Myanmar - any advice on things to see and do ?

[SimonV8ster]

V41LEY said:

Then picked up the ferry up the Irrawaddy to Mandalay which was awesome. .

Was just talking to a guy that did this. He said that there wasn't much to see for 10 hours. You either sit on top of the boat and get bloody hot, or go lower deck where it is incredibly stuffy and the foid is crap ?!

Your thoughts ?

[SimonV8ster]

shirt said:

any tips for getting around the country? is the train the only viable method? is there and air route into bagan?

There is plenty of coach travel here, local buses/coaches and VIP coaches for us special people.

I believe you can fly into Bagan and save the long ferry/train trip but i haven't confirmed this yet.

[durbster]

Nothing to add. Just wanted to say I'm enjoying reading about the trip

[SimonV8ster]

Ollie - what were these places like ? - Pyin Oo Lwin, Hsipaw, Sittwe ??


Currently in Kalaw after a 3 day hike to Lake Inle, stayed just one night there and came back to Kalaw by the train. It was a great train ride through some excellent scenary, thinking of carrying on to Thazi. Planning the next part of my trip now.

Did you use the ferry boat at all to get in/out of Bagan ?

[ollie j]

SimonV8ster said:

Ollie - what were these places like ? - Pyin Oo Lwin, Hsipaw, Sittwe ??


Currently in Kalaw after a 3 day hike to Lake Inle, stayed just one night there and came back to Kalaw by the train. It was a great train ride through some excellent scenary, thinking of carrying on to Thazi. Planning the next part of my trip now.

Did you use the ferry boat at all to get in/out of Bagan ?

Hi Simon,

Sounds like you're still having a great time!

The journey from Inle lake to Kalaw (and onto Bagan) was one we did by minibus and I agree. The scenery was breathtaking over some winding mountainous passes.

So if you're in Kalaw, you've got a fair amount of travelling to get to your next destination.
To get from there to Bagan, you would almost certainly be able to pick up a minibus which is on its way from inle to Bagan as it will pass through Kalaw (as ours did).
I suggest you ask a couple of travel agencies or your hotel about this and from memory, the minibus passed through Kalaw at approx 9-10am.
Other than this, a train journey to anywhere would probably end up being a nightmare as you will get to Thazi easily but from there, it will be a long transfer time to get a train towards Mandalay. From Mandalay, it would be a third train to travel onwards to Pyin Oo Lwin and Hsipaw.

To answer a couple more general questions, it is certainly possible to fly into Bagan. You can fly to Bagan from Yangon, Mandalay and Inle lake for comparatively little money compared to VIP bus tickets. We didn't bother as we had so much time and the scenery by minibus was great as I have already mentioned.

As for getting the ferry between Mandalay and Bagan which is widely discussed in guide books and a few places online, we did not take this and I would say don't bother. Price wise, it is actually cheaper to fly between Mandalay and Bagan than take this ferry. Furthermore, the scenery isn't *that* spectacular. I mean sure, its probably nice for an hour or two but will probably get a little boring after 15+. Anyway, price was the main reason for us not bothering.

I should also just add something for people reading this who are planning on going...
Internal flights are extremely easy to book when in Myanmar. There is no need to tie yourself to an itinerary by booking internal flights before you go. If you do this, you will (depending on the agent you use) end up paying up to a 100% premium for the air ticket.
I can go into more detail on air travel in Myanmar but will only do so if people ask.

Simon, regarding the other places you ask about...
Sittwe: you only really visit here to get the boat to Mrauk U. There isn't anything to do here in the town itself. For you, you may be able to get a return flight from Mandalay to Sittwe (we took a return flight from Yangon so I can't be sure). Otherwise, I believe that access by road is a no as you need a permit to visit the state in which Sittwe/Mrauk U are located. Again, you could easily find this out from a hotel or travel agent.
Regarding Pyin Oo Lwin and Hsipaw.
They are on a separate train line any you have been on so far. This train line starts in Mandalay, with the first major stop being Pyin Oo Lwin. After Pyin Oo Lwin, the track passes over the Goiktek viaduct which in my opinion is a must see. The train continues up to Hsipaw which is a great place for trekking (although perhaps you won't fancy doing another trek). The train line continues terminating in Lashio but we did not get that far.

We took a shared taxi between Mandalay and Pyin Oo Lwin as it cut out an 8 hour train journey and cost about 6 USD each. pyin Oo Lwin is interesting enough. It's a hill station which the British built and visited when the summer heat of Mandalay was too intense. So it has a different climate to other places in Myanmar. This has allowed a huge botanical garden here to thrive which these days is the headline attraction. So make sure you visit the gardens if you decide to go.
Other than that, there are some 'interesting' old colonial houses and that's about it.

From Pyin Oo Lwin, we took the ttain for approx 10 hours via the goiktek viaduct to Hsipaw. Hsipaw town is dusty and not too exciting. There is an area jokingly known as little Bagan as there are a few temples to see but apart from that and trekking, not much to do!

That's all for now. If you want hotel or restaurant recommendations, I can try to remember. I'm now back in England so if demand is there, I could write up a full trip report.

[SimonV8ster]

Thanks Ollie.

Well i'm going to join the train again tomorrow - 'slow train to Thazi' as the scenary was excellent, stop the night there and then get a bus/coach to Bagan.

I'm going to skip the ferry trip to Mandalay so will check out some flights i think.

Will do the train trip north of Mandalay and the viaduct.

Anywhere good in Bagan you stayed ?