Hpa An, landing at the smiling country
We arrive on Burmese soil in a very funny way… The trip from Hanoi was somewhat hectic. Indeed, we can now say that three hours of flight with a hangover (and not a small, but a real one with all that implies), well it’s not that easy! We were already happy to arrive in time to jump on the plane (do not ask Audrey how we managed this feat, she had connected the auto pilot right out of bed…), but the ultimate joy was to realize that we had taken a hotel with the airport shuttle! The following is quite simple. Our first 24 hours in Yangon resume at down to a shower, a nap, a pack of chips, a Coke, a night’s sleep. At thirty years old we do not recover in the same way, it will take another 48 hours to fully regain our chickenese energy.
For those who are a little lost between Burma and Myanmar, Rangoon and Yangon, etc… It’s quite simple! Burma is the ancient name of the British colony, and Rangoon its capital of the time (the current capital being Naypyidaw, between Yangon and Mandalay). Myanmar is not composed solely of Burmese (there are also Shans, very numerous in the East, Mon, Karen, Rohingas, who are suffering a lot at the moment… and many other ethnic groups), the name of Burma is no longer appropriate, even if the main language is Burmese. We should also talk about the “people of Myanmar” and not of Burmese, because it is only the main ethnic group. We’ll try our best to be clear, swear!
We will return to Yangon a little later to pick up two travelers. The first step of our trip to Myanmar is a little further east, to Hpa An (pronounced Pa-An). We were told the place was really good. The Hpa An region has only been open to tourists for two or three years. We also feel the tensions of the past conflicts in the country. The region is not under the direct control of the government but under the local army (the Kayin) in agreement with the government. But it is very safe and we do not feel at any time danger (moms, no worries!).
We arrive in the midst of school holidays (three months here, not bad for a summer break) and we meet a lot of local tourists from all over the country. Westerners are very rare, and we quickly become the attraction during our visits. We discover the life of Hollywood stars as we do not stop beeing taken in picture, selfie, face, back, alone or within a group of locals fascinated by our little white faces! Ironic because Audrey is trying to get them in picture! Even the monks on vacation take out their smartphones to take a picture of us. Expect to see our faces in photo on an altar during your next retreat in a monastery in Myanmar!
The real attractions here are the pagodas, the gigantic decorated caves dotted with Buddhas of all sizes and the views of the karst peaks in the area (again!). We discover the surroundings of the city by tuk tuk with four other people from our hotel. We are blown away by the landscapes and the kindness of the people with the reddened smile by what they cheek all day long, the beetlenut. The chickens are delighted with their day and spend a great evening with the other members of the small group. A couple of Hamburgers, with whom Audrey can practice a little her German and exchange good coffee addresses in Hamburg, and a Swiss German traveller with a thousand stories, all more original than the others. It really clicks between us five and we will spend our next days and evenings together, to discover the surroundings, watch the sunsets, and plan our future reunion (well yes, the travelers always meet again in one way or another).
Our trip to the little-known Hpa An region only lasted a few days, but it was ideal for us to get a hint of this country. Life is smoother, calmer, and people smily. It is a real pleasure to say hello to the least passer-by and receive the same punishment in return. In addition it helps a lot to practice a new language completely different from those we had discovered so far.
Capital digression in Yangon
Before the second real stage of our discovery of Myanmar, we must go back to Yangon to recover our two acolytes, Nadège and Shahab, who came to spend two beautiful weeks with us. Well, we do not really get them back. The bus ride from Hpa An was another successful trip (seven hours drive, two hours late, arrival at 4am, and we do not talk about the comfort…). So it is rather them who wake us up at the hotel in the early morning! We enjoy the day as we visit the amazing Yangon Shwedagon Pagoda. A set of 73 awesome pagodas at the top of a hill. The least we can say is that it shines! It is the largest pagoda in the country, there is gold everywhere, we feel that religion is important in Myanmar.
As we love it, we reserve a new night bus to Bagan on the evening, but this time in VIP class aboard JJ (for Joyous Journey) Express and its memorable slogan “The Way , The Truth, The Life “. It is true that it is something else marketing in Asia. Small cover, cupcakes in their box stamped “JJ Express, it’s like an airline, but on the ground”. We sleep like babies!
Bagan, the sunrise and sunset chase
Dawn welcomes us getting out of the plain in Bagan. We must say that as for the temples of Angkor, we expected much from such a well-known place and feared to be disappointed. Tourists are still a few to have chosen Myanmar as a destination however. Nevertheless, Bagan holds all its promises and dazzled us from the first morning by its beauty and authenticity.
As soon as the bags are put in the hotel, we rent our electric bikes (small electric Chinese scooters that can be found everywhere) and leave early in the morning discover the first temples. The atmosphere is calm, there is almost no one in the area and tourists are rare, we are thrilled. The aim of the game during the exploration of the plain of Bagan is to get lost in a small bush and be surprised by thousands of temples scattered here and there while trying at the same time to find the best point of view to contemplate sunrise and sunset. This activity will, in a way, punctuate our days in Bagan.
We save you the descriptive details of the temples, our photographs will explain you everything. The profusion and excessiveness of some of them leave us speechless. This is another feeling than what we experienced in Angkor because here we are free to go almost wherever we want to, and to watch the temples from the point of view we want. There are very few people to get lost as we strive to do, and we only meet other tourists in the most emblematic temples. Bagan will only be listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list next year at the earliest, and this is evident. The site is not yet submerged as its Cambodian counterpart, but on the other hand, it is not yet so well protected. Sometimes we come across some tourists who do not really measure the impact of their small incursion beyond a barrier or climbing the sometimes very fragile ruins. The quest for the most beautiful picture has side effects taht are, sometimes, quite sad. But at the same time, it’s hard to remain coherent in such a beautiful place!
All this has also brought us great moments of laughter. For example when at night we find ourselves (almost) out of power for the scooter and Audrey is forced to ride with Shahab and Nadège for a small trip at three. While Ben pushes its scooter like a kick scooter (trottinette) making peak at 10km/h before being pushed (via the leg) by a local also at scooter to reach our hotel. Also note the attempts of amateur adventurers that we are to find the stairs hidden in the temples to admire the sunrise while trying not to get bogged down in the sand. These moments are worth gold.
In order to vary the pleasures in the contemplation of the temples, one of the half-day is dedicated to an excursion to the mount Popa which will prove to be rather mitigated… A temple at the top of a karst peak which is reached by an endless staircase. Throughout the climb, monkeys beg for offerings that Buddhist pilgrims can not refuse, it would be against their religion. The show is pretty funny and that’s what made this tour fun (for sure not the – vain – extortion attempt of the minivan driver…).
In Bagan, as elsewhere, the Burmese are extremely smiling and kind. Ben discovered a new passion that is to shout “ming ga la pa” (“hello” in Burmese) to locals sitting in collective taxis or clap the children’s hands along the road from his scooter, while driving of course. To put it in a nutshell, we are by scooter or walking like fishes in the sea in this magical place. The tourism very present does not prevent us to be alone many times in the bush on dirt roads or sandy slopes when Ben thinks he is a driver of the Paris Dakar race. Bagan will remain for us a great stop not to miss in Myanmar.
Temples and sand adventures are over (for the moment). Our next stop is Mandalay, the second largest city in the country. But that’s for an upcoming chickens article!
See you soon!
Audrey & Ben