Month: July 2019

This blog features 8 best spots in Bagan for Architecture appreciation, sunset experience or for an advanced selfie session with less crowd. Hope this helps.

Bagan is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the land-locked Central Myanmar Region. As revered believers of Theravada Buddhism, the Bagan kings built over 10,000 Pagodas throughout 104 square kilometer area. Over 2,200 still survive to the present day.

Bagan is heaven for architecture junkies and photo enthusiasts.However, it is not necessary to visit all the 2,200 pagodas. Here is a shortlist of the must sees that I was able to visit, which I also find good for photo opportunities; advanced selfie man or with the whole Mark Nicdao entourage, Chos!

1. Shwezigon Pagoda was among the first sites that I’ve visited, as this was only a 20 minutes walk from my hotel in Nyaung U. Shwezigon is one of the oldest and most impressive monuments of Bagan, and is still used as a main place of worship for Buddhist locals. Most noticeable is the huge gold plated pagoda glimmering in the sun. Architecture detailing is superb!

2. ANANDA PHAYA . The Ananda Temple is a cathedral-like temple popular for its grandeur and proportion. The floor plan of Ananda resembles a Greek cross. The center hall bears four Buddhas, standing about nine feet tall and made from gilded wood.

3.Thatbyinnyu temple – The tallest in Bagan. The view from the back side is great for photo op. Not much people go there. Aside from Thatbyinnyu, there are several lesser pagodas on this area.

4. Dhammayangyi Temple. The largest temple in Bagan. However, only part of it is accessible. For an unknown reason, much of the interior has been sealed behind brick walls. This structure was built by a very controversial Bagan King, who was said to have assassinated his own father to take the thrown. Sad legends are linked to this building.

Stunning Architecture

Stunning Architecture, but selfie is more importanter

5. Sulamani Temple . known as the “crowing jewel” of Old Bagan with well preserved frescos and murals. Sadly, the center tower was toppled down during the recent earthquake. Just outside Sulamani is a small hill where tourists position for a good sunset viewing.

6. Bu Paya Waterfront Temple. Best sunset views over the Irrawaddy River. 7. Lawkananda Pagoda. The popular temple in New Bagan, rarely reached by tourists. A bit distant from the popular clusters in Old Bagan. This Pagoda is packed with locals during worship days.

8. Cluster of Pagodas near Nan Myint Tower. Not much tourists explore this area as it is also off path from the Old Bagan Cluster. Photo Op is very good! Best to visit this cluster in the afternoon, and proceed to the Tower for sunset viewing and dinner.

Things to know:

A fee of 25,000 Kyat or 20 USD is mandatory to all foreign visitors. Ticket covers all sites within Bagan Archeological Zone (except for the tower) and is good for 5 days. Payment is settled before entering major temples (Ananda, Dyammayanggi etc.)

Myanmar is strict  with dress code and “no shoes” policy before entering. Modest outfit is a must. You’ll be asked to rent a sarong if you are wearing shorts. It is also best to wear slip ons or prepare a pouch for your footwear, which you shall be taking off several times; including socks. The concrete foot path gets scorchingly hot. Sometimes, you have to step on bare ground with sharp pebbles.

Bagan is divided into 3 areas.

• Old Bagan – most of the temples and pagodas are located here.
• New Bagan – where most of the local communities settle. The lively side of Bagan for backpackers.
• Nyaung U – commercial district of Bagan where the bus and train station, government offices and banks are located. I opted to stay here for easy access to the market and other facilities.

More preparation tips and hostel recommendations on this link  —>>>

BACKPACKING MYANMAR:PRACTICAL TIPS FOR FIRST TIMERS

6 DAYS IN MYANMAR:SAMPLE ITINERARY

Myanmar today is quickly becoming a popular travel destination amongst Pinoy Travelers. Myanmar is VISA Free for Filipino tourists. And just recently, the City of Bagan, Myanmar’ cradle of civilization and one of the world’s richest archeological treasures, has been named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

General things to know for Myanmar first timers (plus other practical tips based on personal experience),

1. FLIGHT. We do not have direct flights yet from Ph to Myanmar. I took a flight from Manila to Bangkok (3.5 Hrs.) and another flight to Mandalay City,Myanmar (2 Hrs.). Metro Manila is 1 hour and 30 minutes ahead of Myanmar.  My flight details are given on the next article.
2. IMPRESSION. The country was under five decades of army-imposed hibernation during the later half of the 20th century. As it recently opened its doors to the world, Myanmar is relatively new to the tourism industry; though international standards naman ang facilities nila. Hotels are very good. Intercity transportation is established. Airport to City public transportation is well arranged. Myanmar is a mass of land that sits between India, China and Thailand. The Country is divided into 17 provinces. Mandalay, Bagan and Yangon are key cities, with the later as the biggest and most developed. Yangon, I say, is comparable to Ho Chi Minh, or Cebu. Cebu is actually a bit more advanced, I think, in terms of business and mercantile.

