanmar is the most religious Buddhist country in terms of number of monks and income spent on religion.
In Myanmar, buddhist nuns do not get the same respect as monks simply because they are a woman.Then, a golden mystery upheaved itself on the horizon, a beautiful winking wonder that blazed in the sun, of a shape that was neither Muslim dome nor Hindu temple-spire. (Rudyard Kipling of his 1889 visit to Myanmar)In Myanmar it is very common that children become a nun or monk for a week or a month. During school vacation many sign up to gain merit for loved ones or to learn more about Buddhist teachings.Since 2003 no motorcycles are allowed in the centre of Yangon.The Shwedagon pagoda at sunset.Morning or evening, week-end or middle of the week, there are always a lot of worshippers at the pagoda.Yangon central rail station was completed in 1954 and is the largest railway station in Myanmar.Windows and doors open, local people selling food and drinks, a lot of shaking on the rails, so much fun…At 30km/h the train is an excellent way to enjoy the scenery.A little town seen from the train.Along the way there are sooo many stupas.The yellow rice is ready to be harvested.A railway station along the way.Golden Rock or Kyaiktiyo pagoda, only men are allowed to touch the rock. According to legend the rock is carefully balanced on a strand of Buddha’s hair.Only men are allowed at the Golden Rock. We bought some gold to stick on the rock and hope this would bring good luck :-). It is one of the three most religious sites in Myanmar again with many devotees.Win Sein Taw Ya near Mawlamyine, a 30m high and 180m long reclining Buddha, the longest in the world.Inside the Buddha there are 8 floors but only 4 can be visited because of “work in progress”. Instead of just donating money we bought 4 red tiles so they could complete the outside dress from Buddha.Inside the Buddha there were dioramas both finished and under construction about the life of Prince Siddharta before he became Buddha.In the hills surrounding the lying Buddha there are even more statues and stupas. It was good to have our motorcycle and drive around and take it all in.Seindon Mibaya Kyaung monastery in Mawlamyine, 100 years old, was built for the wife of King Mindon.Today only 9 monks are living in the monastery and although still very beautiful it is in dire need of repair.Beautifully carved reliefs on the doors in red and gold.One of the monks turned on the lights for us and wanted us to sign a visitor book with our names and the amount of our donation to the monastery 😉While we were in Mawlamyine we visited Bily Kyun (Ogre Island) with its many workshops. One of them was making elastic bands.The rubber for the elastic bands drying in the sun made for colorful pictures.Cutting the elastic bands, a lot of manual labor for about 4USD a day.Making hats from bamboo all by hand.Once used in all the elementary schools in Myanmar slates are now becoming rare but still used in some schools. We visited one of the last slate making businesses in the village.From Mawlamyine we went to Hpa-an by boat (6 hours) and on the way we made a short stop to visit the U Nar Auk monastery.Two Buddhas each made from one trunk of teak and covered with gold leaf.The monk’s hairdresser, according to Buddhist scripture the hair needs to be shaved with a razor every 2 months.One of the monks preparing tea.While on our way back to the boat we saw a cockfight although it is illegal in Myanmar, it happens (betting is not allowed) .In Hpa-an we climbed Mount Zwekabin (722m) early in the morning. At the foot of the mountain, in Lumbini Garden, there are 1100 Buddha statues.On our way to the top Stefan was stopped several times by Burmese girls to have his picture taken with them. Some were very enthousiastic :-). Stefan was happy with this sudden success.A monk was filling bags with sand which worshippers take up the mountain. The sand is used for construction of the pagoda on top of the mountain.Burmese worshippers enthousiastic take the sand bags up the mountain for Buddha.Once at the top we could see more stupas all around us. I was definitely not climbing there!The country side in Hpa-an with its many karst mountains.Saddan cave in Hpa-an, lots of Buddha’s, a stupa and an exit at a lake.The Burmese like to take pictures of foreigners.Exiting the cave. We had to leave our slippers at the entrance which was on the other side so we had to continue barefeet. Luckily we could take a boat but because of the low water we still had to walk through the fields for about a km.Rice and Karst mountains when we walked back to the entrance of the cave.More beautiful scenery on our way to the next cave in Hpa-an.On our way to Kawgun cave with our motorcycle, this reminded us of North VietnamKawgun cave is another spectacular cave in Hpa-an, with many seated and reclining Buddha’s but most importantly because of the little Buddha’s carved in the limestone walls.Thousands of little carved Buddahs. Some of them are very old but they are constantly adding new ones and removing the crumbled ones who suffered from rain, wind etc.Kawgun cave has been used by local Mon Buddhists since the seventh century. Unfortunately many of the older statues have been destroyed by tremors resulting from the work of the nearby cement factory.Many small Buddhas images were carved unbelievably sophisticated on the wall and all the way to its ceiling.Kyauk Kalat Pagoda, a stupa balanced on a limestone pinnacle. Visitors can only go halfway to the top but even there the view is gorgeious.A typical house in a small village near Hpa-an
Sunset on our way to bat cave. Unfortunately the thousands of bats only left the cave when it was already dark so no pictures 🙁
In my next blog we will travel from Hpa-an to Kalaw near Inle Lake, hike to Inle Lake and visit Mandalay.
