Inle Lake is filled with “floating villages” with houses built on stilts

Children growing up on Myanmar’s Inle Lake first learn to walk, then to pilot a boats. There are no roads here. If you want to go to work, the market or just see a friend, you go by boat. The same holds true for tourists: If you want to experience the former Burma’s most-unique region, you’re going to need a boat guide.

The following is a guide of what to see and do at Inle Lake – if you want information about How to get to Inle Lake and Where to Stay, see Travelhappy’s previous Inle Lake Orientation post.

How Inle Lake Boat Tours Work
Boat tours can be hired either in travel agents or via off the street in Nyaungshwe and start at around $18 for an eight-hour tour of the North Lake. (See TravelHappy’s guide to Nyaungshwe for full details.)

Your day will start around 8 a.m. the next morning. Besides a camera and sunscreen, you’ll also need warm clothing; it may have been roasting in Bagan, but it’s cold on the lake. Dressing in layers is best, as you can strip down as the day gets warmer.

What to See (and Skip) At Inle Lake
Inle Lake tour agents and guides have a well-established route for tourists, but following it will leave you less than satisfied if you’re trying to explore “real” lake culture. Although Myanmar attracted only about 300,000 western tourists in 2011, Inle’s tourist route is small and very much overrun with boats full of foreigners.

If you’ve arranged a private guide, also create a private itinerary, dropping points that likely will be packed with white faces can be a smart move. On the North Lake, a couple of stops can (or should) be outright skipped.

On Inle Lake, if you want to go anywhere, you go by boat

• Hpaung Daw U Pagoda – This is rated by some as the No. 4 temple in Myanmar, which says a lot considering the stupefying number of stupas in the country. But its only feature is a set of over-gilded, almost unrecognizable Buddha images. Unless you’re really into temples, you can skip the crowds here.
• Floating Market – This market is for tourists only. Few locals actually shop here, so there’s little to gain from the crowds of foreigners and Buremese souvenir peddlers.

A Less-Touristy Route Around Inle Lake
For an enjoyable trip of about seven hours veers a bit more from the usual route, try an itinerary that takes you into the middle of the lake early to watch fishermen, then on to Nampan’s “floating” village, the tribal villages along the muddy canals behind Nampan, the weaving factories of Phaw Khone, the “floating gardens,” the “split-personality” village of Maing Tauk and the touristy, but still cute, “jumping cat monastery.”

An Intha fisherman, paddling his boat with his foot

Nampan
Technically, all of Inle Lake’s villages are “floating,” meaning houses are
built on stilts or float on the water’s surface. Nampan, principally a bedroom community for fishermen, is one of the larger ones on the North Lake and early in the day you’ll see kids as young as 3 or 4 paddling around, women doing laundry or even bathing (with clothes on) in the lake.

With my constant photo-snapping and requests to slow down, my young guide figured out what I wanted to see and, instead of heading back out into the lake, pulled into another Burmese village next to Nampan and then an Intha village behind that. The cultural pecking order was much in evidence here, with Nampan’s clear lake water and lush embankments giving way to muddy rivers and rougher landscapes.

In Phaw Khone
Just north of Nampan is In Phaw Khone, a working village devoted to silk, cotton and lotus root weaving. Sure, it was a a bit of a tourist trap, complete with store at the end of the tour, but the weaving didn’t stop when the tourists left and the vast majority of the finished products were sold at local markets, not in the gift shop.

Floating Gardens
WIth no land to grow crops on, Inle residents have built their own “floating gardens.” The man-made plots are about a meter deep and supported with bamboo. Your guide will invite you to step out, but be careful: It’s like walking on a waterbed!

Nga Hpe Kyuang – the Jumping Cat Monastery
After lunch comes the concession to tourist traps: the so-called “Jumping Cat Monastery.” (see the Jumping Cat Monastery video from a previous Travelhappy post). Officially known as In Phaw Khone, the giant teak building on stilts is home to only four monks, who maintain the building using donations from their trained-cat shows. For small donations, they’ll come out to have their kitties jump through hoops and do other tricks for food.

Be careful not to come at lunchtime or during prayers, as the shows won’t be available. The cats will be lounging around on mats, though, if you want to try an entice them to jump.

The split personality village of Maing Tauk and its 500-meter-long teak bridge connecting the town's two halves

Maing Tauk
After a longish ride back up the lake toward Nyaungshwe, you’ll get the grand finale of the day: Maing Tauk.

