In 2012 I made my first big trip through Southeast Asia. I then went backpacking through all the neighboring countries, but Myanmar had not long opened its borders to tourism. It remained my dream at the time to go there one day. Arranging a visa was quite a hassle and with a tight schedule I was unable to embark on the cross-border adventure from Thailand. In 2016 everything is different! We have a year; we have all the time. Time, for Myanmar! We arranged the visa in Bangkok a week in advance and now the time has come. From Chiang Mai we take the bus to the country of Southeast Asia that is still pure, adventurous, unspoiled and authentic. We make no preparations, just have a rough plan and dive right into it!
The starting point for backpacking in Myanmar: the karst mountains of Hpa An
When we enter Thai customs on foot around three o’clock in the afternoon, Suus and I meet two Dutch girls, Julia and Mirjam. They also have no agenda and are surprised by adventurous Myanmar. We quickly decide that we are best friends for a day and the four of us walk, how appropriate, across the Friendship Bridge towards the Myanmar side of the border.
If we are to believe various internet sources and experiences of other travelers, this country will surprise us in terms of hospitality and friendliness. And yes, just about the first Myanmarese we meet, the customs officials, welcome us as if we were old school friends coming for coffee.
In a living room setting we laugh at these men’s jokes with humor, while some stamps are made somewhere during the group discussion. One of the men immediately walks across the border, helps lift the luggage and starts haggling with the taxi drivers. Whether we want to or not, this man wants to show us all of Myanmar as quickly as possible; in the meantime he rattles off all the interesting places that we should not miss. With our new friends we hobble in a rickety taxi to Hpa An, for our first encounter with the country of great adventure: backpacking in Myanmar!
A tuk-tuk for a day costs practically nothing in Myanmar; especially if there are four of you. Yet it remains a sport to continue to haggle here too and get those few euros off, just because you can. The funny thing is that they are not very familiar with tourists here, so they have no idea what a reasonable price is. Compared to Thailand, transport in particular is very cheap.
Thousands of golden Buddhas in the Lumbini Garden
We drive past the Lumbini Garden, a large field between the mighty mountain peaks, in which 1100 Buddhas are carefully arranged; a bizarre sight. It also takes some getting used to the fact that there aren’t any Dutch people walking around with Chang shirts and elephant trousers. Or the Chinese, who accidentally crumble Buddha’s nose off with their selfie sticks, while they are breathing down your neck, dripping with a mixture of sweat and sunblock. No, I think we will like Myanmar.
It becomes especially beautiful when we drive past an azure blue natural source, where there is a sign saying ‘no female allowed’. Looks like I have it all to myself today! At the foot of a large altar with Buddha on it, the intention is to symbolically cleanse yourself here. However, with temperatures around thirty degrees, it is also wonderful to ‘symbolically’ take a chill dip here! While the ladies are having coffee in the local bar down the road, I take a few laps through paradise.
The highlight of the day is Chau Kan Lat, a large lake with a number of steep mountains in it. It shows another large golden pagoda that was built in an impossible place. We find out that we have to take off our shoes in all holy places. While I can still live with ‘no females allowed’ for some peace of mind, I still have some difficulty with ‘no shoes allowed’. Now I understand that every country has its own customs, but then they might have to give you a scraper to scrape off those three kilos of pigeon shit from your feet afterwards. Or maybe a sign with ‘no pidgeons allowed’ is an idea? Oh well, we shouldn’t worry about it, because we would often encounter this in Myanmar.
Mysterious temple caves
We visit a lot of temple caves in the area, where my Buddha counter has now run wild. We also see a lot of monkeys, which are quite cute in themselves, but run off with your shoes while you walk through that pigeon shit with your feet. Wait, I said this wrong, because in the caves it is mainly bat droppings that stick just a little more persistently under the heel.
We conclude our introduction to Hpa An with a large dinner in Myanmar style. That means: dozens of bowls and dishes on the table, order unlimited rice and wash it down with the pleasant taste of Myanmar’s most famous beer brand, with a name that has probably puzzled fifteen creative people for weeks: Myanmar Beer. Life is good here and we enjoy it to the fullest, but we still say goodbye to our ‘best friends for a day’ and continue our journey of discovery.
