I travelled in Myanmar in 2013, 2015 and 2016 when the Burmese people was optimistic about having a brighter future with democratic ruling. When we prepared for our first trip we were told not to discuss politics and don’t show images on Aung San Su Kyi, because it could cause problems for the Burmese we […]
Written by The port of Myeik provides the access to the archipelago which I think is the most valuable element from the city. The city is situated on the coast of the Andaman Sea, just north of the Tanintharyi River. To get to Myeik you must either come by bus or by plane. From north you’ll have […]
Hpa-An is situated in the Karen state were it is the capital. It is in the northern part of the south Myanmar. Even though it is the state capital and has approximately 75.000 inhabitants it feels like a small city. The houses are lower than what you find in Yangon and Mandalay, most only 2-3 […]
The city is located 80 km north east of Yangon, by train it takes 2 hours to get from Yangon to Bago and approximately the same by bus. I took the train from Yangon, it went at 8.00 AM and was leaving on time. It had one stop before we arrived to Bago. The landscape […]
Hsi Paw is placed in Shan State where it is the principal town. An easy way and quite interesting way to get there is to take the train from either Mandalay or Pyin Oo Lwin. I recommend to take the train from Pyin Oo Lwin, because the train takes 4 hours from Mandalay to Pyin […]
When we were planning our tour to Golden Rock it was difficult to find precise guidance how to get there. The confusion comes from places that have similar names. The town Kyaikto which is situated in the lowland, if you take the train from Yangon you have to get off the train here. Then you […]
Dawei is situated in the southern part of Myanmar. In January 2016 the route from Mawlamyine to Dawei was serviced by a standard 12 meter bus with a long history, but the approximately 310 km is travelled in only 8,5 hours. At this time the bus came from Yangon and stopped in Mawlamyine around 1800 […]
Pyin Oo Lwin is located 40 km north-east of Mandalay, the easiest way to get there is to buy a seat in a shared taxi. When we took the trip it took almost 2 hours from we started near the train station in Mandalay until we arrived at Pyin Oo Lwin city center. Almost 45 […]
When you have left Europe during the winter you are likely to long for summer, I do. With summer I think of a visit to a beach to swim in the ocean. Myanmar provides several opportunities to do so. I have found that Ngwe Saung Beach is a lovely spot for recreation. You find an […]
When you are in Mrauk-U you’ll have the opportunity to visit the Chin Villages. The most remarkable thing about the Chin villages is that until around 1972 women at the age of 16-17 were tattooed in the face. The tattoos are rather characteristic and as I understand the tattoos are unique for each village. What […]
The Shwe Taung Pagoda is the best place in Mrauk-U to watch the sun rise. The temples is located on one of the highest hill tops in Mrauk-U and it has a free view all over the area. To find it you must go by the road out of town towards Magdwe, just after you […]
Some calls Mrauk-U for little Bagan. The area is much smaller than Bagan and it holds fewer temples and sights than Bagan. Temples in Mrauk-U is not the same style as in Bagan, they seems heavier build. The first Europeans in Burma actually mistook the temples for fortresses because of the heavy look. While the […]
I’m visiting Myanmar for the third time in January 2016. This time I will travel to parts of Myanmar I have not visited earlier. Point of entry will still be Yangon, during my earlier visits Yangon have been like a hub I have been passing from and to other destinations, this time we will leave […]
I revisited Myanmar in January 2015, the visit included both places I had visited in 2013 and new places. I arrived at Yangon International Airport at January 1 2015 and left again on January 26. The visa application process for this visit was with the e-visa, which had been implemented during autumn 2014. The e-visa […]
Of course you can take the boat back to Sittwe and a plane from there. It’s straight forward, but it will set you back $130-200 per person. We wanted to try something different and we had previously with success taken a local intercity bus. After some research on the internet – prior to our trip […]
Mrauk-U is an ancient capital of the Arakanese Kingdom and was established I 1433. The city is situated in the north western part of Myanmar in the Rahine state. To get to Mrauk-U you can either take a plane to Sittwe and from there a bus or boat to Mrauk-U or you can take a […]
If you’ve been to the gold pounders district and experienced how thin gold can be flatted you’ll will probably have a hard time to believe what you see in this pagoda. The main attraction is the central Buddha statue, which is fitted in the centre of the pagoda. A long carpet clad passage in front […]
A more than 100 years old temple build from teak wood. It’s located in a peace full garden and you are allowed to go in. Some of monks are eager to talk with the visitors, so allow yourself a chat with them even though not everybody is fluent in English. Several places on the building […]
In the south end of Mandalay city you find a street where all workshops are dealing with marble cutting. Workshop might seem as a more fancy word than what you experience in the streets. Most of the shops are only a shed with 3 walls and part of a roof, the work is performed mostly […]
You will most likely meet the habit of putting leaf gold on Buddha statues and you are likely to meet women who try to sell you leaf gold in small packets. So Myanmar uses a lot of the leaf gold and need to produce them. You can see the production of the gold leafs in […]
Sagaing hill is not in Mandalay itself, but approximately 20 km south west of Mandalay city centre. It’s a fine place for a day trip. The easiest way to go is to hire a taxi to take you around in the area.We went to a weavers workshop, they operated both semi-automatic weaves and fully manual […]
This iconic bridge apparently is a must see in Mandalay. I will say the bridge looks well at all times of the day, but it is specially amazing when seen in the twilight (either before sun up or after sun set). I’ve heard that it can be hard to get a view of the bridge […]
The pagoda is home the worlds largest book. Mindon Min had Tripitaka carved in stone in the 1860’s to secure that the book would last until 4.000 years after the Buddha. The book is set up in small stupas – one for each page or stone slab – arranged in rows and columns. The sighting […]
In the northern part of Mandalay you’ll find Mandalay Hill with it’s pagoda. When you walk up the hill you’ll probably think that it is not one pagoda but a series of pagodas. At the entrance you are meet by to very large lion like sculptures or correctly name chinthes. The chinthes are the guardians […]
Yan Kin Hill is found at the east end of the 19th street, the easiest way to get there is to hire a taxi or ride a bike. As with Mandalay hill the sight is a series of pagodas and monasteries place on the hill. Yan kin hill is not as crowded as Mandalay hill […]
Mandalay is the second largest city in Myanmar and is the capital of Mandalay Region. Mandalay has served as the Burmese capital for a short notice from 1857 through 1885. The status as a capital was removed by the British annextation. When you look at the map you’ll find Mandalay approximately in the middle of […]
My first trip to Myanmar or Burma took place in November 2013. We had been curious about this former closed country that through some years had been opening up towards the external world. But we do not want to support an oppressive dictatorship, we would like to support the free population of the country. So […]
The first option is a taxi bike, only relevant outside Yangon. It’s a tri-bike that mostly assembles an ordinary old-school mens bike without gears fitted with a sidecar. The sidecar can with good will be said to have to passenger seats, however I’ve never seen both seat used. But I’ve seen – and tried – […]
You’ll find them everywhere. The bike is typical fitted with a 75-150 ccm and in scooter design. If you are Burmese you would probably think such a device can seat 3-4 , but I recommend to limit it to the driver and one passenger. In the cities the motorbike taxi can progress faster than the […]
The taxi is a good idea when you are going around in a city, at least it will protect you from the traffic and weary feats, save you time and might be comfortable. If you have only been in a taxi in Europe you think of taxis as a uniform experience, forget it in Myanmar […]