This is a village with a split personality: half is on water, half on land. It also boats a 500-meter teak bridge similar to Amarpura’s U Bein Bridge, only not nearly as long or high.

You’ll pull up to the bridge and invited to go ashore for a walk through town, which consists of just two dirt roads. You’ll see women carrying cords of firewood on their heads, schoolkids in uniform getting out of class and the obligatory foreign couple that pedaled on bicycle from Nyangshwe.

Near the water’s edge women are working in the fields and, if you’re there late enough, you’ll catch fishermen returning from the lake and, if you’re lucky, even a sunset over the water.

They’re all simple-life scenes, but the scenery is so beautiful and the atmosphere so relaxed, you’ll float away from Inle Lake feeling you’re truly experienced something unique.

Originally posted at Travel Happy


Title: Inle Lake, Myanmar: Things To See And Do

An Intha fisherman outside the Inle Lake canal leading to Nyaungshwe.

Tucked in between the dusty plains of Bagan and the mountains of Shan State lies Myanmar’s watery oasis of Inle Lake. Unique in weather, landscape and culture from the rest of the former Burma, it has become a “must see” for the few, but increasing numbers of, western tourists who have discovered the country.

It’s a region with almost no roads, where going anywhere requires a boat. Houses sit on stilts, farming is done on man-made “floating gardens” and markets move with the currents around the lakeside. Here the Burmese, Intha and other tribal peoples live together in harmony, harvesting fish and seaweed from the lake, weaving textiles and even training cats to jump through hoops for tourists.

Visiting Inle takes some planning and while not everyone may relish their accommodations being confined in the country’s closest thing to a backpacker haven, Inle is definitely worth the effort. The experience of shooting out in a longtail boat onto the water shortly after sunrise to experience the lake culture is an experience that will not soon be forgotten.

From the many choices of ways to get to Inle, to the fact most people don’t actually stay on the lake, to the surprising size of the region itself, it takes some planning to maximize your experience.

A tourist tour boat speeds out from Nyaungshwe to Inle Lake

Nyaungshwe Town – Almost Inle
While it is possible to actually stay on Inle Lake, most people don’t. They stay in Nyaungshwe, the largest land-based town connected to the north end of the lake by a canal.

Even though Myanmar gets only 1 percent of the western tourists neighbouring Thailand attracts, Nyaungshwe has more than a little of that Koh Tao vibe, minus the buckets of liquor. There are more white faces than Burmese, every corner restaurant seems to serve pancakes and pasta, and the cheap guesthouse is king.

Budget Or High End Inle Lake Accommodation?
For those coming to Inle hoping to immerse themselves in local life, Nyaungshwe is a definite disappointment. However, it is possible to stay on the lake. It simply will cost you more and the only Burmese you’ll meet are the staffers at your high-end resort.

Virtually all of these high end Inle Lake resorts are located in the South Lake and are almost universally gorgeous. The Villa Inle Resort, Pristine Lotus Spa and Shwe Inn Floating Resort are the best regarded, but also carry per-night rates of $100 to $250.

However, there’s numerous cheaper Inle Lake resorts available to book online too.

Warning: prices are continually on the increase at Inle Lake. Check online pricing before you go, and don’t expect quoted prices in your guidebook to be particularly accurate.

I visited several of Nyaungshwe’s guesthouses, with Mingalar Guesthouse and Gypsy Inn as two of the best rock bottom budget choices. Both are very welcoming places located a few blocks from Phaung Daw Pyan Road (the main artery through town) and have rooms costing in the single digits.

For those looking for slightly more up-market digs, there are two spots travelers rave about:

• Princess Garden Hotel – Rated No. 1 on many travel sites, this hotel costs around $35 a night, but is not as centrally located. It does have a pool though.
• Teakwood Guesthouse – This has a great combination of nice rooms, beautiful grounds, great location and price, with double- and single-occupancy rooms running about $35 per night. However, there are a lot of mixed reports about the owner and staff being less than friendly or helpful, so study previous guest reviews with care

Downtown Nyaungshwe, the gateway to Inle Lake

How To Get To Lake Inle
Even if you choose to stay on the lake, you’ll still need to go through Nyaungshwe, as it’s the gateway to the entire lake, which is split between the smaller North Lake and the humungous South Lake.

