This summer I spent two weeks in Myanmar on a work trip. It was pretty jam packed, and a truly wonderful experience (and so lovely to meet so many colleagues in person after having worked together for so long!). I spent the weekend in Bagan, which was stunning, and my second week in Mandalay. After finishing work early one day, my wonderful colleagues took my sight-seeing. They were amazing tour guides and took me to some incredible places. See the photos below!
At work I currently support our Myanmar, China and Mongolia country programmes. This summer I went out for an induction with our Myanmar programme, and seeing the work we do on the ground was such an amazing experience.
I was there for about two weeks and while I can’t offer much in the way of logistics, as those were handled by work, I did take a personal trip to Bagan over the weekend and I’d really like to talk about that.
From Yangon, the best options to get to Bagan are via air or bus. For environmental (and fear-based) reasons, I always prefer bus over plane – a night bus being the dream. And there are quite a few night buses that run from Yangon to Bagan. The one I took was quite comfortable (and freezing), with our own TVs and blankets and such. Be sure to book a VIP ticket, as that is a row of single seats, meaning no one is next to you.
Tip: All the buses generally stop for about 30 minutes at a rest stop – everyone is forced off the bus, even at 1 am and even in the rain. I was pretty panicked because they announce when it’s time to reboard over loudspeaker in Burmese, but the bus drivers knew to look out for you and came and found me when I didn’t reboard.
We departed Yangon around 9:30 pm and arrived in Bagan around 5:30 am. There will be cabs waiting, so snag one and head to your hotel. I stayed ___ and it was loooovely. Right on the river, in the middle of Old Bagan, with a pagoda right in the garden. As Bagan is now a world heritage site, hotels built around pagodas will have to move, so not sure how long this place will be open but it’s a great spot while it’s available.
Tip: Just rent a motorbike.
I’m terrified of motorbikes and was completely against renting one. I rented a normal bicycle and struggled to move anywhere in the sand while motorbikes whizzed past. I persevered for about an hour before giving in, and the motorbike was such a great choice! You can see so much of Bagan on one. I don’t really have a Bagan itinerary, as there is a new pagoda every few feet and part of the experience is stumbling across less popular ones where you have their beauty to yourself. I went during rainy season and it didn’t rain at all in Bagan and meant I was one of the only tourists around. I was lucky with the weather but it was such a great time to see the city.
Tip: You can’t climb the pagodas anymore (there are “guides” who will sneak you up a few for some cash, I’d recommend not doing this as it’s illegal), so if you want views head to Bagan Tower (Nann Myint Tower). It was about 30 minutes by motorbike from my hotel, and the views were definitely worth it.
Bagan is incredibly stunning and though it wasn’t a place I’d long dreamed of going, I am incredibly grateful I was able to visit. Next time, maybe I face my fear of heights and join in on the famous hot air balloons?
From Bagan I headed to Mandalay for another week of work, however we finished early one day and my fantastic colleagues took me sight seeing, and wow is Mandalay beautiful!
I went to Turkey! And (not so) shockingly, it was amazing. We stayed in Istanbul, a beautiful, friendly city, that wasn’t what I expected, really. Not that I knew what to expect, but it felt much more European than I had imagined. It was fairly reserved–even in the bazaars (spice Bazaar was incredible), the people working the shops weren’t very aggressive, and when they were it was with more of a wry humor. I felt much more at home there than I thought I would–you think of Istanbul as this far off, distant land. And while it is steeped in history, I felt much less foreign than I have other places.
I went with my friend from Los Angeles, Lee. We worked together a few years ago at a talent agency, she became my work wife, and we ended up quitting on the same day (couldn’t be without each other for even a minute). She is a super badass and went to work for Wendy Davis’ campaign in Texas, and since then she’s been traveling around Europe. It was so amazing to see her in that context. She had hiked the Scottish highlands alone, ridden a camel across the Sahara, also alone (well, that was with a tour group, but she was without a companion). Since I last saw her she’s been to dozens of countries, fallen in and out of love, learned a bit of a few languages–all while living out of a backpack.
Istanbul made me want to see more of Turkey, and I left happy with what I’d seen and done, but very aware to really “crack” the city, I’d need to spend much more time there. Which is my biggest problem–weekend trips are nice to see and do new things, but I think there’s a big difference between being a tourist and a traveler, and I think to really have traveled to a place you need to spend a while, set some roots, make some friends. Build a mini life. So while I love quick trips like this, I always leave just wanting more. Not necessarily a bad thing!
The only thing of note that I didn’t photograph was our trip to a Hammam. One of the Turkish woman from our hostel recommended it, and it was both the highlight of the trip and the strangest travel experience I’ve ever had. She warned us it wasn’t a place for tourists, and there was a total language barrier, which made it more confusing but also much more authentic feeling. We arrived and were mimed to undress and go sit in a room with a lot of mini baths in it. After about 45 minutes we thought maybe that was it–just a public place to go and bathe, so we tried to leave. Then about 10 woman came in and took turns washing and scrubbing each other and us. We never knew when it was our turn and kept thinking it was over before it actually was. Then I got sharp looks for using my towel to dry my feet, and ended up having to put my sandals on my wet feet–got me a few blisters, that! I left feeling incredibly clean but not exceptionally relaxed. All in all, a great experience though.