The holy Golden Rock
Between Hpa An and the next city of Bago there is a special place that we do not want to miss. With a ride on the back of a moped, a local van and some kind of open truck – believe me, that sounds complicated, but everything in Myanmar goes practically by itself – we arrive in a godforsaken hamlet on Mount Kyaiktiyo. That’s the nice thing about backpacking in a country like Myanmar; you hardly encounter tourists anywhere.
The village of Kim Pun is in ruins, stinks, doesn’t have a single hotel where you would even want to touch the counter and in the middle of a large square there is a kind of Jukebox that could easily drown out an Armin van Buuren concert with its creaks. that is. What are we supposed to do here? Well, from this ‘kutopia’ the only means of transport is to the mountain top, where a famous sacred gold-painted stone teeters on the edge of the abyss: the Golden Rock!
Everything ‘literally’ comes down to one hair of Buddha
Buddhists believe that the rock balances on Buddha’s hair; it is one of the largest pilgrimage sites in the country. The way up is actually the biggest attraction. About forty locals gather in the back of a large truck and in a runaway rollercoaster ride I still thank Buddha that we were still alive to see that golden pebble. When the storm breaks and we are crammed together, bumping elbows and gouging our eyes, trying to put on our ponchos, it certainly feels like we are in one of those water attractions in Walibi. Only not with cheerful music and a photo at the end, but with a lot of screaming and a tooth through your lip. Oh well, you’re on holiday, so you try to enjoy it. Suus and I throw our hands in the air and sometimes almost throw ourselves out of the car, but we keep laughing!
The Golden Rock itself is, as expected, indeed little more than a golden rock on the edge of a ravine. It is extremely photogenic, especially when the fog lifts and the sun starts to shine through. Meanwhile, we see another tourist, a fool, testing whether Buddha’s one hair is strong enough, because he takes a run-up and starts pushing the rock off the edge like a man possessed, without result. Those people exist too, apparently.
The golden stupas of Bago
From the Golden Rock we travel to Bago, a large chaotic city that does not seem very special at first glance. But, for example, the large golden stupa is the largest in the whole country and one of the largest monasteries in the country is also located here. Once again we grab a tuk-tuk driver by the collar and he drives us around for a day. The monastery is especially impressive. We see hundreds of monks studying in a large classroom and get a glimpse into their daily lives.
Hell’s kitchen in Myanmar
The kitchen in particular will continue to haunt us in our worst nightmares for a long time to come. So dirty that a rat wouldn’t dare poop there. In a stench that makes our eyes water, we see how the rice is colored more black than white by the flies, while the vegetables rot in the sun. I would pay a hundred bucks to see an episode of Hell’s Kitchen where Gordon Ramsey tries to save this restaurant. Such good television that would make.
We take a tour through the bizarre contrasts of the city, in which the garbage dumps and expensive golden temples blend seamlessly into each other. It’s an impressive sight, but to use the words of Rob Geus: ‘this doesn’t make me happy’. The poverty is dire, but the people are incredibly positive and friendly. You can’t help but be happy about that, that’s for sure.
Myanmar wines and boat trips on the mystical Inle Lake
Suus and I have been recovering for a day at the edge of Inle Lake. And then our friends Mirjam and Julia come to visit us again. They happen to travel the same route, but in the meantime Suus and I know what’s going on. We’re just too much fun to be on the road with. We decide to promote our friendship to the title of ‘best friends for a week’ and so we all spend a few days at this special place. Several traditional groups of people live on and around the mystical Inle Lake, living in their own way, growing food and making all kinds of local products by hand.
Cycling is a must-do when backpacking in Myanmar!
First we take a bike ride, where we cycle between the vast green mountains along the large deep blue lake. We arrive at a village on stilts on the shore and sail with a local fisherman to a ‘floating’ village for a meal on the lake. The cycle route is fantastic. So beautiful that a bike ride in Amsterdam or Rotterdam is completely spoiled for us. As we cycle over the jetties we see the children going to school by boat, the farmers coming from the fields and the fishermen working with their nets.
We reward a day of hard work on the bike with a stylish trip to one of the mountain peaks. This region has a number of vineyards where real Myanmar wines are made! For next to nothing we have a whole wine tasting on the table and for half a little the lady also puts on a cheese board. Wow, the setting with the sun almost setting is just like in the south of France… But no, unfortunately the wine is not. The idea is nice and so is the experience, but Myanmar people would be better off just continuing to brew that delicious Myanmar Beer. We are in stitches with every sip of wine; then the first taste is reasonable for once, then there is another aftertaste of Dreft that you almost want to swallow your tongue.