There are a few ways to get from elsewhere to Nyaungshwe, obviously depending on where you are coming from.

• Bus – No direct buses run to Nyaungshwe, with the overnight Yangon service ending in Shwenyaung, requiring a taxi or shared pickup ride for the short ride to the Inle area. A 5 a.m. bus from Bagan will also drop you off 19 hours later on the highway leading to Shwenyaung where you can pickup a shared ride.
• Train – Train service from Yangon goes to Thazi with a multi-hour layover before continuing to Shwenyaung, where again you’ll need to get a ride.
• Air – With ground transport such an obvious hassle, most people fly to Heho 25 miles away. You can get taxis at the airport ($25), but many guesthouses will arrange cheaper rides ($18).
• Walking – The most interesting, but more arduous, route is by foot. Three-day, two-night treks from Kalaw will land you right in Nyaungshwe after passing through beautiful mountains and plenty of tribal villages.

Seaweed farmers scoop up weeds and plants growing below the surface of Inle Lake

Preparing For Inle Lake
Once you’ve made it to Nyaungshwe, there’s not much to do other than eat and book your boat tour for the next day. Your guesthouse will love to book one for you, but you can easily find better rates and tours on the town’s main drag. Book your tour, then grab a bite to eat.

Most tours cover only the North Lake, due to the distances involved. Prices quoted in most 2012 guidebooks already have risen by 50 percent. But even at $18, a private eight-hour tour is a great value.

Shop around, as travel agents are very competitive with many able to arrange private guides with good English for the same price as group tours in larger boats. You just need to ask and be prepared to walk out to shop elsewhere if you get exactly what you want.

Eating At Inle Lake
Once you’ve booked your trip, it’s time to relax. There are a couple of well-reviewed family run Burmese restaurants on Nyaungshwe’s main street, as well average-quality, overpriced Indian (Indra), European (Viewpoint), and Pizza (Star Flower). And if you simply must have pancakes, then Pancake Kingdom is the place to go.

The best option for dinner, however, may be the roadside barbecues near the night market. You’ll be eating by candlelight, as there are no streetlights in Nyaungshwe, but the food is fresh, delicious and very cheap. And the Myanmar beer is very cold.

Originally posted at Travel Happy


Title: Inle Lake, Myanmar – How To Get There And Where To Stay

Amarapura's U Bein Bridge at Sunset

Mandalay is an established tourist stop but Myanmar’s second-largest city is, for the most part, a soulless collection of wide, well-paved streets, neon, and karaoke joints with a smattering of overpriced hotels. There are few reasons to tour Mandalay – its attraction is what lies beyond: the ancient capitals of Sagaing, Inwa and Amarapura.

Getting There
The beauty of visiting the three old capitals is that they all can be done in one day. Your Mandalay guesthouse can arrange the all-day adventure for 15,000 Burmese kyat (around $19 USD) and they’re almost always done on the back of a motorbike. Tours by car are not possible in Sagaing or Inwa, although horse and cart could be a (slow) option.

Tours begin around 8 a.m. and return at sunset. Most usually begin with a 20-minute drive to Sagaing and stop for lunch before heading onto Inwa. The day’s finale ends in late afternoon with the dramatic sunset over Amarapura’s U-Bein Bridge. Be sure to apply sunscreen liberally and wearing both a hat and easy-to-remove sandals are recommended.

A view of Sagaing's temples from U Ponya Shin Paya

Sagaing
Arriving in Sagaing – the capital of Myanmar from just 1360-64 and 1760-64 – you may find yourself alone there. The city has very few residents who aren’t monks. But there are a lot of temples. The hills are dotted with golden stupas, so many tour guides make only one stop: the revered Soon U Ponya Shin Paya.

Supposedly sprung from the mating of a frog and a rabbit, the pagoda sits atop a mountainous flight of stairs. Just be careful to come down the same flight you went up or you may not find your driver.

Perhaps more interesting than the temple itself, were the grounds. The view from the top of the hill is impressive and the property actually is home to some non-monks, including a woman living in a teahouse with four small children.

Through limited English she explained she lived there knitting bags and other accessories to sell to tourists. The tea was free, but a 1,000 kyat tip was appreciated. Totally peaceful, the visit was one of those “moments” you remember long after.