March 31st, we are in beautiful Myanmar with some time left to relax and update our blog before we return to our home Sanuk in New Caledonia.
Flashback to our arrival in Hoi An, Vietnam, somewhere in February 2018. After 5 days on a motorcycle it was time to relax and enjoy the old city. The ancient town Hoi An is a UNESCO world heritage site since 1999. In the 16th and 17th century it was a major trading port where Chinese, Japanese and Dutch businessmen did their trading.
Hoi An was beautifully decorated with lanterns everywhere.Many of the old houses have a little patio inside, away from the many tourists, a quiet place to have a cup of jasmine tea in a serene setting.The architecture of the old houses were influenced by the many Japanese and Chinese traders at the time.While we were there, the Vietnamese were preparing for TET which is their New Year. It is a 6 day celebration of eating, inviting family and friends, telling stories of the past year and being together. Before the festivities everything needs to be cleaned for the new start.Stefan (center) joining some young Vietnamese in their celebration of the arrival of TET. It brings good luck to toast with a foreigner.Hoi An at night. Little boats in the river with lanterns, many tourists (also Vietnamese) to enjoy the restaurants and shops along the river.One evening we went to a water puppet show. It only lasted about 50min but is definitely worthwhile as it is part of Vietnamese culture.This ancient art originated from the farmers who worked on the paddy fields in the countryside. During times of flooding, the farmers would entertain themselves and their families by performing water puppet shows out in the fields. The puppeteers stand in the water during the whole performance.They depict Vietnamese rural life with traditional music.
We rented a motorcycle and went to My Son (also an UNESCO heritage site), Da Nang city and a day on the beach in An Bang to relax.
We arrived at My Son in the afternoon and there were not too many tourists. The ruins were beautiful with the surrounding jungle.My Son is also called the Angkor Wat of Vietnam. It is a cluster of Hindu Temples built between 4th and 14th century by the Kings of Champa. A large part of the temples were unfortunately destroyed by US bombings during the Vietnam War.About 70 temples remain. Italy and Japan funded the restoration and maintenance of the site through UNESCO.The famous Dragon bridge in Da Nang, built in 2013. It is a special sight but even more so at night when it is beautifully illuminated.Unfortunatly, we only stayed for the day.Danang is mostly a resort city with lots of Chinese tourists enjoying the beaches. 2018 is the year of the Dog.
After our 5 day stay in Hoi An we took the train to Hue. We visited the beautiful Imperial City (UNESCO heritage site) and 3 of the 7 Imperial Tombs from the Nguyen Dynasty (UNESCO heritage site). The tombs are more like mausoleums located along the banks of the Perfume River. The Nguyen dynasty was the last Vietnamese dynastie (1802-1945).
The Vietnamese buy and burn a lot of incense in the temples.We visited the Royal Tomb of Emperor Tu Duc. It took 3 years to build from 1864-1867.Royal tomb of Emperor Tu Duc. He died in 1883. Although he lived together with about 100 wives and concubines he did not have any children.Tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh. This one took 11 years to be built from 1920 to 1931.Imperial tomb of Khai DinhA statue of Emperor Khai Dinh on his tomb. He died in 1925.Imperial tomb of Minh Mang.The imperial tomb of Minh Mang. He was the second emperor of the Nguyen dynasty and reigned from 1820 till his death in 1841.The pagoda of the Celestial Lady in Hue. It was built in 1601 on order of the Nguyen Lords.A moment of relaxation in the Imperial City of Hue.The old reds and golds are an ideal backdrop for taking pictures.The imperial city of Hue is a walled palace within the city of Hue, the former capital of Vietnam. Building started in 1804. The city was made an UNESCO site in 1993. The buildings suffered a lot from cyclones but also from the fighting during the Vietnam war.We rented a car and driver to go to Bach Ma national park. Bach Ma mountain is 1450m high and early in the morning we ended up above the clouds.In the park there are several hiking trails.We hiked about 15km in the park not so much but challenging at times and the trail indicators were most of the time missing.The scenery with the emerald colored lakes was really stunning!The end of the walk is on top of the waterfall. We definitely enjoyed this walk very much.
From Hue we travelled to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park with its 300 caves. We visited 2 caves, the Phong Nha cave and Paradise cave.The park was listed in 2003 as a UNESCO heritage site because of it’s geological values. The largest cave in the world was discovered here in 2009. It takes 4 days hiking in the jungle to get to this cave and costs about 3000USD pp for the trip. Places are limited and you have to book more than a year in advance.
Phong Nha cave is 7.729m long and a 14km long underground river. Tourists can only visit the first 1500m.Paradise cave is 31km long, it is the longest dry cave in Asia. It was opened in 2010. We went early in the morning and there were hardly any visitors.31km long Paradise Cave, but only 1km is open to tourists.
