From Pyay to Bagan

 

Hello,

after a really adventurous Train ride from Pyay to Bagan we finally made it to Nyaung U, which is few Kilometres away from Bagan.

On our last Day in Pyay we visited just a Pagoda again and the white Buddha as well.

I'm still very impressed by this Buddha, 10 stories High. Unfortunately we didn't made it do make a shot of him at Night, because he was lighted up, but we see that on the way to the Train so it was to late.

Getting the Train Ticket was 2 Days task. It is really not easy to get from a City to another sometimes in Burma. Anyway, at least some Traveller Romantic at the end of the Day waiting for the Train in the middle of nowhere.

So after a 12 Hours train ride,which on one hand was just incredibly uncomfortable, because the train sometimes just jumps up and down because of the Bad condition of the trails, and it was really feeling like it will turn over any Moment, but on the other Hand, soon as the sun came up it has given us some really nice views. We arrived at Bagan at around 12 mid day. In Bagan the last days was temperatures about 45° Degrees. U cannot imagine how hot it is here.

At our first Day here we just visited the Old Pagoda inside the City, which was nice but nothing in Compare with Schwe Dagon we visited before..We called that Day an early end.

Next Day, well, Bagan. Bagan is hard to describe with Words because its just so Beautiful that you have to see it with your own Eyes to believe. I will just share some Photos without description.

 

The Area is just so Huge its unbelievable, the Temples reach until the Horizon.

Chillin for the Sunset. On this Place, the local Guy told us, in High Season there are over 500 People gathering up to watch the Sunset, call it lucky or not, if  you can stand the Heat, we see it with around 20 People.

Unfortunately it was cloudy, but that made it special somehow.

Was a great Day. On the way back Tabea managed to get a Flat Tire with 7(!) holes in it, which we need to let repair. After Repair, made our way back in the Pitch Black and another wheel went Flat, well, Burma.

Next Day we were goin to Visit Mount Popa, a old Vulcan Hill which is quite nice, but bit expensive to visit.

Its really steep, but on Top a small Pagoda place.

Bananas!

Small Monk on the Way up.

Quite High.

Monkeys for sure.

Well, was okay but nothing i would recommend you have to do whilst in Bagan.

Next mornin, get up at 5 AM to go to the Sunrise, with a Horse Carriage!

I just share 2 Photos of the Mass i have, it was impressive.

Lovely.

 

Tomorrow, finally we leave Bagan to go to cooler area ( hopefully) which is Inle Lake and Kalaw. The Bus Ride there will take around 12 Hours through the Mountains on very steep and bad Roads, lets see if we made it there alive. I hope you enjoy the Photos, I'm not able to Upload much, i have A LOT more.

Greetings from Nyaung U, Burma.

Pyay

 

Today’s the 22.04.2012 and were the second Day in Pyay, well, lets say its the first Day because yesterday was Bus Drive all Day. Yesterday we just went to get some Food, which was probably the best Decision of that Day because the Owner of the Restaurant was a Burmese Guy who worked as a Sea Men for a German Company in Hamburg for a long Time and was very good at English. Pyay is quite lets say “remote” and nearly no Tourists are coming here. So everybody on the Street looks and smiles at you as if you were from another Planet. As u you can Imagine it is quite hard to get away from a Place like that again. No Guesthouses who can arrange everything for you like Tickets or whatever, in Burma, you have to do all by yourself which is quite adventurous. So I've been to the Train station 2 Times already, yesterday and Today, and was not really 100% sure if the Guy understood what i want, or if we really can get the Nigh train tomorrow to go to Bagan…. So gladly the Seamen helped us out very kind. He called there and made sure we can get the Train by Tomorrow, and Tomorrow at 7pm we need to call again at the Train station to be sure we have a bed in the Train… Lets see how this Story will end. However, back to Pyay.

Pyay is a quite nice “little” Village which some Pagodas and very friendly People. You get a Hello from everybody you smile at, its very nice.

I found a Wi-Fi Place for tomorrow, so ill be maybe able to Update the Blog by tomorrow, if the connection allows it.

So let me share some Impressions of Pyay with you, before we go to the Ultra Hot Bagan… Everybody here you ask about Bagan says, “uuuhhhh Bagan! VERY HOT!” When they say it… oh my god.

The Fat Chinese Guys as we call him from our Guesthouse drive me to the Train station, i took the opportunity to take some Photos along the Way.

Old Stone Pagoda.

Welcome to the wonderful World of Burmese Transportation.

Trishaw Driver.

Burmese Monks they use to wear Red Robes instead of Orange like in Thailand and Lao.

See the Guy sleeping in the Back.

Oh look, the Burmese Transport again.

The Guards of the Main Pagoda in the City Centre.

Same same as in Yangon, you get up there with the Elevator…

Big Pagoda again.

Amazing atmosphere up there. Especially when you're the ONLY Tourist there! It was great!

 

But even greater and more impressive was the i guess 20 Meters High white Buddha not far from the Temple place…It was like a Sandstorm at that Moment, so the light isn't that great.

And at the End of the Day a little Sunset at the River.