One of four children living in a teahouse on the grounds of U Ponya Shin Paya in Sagaing

Inwa
Serving as capital three times, totaling about half of the past 650 years and most recently from 1823-41, Inwa’s main sights include two monasteries, the palace ruins and a pagoda. It’s also the textbook definition of a tourist trap.

Even though you’ve paid for your tour, you’ll be dumped off at a river’s edge, where you have to pay a boat operator 1,000 kyat to take you 30 seconds across the water to a stable of horse-cart drivers who make Thai and Vietnamese taxi drivers seem polite.

There’s no way to see the sights other than by horse cart and the fare is 5,000 kyat for one person for 2,500 kyat each for a minimum of three. Single travelers were not permitted to pair up with others. Drivers simply refused to take them. And they do not bargain.

Once you’ve arrived at the first stop, you’ll be hit for more fees; this time a U.S. $10 fee for a government “permit” to see the historical sites in the three capitals.

In hindsight, the entire Inwa stop could be skipped. The teak Bagaya Kyaung monestary, a 1834 structure built on 267 wooden posts, is all but empty and quite dull. Nanmyin, the ruins of the old royal castle has only an observatory tower left. And Yedanasini Paya was pretty, but doesn’t hold one’s interest long.

A Burmese schoolgirl looks back for a friend as she walks her bicycle across Amarapura's U Bein Bridge

Amarapura
The highlight of the entire day is Amarapura’s U Bein Bridge.

Before you get there, however, you’ll likely make a stop at the Kyauktawgyi pagoda, home to a surprisingly dirty reclining Buddha and a colorful sitting Buddha. The whole place feels somewhat neglected.

U Bein, however, is amazing. The world’s longest teak footbridge curves some 1,300 meters across the shallow Thaungthaman Lake. Built by in the mid-1800s under commission from the mayor U Bein after salvaging the unwanted teak columns from the old palace during the move to Mandalay, the bridge is busy throughout the day but sees the most activity at dusk: fishermen in the still waters, monks streaming crimson from one end to the other, Burmese biking from shore to shore on their way home from work.

Unsurprisingly, it’s one of the most photographed sites in Myanmar and you can easily spend 90 minutes walking both on and below the bridge. The only shocker was one many people don’t see from above: the blanket of garbage below the bridge. Potato chip bags, beer bottles, diapers and even shoes have been tossed by Burmese as they make their way across the expanse. Much of the land below is farmland, but apparently the locals think it also is a dump.

Sunset here is a remarkable sight, so tell your driver to wait and have your camera ready.

Originally posted at Travel Happy


Title: Amarapura, Sagaing and Inwa – A Day Trip To Burma’s Ancient Capitals

Yangon by Kevin Kelly

Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired magazine, tech futurist and author of the stunning travel photo book Asia Grace, is currently traveling Myanmar and keeping a blog of sorts on his Google+ page. Kelly is mainly focusing on the Inle Lake area but his Google+ page already has some fascinating updates and photos from his first few days in Burma. If you visit the page, his Myanmar travels begin on 29th April (they’re posted in reverse chronological order) and before that there’s his reflections on Singapore which are also worth a read.

I interviewed Kevin Kelly about his book Asia Grace last year on Travelhappy – it’s a collection of photos from his travels in Asia in the early 1970s which have now been made available online and through an iPad app where others can leave notes about the location and content of each photo. It’s really worth checking out as a unique snapshot of Asia long before mass tourism arrived.

Originally posted at Travel Happy


Title: Kevin Kelly In Myanmar

Farmland spreads out from Hsipaw village's northern border to the hills and waterfall beyond

In a country that hosted only about 300,000 western tourists in 2011, there’s really no such thing as the “beaten path” for tourists. But if you want to get off what path there is, then a stop in Hsipaw is a great option.

While Internet travel forum curmudgeons have labeled Hsipaw “the most touristy place in Shan State,” that isn’t saying much. Some stops along the main Shan railway have exactly one guesthouse to accommodate visitors. Hsipaw, at least, has three.

Why Visit Hsipaw?
Hsipaw’s attraction lies in what it doesn’t have: You won’t find dozens of temples, ancient ruins or cultural theatres. This is the Asian countryside, much as it has been for 50 years. Only a couple streets are paved, ox carts are common means of transport and the entire area is self-sufficient.

All the crops grown in the fields and products made in home workshops are sold in the local market. The outside world intrudes only twice a day with the coming-and-going of the slow train to Mandalay, during which you can see and cross the jawdropping Gokteik Railway Viaduct.