From Phong Nha we travelled to Ninh Binh and visited Tam Coc, Van Long nature reserve and Cuc Phuong national park. The nature was really beautiful here. Unfortunately the weather was always overcast and at times rainy.
The Karst mountains of Ninh Binh and the freshly planted rice fields. This is also called the Ha Long Bay on land…Planting rice is mostly done by women. It takes 3-4 month for the rice to ripen and before it is ready to be harvested.View from our motorcycle. We rented a motorcycle for the 3 days we were there and it really is the best way to enjoy the beautiful scenery.The past four months we have been living on flip-flops and were not really prepared to do this muddy walk but it worked out fine in the end.Van Long nature reserve has fewer tourists than Tam Coc and is as beautiful.We did a boat ride in Van Long nature reserve and even in the fog it was still kind of magical.Planting rice in the mud.More rice fields and Karst mountains in Ninh Binh.The grey-shanked douc langur. Vietnams langurs are some of the most endangered primates on earth, living on the brink of extinction. We visited the Endangered Primate Rescue Centre in Cuc Phuong and saw they were in good hands. They are truly beautiful animals.
After our days in nature it was back to city life and we took a mini van from Ninh Binh to Hanoi. We stayed 4 days in Hanoi, visited many nice museums and went for one day to Halong Bay. In Hanoi the weather was warm but overcast.
We visited the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum and were amazed at the long lines of Vietnamese eager to see their once revolutionary leader. The embalmed body of “Ho” is preserved in the cooled central hall of the mausoleum. Two months of the year the mausoleum is closed because the body is sent to Russia for maintenance and touch up work. It is forbidden to take pictures of ‘uncle Ho’.Halong Bay, after seeing Ninh Binh and Van Long nature reserve we were disappointed. There are many tourists here and of course we did not have a blue sky…
After 4 days Hanoi we decided for a trip to Sapa. We took the bus early in the morning to arrive at lunch time in Sapa. We had a quick lunch and left for a 2 day trek in Sapa valley with the Sapa Sisters. We were lucky, the skies were blue and it was around 24 Celsius, ideal for walking. The scenery was gorgeous but here again, many, many tourists and souvenir shops.
No rice yet, the rice is planted in May and is harvested in August-September.The still muddy rice terraces, spring was just in the air and workers started to clean up the rice fields.The most beautiful time to come is in definitely around August-September when the rice is yellow. Still, even with the mud it was special.Sapa valley is close to the Chinese border.Many ethnic minorities live in the Northern Region of Vietnam. The “Mon” are one of them.Most of their colourful traditional clothes are made by hand.This is a woman from the H’mong tribe.Souvenirs for sale to the many tourists.Rural Vietnam, little boy with his bowl of rice.Woman from the Red Dao tribe. Once they are married they have to shave their facial hair. Because this causes now a lot of young women to leave they are more liberal about this rule and only require to cover the hair with a red scarf.A little girl from the H’mong tribe in Sapa Centre. The children are used to sell souvenirs to tourists and work long hours.Three little H’mong girls at the end of a long workday. We saw many of the children still selling souvenirs late at night. While having dinner in a restaurant we saw many Vietnamese tourists giving them food instead of buying a souvenir.
After Sapa we decided to go to the Sunday market in Bac Ha, about 70km away from Sapa. We managed to rent a motorcycle for 3 days and off we were. The road was long but the scenery gorgeous and fun. We arrived at Bac Ha Market around 11AM and there was still a lot of activity. It was fabulous to see all the women in their traditional clothes. Apparently only in the highlands of Vietnam the ethnic minorities still wear their traditional clothes at home, the market or on the farm.
Bac Ha Market, H’mong woman.Bac Ha Market.Bac Ha Market, H’mong woman.Bac Ha Market, H’mong woman.Bac Ha Market, H’mong womanH’mong woman.Bac Ha market, H’mong girl.We used the afternoon to discover the area near our homestay, Cho family.Cho himself, all exited because he gets to guide us on a 4 hour hike.The scenery during our hike.A 74 year old H’mong woman returning from working on the field.More rice terraces.Waterbuffalos enjoying a mud bathSpring is in the air!Scenery during our hike in Bac Ha.
We enjoyed our 2 days in Bac Ha, and could easily have stayed a couple more days to explore. We had a wonderful homestay with a fabulous Mr.Cho who was an excellent guide but also a good cook! It was so nice to end our trip in Vietnam with Sapa. We took the night train (was perfect) back to Hanoi and left the next day for Myanmar.
Our 5 weeks in Vietnam were really great. Although we liked the Vietnamese food after 5 weeks we did get a little tired of the Asian cuisine but in Hanoi we did find a very good pizza place. :-). I would definitely recommend travelling to Vietnam but do it from South to North and visit Vietnam before Myanmar….