   

   

3. UNIQUE EXPERIENCE. As dominantly Buddhist, Myanmar offers sacred temple experiences, historic cities and traditional ways of life that is totally different from ours. And unlike SG or Hongkong, konte lang Pinoy overseas workers in Myanmar. Relatively rare chance to hear tagalog during your stay. Spending days in Myanmar, you can safely say “Ayyy! Nasa foreign country talaga me! “.
4. COMMUNICATION. Not everyone speaks english. Though personally, I did not encounter any communication problem. Most signs have a translation in english. Sim card for open line phones are also available upon arrival. Ph-booked pocket wifi’s also work well in city centre but expect to have little to no signal beyond the metro. Internet connection (Data Sim) is OK. Ph levels lang the speed. or slightly better.
5. BEST TIME TO GO. Myanmar is hot all year round. Best time to go is during the cooler months from October to February. March and April are the hottest months and that is when I went. Awow! Brayt! Kung alam ko lang. lol. Yun kasi mura na ticket, that I bought on promo months before. My travel days, particularly in Bagan, scorched over 40°C.
6. VISIT DURING A FESTIVAL? Myanmar reveres to its religious roots quite strongly as they celebrate Buddhist new year (Thingyan Water Festival) in the middle of April. During this time, locals flock Bagan pilgrimage sites to worship. As in, daming tao! Intercity public buses and trains, government offices cease operation for 3 to 5 days. Most tour agencies even take a break. Wala rin Hot Air Balloon Tours, which Bagan is popular of. Sakto, my booked dates fell on this, which greatly affected my Itinerary. Haha! Brayt again! So if you plan do an intercity travel with limited days, it is best not to go during the festival; or at least spend the whole 4 days in a single city. Hotels and most restaurants however, stay open to serve.
7. STRICT DRESS CODE. Myanmar is a land of temples and pagodas. Bagan alone has more than 2000 in one cluster. It is quite expected that visitors will do temple hopping in a day. Myanmar is strict  with dress code and “no shoes” policy before entering. Modest outfit is a must. You’ll be asked to rent a sarong if you are wearing shorts. It is also best to wear slip ons or prepare a pouch for your footwear, which you shall be taking off several times; including socks. The concrete foot path gets scorchingly hot. Sometimes, you have to step on bare ground with sharp pebbles. In Mount Popa, I climbed 777 steps on foot. Hassle, but it is part of the overall travel experience for the books. Bringing wet wipes and alcohol is highly suggested. Climbing to the top of the pagoda is strictly prohibited.

   

8. FOOD. Food in Myanmar is relatively affordable. Standard restaurant prices are comparable to Manila or probably a bit cheaper. Cheap food/street food options are also available. Local dishes are not complicated. Mostly rice meals, noodles  and lots of vegetarian options (because Buddhism) with practical influences from neighboring India, China and Thailand. Myanmar food is not as spicy as I expected. Their meat curry is not the usual-very fragrant meat dish that I am used to. Will be discussing more on food on the next articles.
   

   Burmese Pork Curry

   

   green papaya salad

   

   This is actually samosa cut in to random pieces and topped with salad.

   

   random samosa. strong indian influence

   

   Burmese Beef Curry with lots of side dishes that I didn’t expect. This was from a street side eatery in Mandalay and was the BEST meal I had in Myanmar
9. International food choices are available. But they do not have a single branch of Mcdonald’s today. I don’t know why. They do however have KFC in the big city of Yangon, but it is not popular to locals.
10. Water however, isn’t cheap and free. Most restaurants do not offer service water. Sold by bottle talaga. The hostel where I stayed in Bagan do not have water dispenser. I bought pa from the market. 
11. TRAVEL ROUTE. Most travelers start at Yangon and up. I, however, entered Myanmar via the Northern City of Mandalay. Bagan is 5 hours away by tourist bus. After Bagan, I took the overnight public bus to the Southern City of Yangon. It took me +10 hours. Overnight bus was pleasing, with international standard seat sizes and is reclinable. Intercity train is available and is actually cheaper, but is expected to take longer time. It was unavailable during my visit because of Thinyan Festival.
12. TRANSPORTATION AROUND BAGAN. As the most popular site, I spend most of my days in Bagan. Getting around the city is mainly by tuktuk or Motorbike. Public Taxis are scarce.  Tourists can rent electric-charged motor bikes at at low price (around 250-400 Pesos only per day).  Will be discussing more of this on the itinerary blog post.

    

Follow up blog posts on Myanmar on these links.

6 Days in Myanmar: Sample Itinerary for First Timers 

Focus Bagan : Unesco World Heritage Site – uploading soon

Focus Mandalay : The Burmese Old Ways – uploading soon

Yangon Tour in Less Than 24 Hours – uploading soon