Unpaved dusty streets are the norm in Hsipaw

Where to Stay In Hsipaw
While there are plans afoot to build a proper hotel and golf course outside town, for the foreseeable future tourists have a choice among three guesthouses.

The Mr. Charles guesthouse is the most popular. But as the first inn for international tourists in town, it has grown to be both too large and its staff too greedy and arrogant for many. The Lonely Planet forum has hosted such a long-running and vehement anti-Charles thread, it’s now linked on Hsipaw’s Wikipedia page.

Those looking to escape the kind of avarice many fear will sweep Myanmar as it opens to the west should choose the Nam Khae Mao Guesthouse on Hsipaw’s main road. Like everywhere in Myanmar, room rates are now about double what even recent travel books estimate, but the staff is incredibly friendly and helpful and all the same treks and activities Mr. Charles offers can be had here … for less.

Where To Eat In Hsipaw
Unless you’re staying at Mr. Charles (which pushes its own restaurant), you’ll have several good options for dining. The most popular place is Mr. Food, a Chinese joint with cheap, cold draft beer. Better cuisine can be had a few doors away at San, which offers half a barbecued duck, soup, rice, two sides of veggies and a tall Myanmar beer for $7.

The view from Sunset Hill as another day comes to an end in Hsipaw

What to Do In Hsipaw
Trekking is the thing to do in Hsipaw. Your guesthouse can arrange both one- and two-day treks. The overnight trip will take you into the hills to Palaung and Pedung villages. But the day trip, running about 7-8 hours, is very rewarding.

Costing only $6, a private guide will walk you through and out to the north of town, passing through slapboard shacks and (relatively) nicer concrete homes in “Chinatown.” There’s an old Burmese graveyard — used for burials before cremation became the norm — and then the Chinese cemetery with tombs on the hill.

Crops and Waterfalls
Then it’s into the fields where you’ll walk on — and sometimes stumble off — narrow earthen berms separating paddies of rice, soybeans, garlic and other herbs. You’ll make a sugar cane-processing hut where you can refuel on a mix of straight sugar and water.

The trek continues up to the local waterfall, which actually is not impressive enough to warrant the climb you’ll need to get there. In hindsight, it would have been better to skip the waterfall and head straight into the Shan village.

Not for Show
This is not one of the “show villages” you’ll find at Inle Lake, set up mostly to draw Burmese and (now) foreign tourists to see “real life.” This IS real life. All the Hsipaw people live here and craft their own unique products to make a living.

In one yard you’ll find a pair of blacksmiths hammering flat a machete. The next yard will have someone weaving bamboo mats and, in the next, a woman weaving bamboo strips into baskets. All of the goods are sold at the local market for local use, not shipped off to sale elsewhere. The only exception seemed to be the nearly full-sized lacquered horses in another yard. Three “merry-go-round” ponies stood under a tarp, waiting for shipment to some far-off temple.

Two blacksmiths pound out a tool in the Shan village on the northern edge of Hsipaw

Sunset Hill
You’ll get back to the guesthouse around 4 p.m. But you’re not done. Shower and rest, then head back out with your guide to Sunset Hill.

It’s not as tall as Waterfall Hill, but it’s a haul after an all-day trek. At the top, though, the reward was a panoramic view of Hsipaw. Just be sure to not let the sun set completely. Remember, you still have to get down.

Originally posted at Travel Happy


Title: Hsipaw – Trekking In Myanmar’s Shan State

The Gokteik Viaduct is one of Myanmar's must see landmarks

There are definitely faster ways to travel between Mandalay and Hsipaw than by train. You’ll spend an entire day of your Myanmar adventure going by rail, but it’s worth it because, in this case, the journey IS the adventure.

It’s not the train itself, which, although colourful, is a broken-down relic of the 1950s. It’s not the scenery, which is often obscured by trees. It’s not even the stupidly low ticket price. No, the reason you endure up to 14 hours making a trip that can be done by car in 4.5 hours is the Gokteik Viaduct.

Bridge to the Past
Constructed by British colonialists in 1901, Gokteik was once the longest railway trestle in the world. Located near Nawnghkio, about 100 km from Mandalay, the bridge was fabricated by Pennsylvania Steel Co. and shipped overseas, with assembly overseen by Sir Arthur Rendel, engineer for the Burma Railroad Company.