You will definitely encounter this while backpacking in Myanmar: Cigars and Longnecks
On our second day we sail to all corners of the lake. We see the silversmith fiddling with local jewelry. The weaving mills where ladies toil around the clock; the fishermen who, balancing on a narrow wooden board, use their hands and feet to paddle, steer and also hoist in a fishing net; and smoke a freshly rolled vanilla cigar in the local tobacconist. We also see the Longnecks, the women with the long necks that we saw earlier in Thailand. Originally they come from here. It remains a bizarre sight when the women give us a friendly welcome while they can barely move and sit on their bench like some kind of stuffed giraffes.
The food in Myanmar is still delicious, especially if we end up at our favorite family-run restaurant in Inle Lake. We are regulars there and the best man gives us unlimited prawn crackers with a spicy sauce that we are addicted to. When I asked him if there was a happy hour, he created an endless ‘happy 24-hours’ especially for his best customers, which also makes the beer practically free. They were simple and happy times; We had no idea that the food in Myanmar can be very different…
From the royal capital Mandalay to the ‘middle of nowhere’ in Hsipaw
We travel further north and arrive in the last royal capital of the Burmese empire, Mandalay. Before the city of Yangon flourished and took over the role of capital, Mandalay was a powerful wealthy city. It has large city walls, palaces and golden temples.
For a beautiful view of that royal city, we walk up 1,729 famous steps to the top of Mandalay Hill. Along the way we come across the most striking Buddha statues with lots of gold, shiny frills and flashing LED lights. Sometimes it looks more like a casino than a temple. Of course we reach the top with a large shoe sole of pigeon poop under our feet. With the amount of stray dogs here in Mandalay, you occasionally have to avoid a large brown landmine. The view is amazing; we see the walled city, the palace and dozens of golden stupas in the area. In the absence of a tuk-tuk and the presence of a good deal with a taxi driver, we are driven through the city today like VIPs.
The biggest book in the world?
We visit the largest book in the world in the form of 729 small pagodas. Each contains a gigantic page of a Buddhist story. We also see the most important Buddha in the country, where the locals buy a handful of gold foil as a prayer. It’s their tradition to stick it on the body of Buddha. Over the years, a gigantic Buddha monster has emerged; so much gold clumps on his body. I watch this phenomenon up close and in serene peace and quiet, because the ladies are once again ‘not allowed’. This way I have a moment for myself somewhere every day. Myanmar is actually just like the channel Veronica: ‘more for men!’.
Mandalay is a city of records, because at the end of the day we visit the world’s longest wooden bridge. It is called U Bein and it’s world famous. When the sun sets we sit on a makeshift terrace, just below the middle of the bridge on a small island in the river. In my opinion this is the best location of all cafes in Myanmar. We toast to the great journey so far. Then we find a tent where, after months, we are cured of a chronic hamburger shortage. OH MY BUDDHA! Nowhere in Asia will you find such tasty burgers as at the BBB bar in Mandalay. And then with fries, thick dollops of mayonnaise, beer… for a few euros per person. We just didn’t know that this pure pleasure would later be known as our ‘last supper’: the last good food in Myanmar.
Booze and stench in Pyin Oo Lwin
From Mandalay we take a tuk-tuk and travel to a small town called Pyin Oo Lwin: a small picturesque town. It is not necessarily special, but causes quite a few problems for us. This is most likely the place of disaster, where our dear stomachs decided to turn against us. Resulting in the age-old ritual of running back and forth to the toilet, well, you know the drill. On the race, the thin, like a bird that is cockatooing.
When a tropical rain shower forces us to spend the day indoors, we play cards and eat at a local joint that doesn’t look too bad. Then Mirjam comes from the toilet, through the kitchen and stands in the doorway with her mouth open in surprise. The monks’ kitchen in Bago seems to be a beauty salon compared to this bacteria amusement park. We don’t think about it too much, and out of boredom we binge drink one evening. A bottle of local gin only costs one buck, so we wake up the next day with various complaints. Well, same complaints really, but from different holes. Let me just call it that.
Backpacking the adventurous North of Myanmar
When things get a little better we take the slow train to Hsipaw. This train is even the reason for our visit to this poisoning site, because the train ride is known as one of the most beautiful in the world. Halfway, the rickety old train passes a three-hundred-meter ravine over a bridge that makes even a bird spontaneously afraid of heights. As we drive over it at walking pace, I film down from the doorway, which by the way has no door. Suus sits almost IN the couch during this part; and rightly so, because people have sometimes fallen down here. A spectacular ending, indeed!