As i said before, i made hundreds of Photos, but i will not be able to upload them from here. So, wish us luck to get to Bagan in one Piece, or get there at all tomorrow

Read me next Time, from Bagan maybe.

Good Times.

First Day in Burma

 

Our first Day in Burma started early, early as 4:00 AM to get up and get to the Airport at 5:00 AM.

After a more or less comfortable Flight with the Air Asia we arrived in Yangon at like 8:15 after ~ 1 1/2 Hours.

After another Hour of Immigration queue we finally made it! We arrived in Burma! Go out of the Airport and see the Taxis. Wow. No AC but open Windows instead, the Cars are all older then we are. Want to see how safe they look from Inside? Here you go.

Don't even ask how they look from Outside  

But anyways, he bring us the 18 Kilometres into the City Centre to the Sule Pagoda, to the Okinawa Guesthouse which Radka recommended me, she was in Burma in February so we got first hand Recommendations from my GF.

Arrived there it was clear instantly. This is different from any other Country we visited so far. Its like a mixture between India and some other Planet

I'm not able to upload so many Pictures, if I'm able to Upload anything i don't know yet, because the Internet, if available in Burma is VERY slow.

So far so good, at least the Guesthouse was  a good one, even for 25 US Dollars, but divided through 2 its ok. Always fucking expensive big City prices as everywhere. But better Pay 25 US Dollar than going into a Place which was described in our Guidebook as “The cheapest Accommodation in Burma, where you can see the Rats going up and down the fire Ladders in front of your Window”.

At least a good accommodation in another dirty Capital City.

So a long day come to us, we decide to spend one day here and leave the next Morning.

So what you do one Day in Yangon? Exactly, change Money on the Black Market. They are totally crazy about Dollar Notes! If the Notes are not in PERFECT and FLAWLESS condition, they say, we don't take it. If they have been folded once and they can see and proof of that, they don't take it. If a corner of a note is folded or missing, they don't take it. So honestly! If you decide go to Burma, take BRAND NEW US DOLLAR NOTES! I'm not joking! don't fold them, keep them straight and clean, and best, take them from Europe already, because its hard to get new ones in Thailand!!!

Anyways, one Day in Yangon, where you go? Sure! To the Schwe Dagon Pagoda! A very wonderful and Big Place!

The good thing is, as far as we have seen now, there are just a few other tourists, you rarely see them at all. So its a much better experience over all. There are only Locals on the way.

The Schwe Dagon Pagoda is the biggest and most popular in Yangon, you have to enter it over an Elevator, because its up on a Hill.

In the Centrum, there is the big Pagoda, and around it are A LOT of different temples and other Stuff, where People just hanging out or Praying. The Place has a great relaxing atmosphere. I share some Pictures with you.

Monk heading to the Elevator to leave the Pagoda.

Near the entrance of the Pagoda.

Its a huge Place, like a small Village.

Wonderful.

Ceremony where some Guys get Monks.

The Main Pagoda is HUGE!

 

But its Night where the Magic starts to happen. They glow up the whole Place which looks unbelievably beautiful. I have huge Amount of Pictures, too much to Post them, so if interested ask me when I'm Back to show you

Its amazing.

And how you can see if your Taxi Driver is a good one? Exactly, when he offers you a Cigarette when you enter the Taxi, and has his own Can of Beer Chang in his Hands,drinking it while driving.

At the end of the Day we had an Burmese Dinner and after we were going to bed early, because the next Day would include a exhausting Bus Drive to Pyay, which lays between Yangon and Bagan.

Next day, after a one hour drive with the Taxi to the Bus Station we going into the Bus, which was not that bad… just not enough Space for the legs, so it was very uncomfi. It was only around 6 Hours drive, but to imagine a 15-20 Hours drive in it directly to Bagan, i would die.

Arrived in Pyay we recognized the unbelievable Heat. It must have been around 40° already, because even the Wind while driving to our accommodation was extremely hot, like when you use a hair dryer, u nearly cannot stand it. Pyay is a “little” Village which we will discover in the next 2 Days, it was some Pagoda and some nice big White Buddha. It is not like Laos, Thailand or Cambodia here, where you go to a Travel agency and everything gets arranged for you, its a real adventure here, you have to do all on yourself, which means if you want to go on to Bagan you need to go to the Train Station yourself and ask for it, and if you want to leave next day and you end up there with a guy, if there is anybody at all, telling you oh, no train tomorrow, engine broke, don't be surprised, this will happen not only once to you in Burma.

So we managed to get a train (i hope) on April 23. Its a night sleeper which approximately takes 8 hours from here to Bagan, costs 28 Dollars, i hope its worth the Price… When i upload this, i probably will upload more new entry's as well, so don't be surprised if more blog entry's appear at the same Time, because there is just no Internet here and i write them in Advance to not miss anything...

So, i hope we make our way to Bagan, where will be maybe about 45° of heat… Its crazy hot here, u cannot imagine if you never been in hot Country like that. If you been here once, you will never ever complain about heat in Europe again

 

Hear you soon, Greetings from Pyay, Burma.