Up to this point, we had done a fairly standard Burma trip. Two destinations on our itinerary were off the beaten path. First, on our way to Inke Lake we stopped for one day and one night in Pindaya. The second one was the Kyaiktiyo pagoda also known as Golden Rock, which was an extra two […]
Burma/Myanmar – Off the beaten path Pindaya caves and Kyaiktiyo pagoda Read More »
One of the most common questions about Burma I get is about the food and/or the hotel or lodging quality. So let’s talk about our trip and our experience. First we went with a small group and with a very experienced travel agency: Insider Asia. They have been organizing custom trips to Asia for many
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Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. Located 445 miles (716 km) north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of one million, and is the capital of Mandalay Region. Mandalay is the economic hub of Upper Burma and considered the center
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Depending of whom you ask, dust at Burning Man is a curse or a blessing. It’s a curse because when the wind is picking up, a dust storm can be really strong and makes your life miserable. You will get playa dust everywhere: in your eyes (invest in goggles), on your hair/body/clothes, inside your RV
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It’s this time of year! By the time you will read this post, I will be driving to the Black Rock City to Burning Man. If you want to see what the drive is, here a time lapse video I made last year while we drove. [vimeo vimeo.com/73748066 w=880] Burning Man is a massive self-reliance
Monks are very present in Myanmar, there are between 400,000 and 500,000 professional monks in a country of about 50 million people. Our photo leader (Tuan) had arranged that we could photograph some young monks (called novices) during an entire afternoon. Monks rise very early for the alms offering and then have their lunch quite early
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After landing in Bagan early in the morning, we went directly to the Shwesandaw pagoda, which offers an impressive view of Bagan and makes you understand why it is so popular. From the upper terrace, you can see hundreds of Buddhist temples and monuments. Bagan was once the capital city of the first Kingdom of
Burma/Myanmar – Bagan pagodas and temples (Shwesandaw, Shwezigon and Sulamani) Read More »
Those three pagodas are not as visited by tourists as the Shwedagon or the Sule pagodas but are absolutely worth a visit. First the Kyaukhtatgyi is home of a 229-feet long reclining Buddha statue. Almost across the street from the Kyaukhtatgyi Pagoda, is the Nga that gyi Pagoda which contains the 5 story high sitting Buddha. The Botataung is near the Yangon river and is 2500 years old.
Burma/Myanmar – Kyaukhtatgyi, Nga Htat Gyi and Botataung Pagodas Read More »
Kandawgyi Lake (or Great Royal Lake) is an artificial lake in the center of Yangon. It’s a pleasant place where locals start their day exercising (it opens at 5am and it’s free for all until 7am). I went there twice during my stay in Yangoon. The lake is famous for the replica of the Pyigyimon Royal Barge (Karaweik). The barge is made of concrete and was build in 1972.
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In my previous post, I told you that the number of tourists coming to Myanmar is increasing at a rapid rate. In some area, like the Shwedagon Pagoda or in Bagan, it was very obvious. In other area, like the Sule Pagoda it was not that obvious as we only saw a few tourists. However I believe this will change quickly.
The Sule Pagoda was next to our hotel in Yangoon, our trip was only starting at 8am, so we woke up 1.5 hours before sunrise and went to take pictures of the Pagoda. Tuan, who had been there a couple mornings earlier, gave us a good tip on where to find a great view of the place.
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