In Hsipaw we have not yet completely processed the bad food, but we start an epic hike through the ‘middle of nowhere’ to one of the most remote villages in the country. Here we can see the real authentic Southeast Asia, as if traveling back in time. It doesn’t get much more pure and pristine than this.
Hiking in the tropical heat
We arrange a guide, put on our brave shoes, have a toilet roll at the ready and go! We walk about twenty kilometers through a bright green backdrop of vast rice fields between mountain peaks towards the small village of Pankam. And we are having a hard time. While we have been watching all our energy literally disappear into the toilet for a few days, today we walk to a height of a thousand meters in a temperature of no less than 38 degrees. Sweat pours down our bodies; I was certainly hoping for good weather, but according to our guide this is the most unpleasant weather we can encounter. There is not a cloud in the sky and we reach the village in liquid form, completely exhausted. Well… backpacking in Myanmar is not always a bed of roses.
While the ladies play a game of cards, I lie down in the bedroom of our guest house after lunch. We sleep at a local family’s home and that is pretty back to basics! We sleep in an attic with a mat in a mosquito net and eating the old-fashioned cooking pot on the fireplace! A bucket of water is all we have as a shower by the way. The atmosphere in Pankam is indescribable; we really have ended up in a medieval world. When my beauty sleep is over, we take a walk through the village. We drink tea with the ‘chief’, the boss of the village. Then we visit several local farmers and see their traditional houses.
Finally, we take a look at the local school and meet a large number of children from the village. Everyone is excited to meet us. Of course, travelers pass by here more often, but this appears to be very limited to about ten people per week. The children are going wild and are happy to practice their latest songs from English lessons. Beautiful to see.
Swimming among the youth hanging around in a local waterfall
On the way back it changed again. Now we are almost sliding down the slope because it is raining a lot. Every now and then you hear one of us crashing to the ground. Strangely enough, Suus is the only one who remains standing! When the sun comes out again later in the day and the temperature slowly rises to the thirties again, we jump into the local waterfall to cool off. Of course, about twenty exuberant boys cannot believe their eyes. Suddenly three beautiful blonde ladies jump into their natural swimming pool. I take another leap from a rock and we swim around at the foot of the waterfall.
We would prefer to stay here a little longer, because I think this is the most beautiful place in Myanmar. Anyway, we have to move on, on our way to that other much more famous beautiful place in the country.
The must-do while backpacking in Myanmar: the jungle with a thousand temples in Bagan
We have been backpacking through Myanmar for almost two weeks and the highlight has yet to come. At least, anyone who looks up some information in advance and googles pictures of Myanmar will see Bagan passing by. This place is comparable to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, where we were earlier this trip. There are no fewer than four thousand temples spread across a fairytale-like area, in the middle of the jungle. Suus and I end our trip through Myanmar here and say goodbye to our best friends for a week and a half. That’s what we now call Julia and Mirjam. It will be tough and take some getting used to; but they still have a little longer and will now have to do it without us! We do receive a golden tip just in time, which will be useful to us in Bagan.
With a local bus and a little alertness, you can avoid having to purchase a tourist pass in Bagan. These cost twenty euros per person, a reasonable burden on your daily budget. This way we are not pulled off the bus at checkpoints and we can zip around to our heart’s content on our rented E-bike. This electronic scooter appears to be the number one mode of transportation in Bagan.
We visit dozens of temples, one even more beautiful than the other. You can actually climb some of them for an amazing view. The best of which is the Shesandaw, the temple with the best view of all. We get a free front row seat to one of the best sunsets on earth. What a view; another highlight of the world trip, which is already becoming ridiculously beautiful. Bagan from above will forever be remembered.
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But we’re not going home yet, not for a long time. We cross the border, back to Thailand and are on our way to Laos. Read more about this epic adventure: Backpack-route on the Mekong in Laos!
Then the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, South Africa and, far away, even an adventure in America await you. The word ‘epic’ is increasingly becoming an understatement of what we experience on this journey. Those hundreds of beautiful places, thousands of people we meet, those cultural differences… Those delicious dishes and every now and then, yes mom, a nice beer and a party. Normal life will still be difficult. Or is this just normal life? Anyway; Traveling is the most beautiful thing there is.
