It was a trip that took months of planning and about a hundred or so emails crossing over Ireland, Singapore and the Philippines. We all wanted to take advantage of the Labor Day holiday, so it was agreed that we would go off somewhere…exotic. The initial plan was to go to Nepal and catch a view of Mt. Everest. But our travel agent couldn’t provide us with a flight back from Kathmandu. We talked of other destinations: Bali? Someone in the group has been there. Same thing with Thailand and Malaysia. Apo’s backup destination of choice? Myanmar!
He’d been wanting to see the Shwedagon Pagoda and the historic city of Bagan for the longest time. Besides, all of us hadn’t been there and so we all said yes. We’d been telling our Singapore friends our next travel destination for quite a few weeks, and we’ve all been asked one question: “Why Myanmar”? and our (or at least my) constant answer would be: “Why not?”
Little did we know that phrase will haunt us for the rest of our trip. It will eventually be a constant expression among ourselves, that every time we say those words, we will always definitely be reminded of our experience. How that happened will slowly unfold as i write about the trip.
First Day in Yangon
I left the night shift early to meet up with my friends at the airport. We caught the first flight out to Yangon, the capital city. Three and a half hours later, we were there. The airport actually impressed us. It looked new and clean (think of the budget terminal in Singapore, without the duty free shops). Except for the few minutes that the lights went off while we were waiting for our tour guide, we were actually excited to be there.
The weather was a bit gloomy. I was concerned that we might not get to tour around as much as we’d like to. And I was right. By the time we stepped out of the hotel after a few minutes of rest, it was raining heavily. But as always, not even gloomy weather can dampen our spirits…and our stomachs. We asked our guide to bring us to an eatery so we can sample their local dishes. And it was as local as you can get.
Their food is very close to Filipino food. Their fish paste tastes similar to ours, though a bit spicier. And how could you not love the vegetables in the middle? Healthy, huh? And you don’t have to order for it, it’s the first thing they place on your table. The dessert is sugar balls (we all loved this!)
After a short stop in their National Museum (pictures were not allowed), the rain lowered down to a slight drizzle. Just enough for us to go to the Shwedagon Pagoda. We could finally get close to that gleaming tower of gold we’d been seeing the whole afternoon. This is it: up close, on a rainy, cloudy day:
We were there for about an hour, taking in the view, listening to our guide talking about the pagoda and its history (interesting fact: the pagoda is made of real gold, and has a diamond at it’s peak!), taking hundreds of pictures, and making friends with the locals.
We would not have left the pagoda had our guide not told us that we were still going see the Giant Reclining Buddha of Yangon. With a sigh, we reluctantly left, went back to the van and proceeded to the Chaukhtatgyi Paya Temple.
When our guide said “Giant Buddha”, he meant it! This is what greeted us:
On the way back to the hotel, we passed by another pagoda:
After that, it was back to the hotel for us for some much needed rest and a shower. We all agreed on waking up early to catch our flight the next morning. The next day, we were off to the very dry and hot city of Bagan.
Read more of the Myanmar stories:
Myanmar Adventure — First part of Bagan
Myanmar Adventure — Exploring more of Bagan
