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!