Stretching 689 meters from end to end, the viaduct has 14 towers that span 12 meters along with a double tower 24 meters long. These 15 towers support 10 deck truss spans of 37 meters, along with six steel-plate girder spans 18 meters long and an approach span of 12 meters.

Many sources have put the height of the bridge at 250 meters. This is supposedly a measurement to the river level as it flows underground through a tunnel at the point it passes underneath the trestle. The true height of the bridge as measured from the rail deck to the ground on the downstream side of the tallest tower is 102 meters. In either case, it’s a quite a long way down.

A mother tries to keep her balance to entertain her boy as they wait for the train in Hsipaw

Take Your Time
No matter where you get on the train, it will be many hours before you ever see the trestle, however. While the train begins in Lashio in the north, most tourists get on in Hsipaw. The train then takes about 4.5 hours to get to the Gokteik Viaduct and then another 3.5 hours to Pyin Oo Lwin. (The fare for the “upper class” cabin is $6; $3 for the regular class with wooden seats.)

The smart traveler gets off at Pyin Oo Lwin, the former British summer capital, and either stays there overnight or travels on via road 90 minutes to Mandalay, which costs about 36,000 kyat ($45). (Buses likely won’t be available at the time you’ll arrive in Pyin Oo Lwin.) There’s really nothing of interest along the train route from Pyin Oo Lwin to Mandalay.

Budget travelers, or those who really want to “go native” can remain on the train for an extra $3 for upper class. But unless you’ve booked ahead, you may end up sleeping on the street in Mandalay, as the train gets in past midnight.

Never on time, the train to Mandalay finally arrives in Hsipaw, only 80 minutes late

Soak Up the Atmosphere
As in many countries, train stations are wonderfully colorful places and Hsipaw’s train station is no different. The train is never on time, so you’ll get plenty of chances to mingle, buy fresh fruit and people watch.

On the train, however, most tourists end up sitting together, choosing the soft, reclining seats of the “upper class” cabin over the wood benches of the cattle-car regular class for such a long journey.

The train also makes many stops – long ones – where you can get out, have a quick meal or beverage, do some shopping and mingle with the locals. Some youths come to the station just to meet foreigners and practice their English and never once ask for money.

The final cars of the train to Mandalay make it successfully over the Gokteik Viaduct

The Crossing
Finally, you’ll reach Gokteik. The train moves walking speed across the bridge, which may have been the epitome of engineering when it was built but now is a crumbling antique, which only adds to the white-knuckle experience.

Crossing it is a mix between a high-wire act and the old wooden rollercoaster at Coney Island. The engineer goes as slowly as possible to avoid the rocking motion that will further damage the bridge and, possibly, plunge the train into the river below.

The slow, high passage does give ample opportunities for photos and if you make the crossing yourself, don’t put away the camera afterward. The northbound train likely will be crossing immediately afterward, giving photographers a chance to catch a shot of a train on the bridge.

The crossing takes about 25 minutes, stops included. Afterward, audible exhales from those holding their breath can be heard, soon followed by the groans and yawns of travelers realizing they have several more uneventful hours until reaching their stop.

Originally posted at Travel Happy


Title: Gokteik Viaduct, Myanmar – The Jawdropping Railway Bridge Between Two Mountains

Two young monks make their way across Amarapura’s U Bein Bridge

Ask anyone lucky enough to have visited the “new” Myanmar and you’ll be bombarded with a variety of superlatives, but also one singular piece of advice, expressed in the most-urgent of tones: Go now, because it won’t stay this way for long.

Isolated and ostracized for decades for the abuses of its former military leaders, Myanmar is in the midst of the most exciting coming-out parities the world has seen since the fall of the Soviet Union. While cynics remain skeptical about their sincerity, the country’s marginally civilian government has made so many reforms – including allowing the results of April 2012′s historic election to stand – that western governments have begun rolling back economic and diplomatic sanctions.

The result has been an explosion of interest in traveling to the former Burma and a palpable feeling of excitement and anticipation in almost every single Burmese person you encounter.

The “floating gardens” of Inle Lake

Change in the Air
Western tourists, however, feel a bit conflicted. While applauding the greater economic growth and prosperity change will bring, they’re lamenting the loss the traditional way of life and fear Myanmar will follow the road that ruined tourism for many is Thailand and Vietnam.

In most ways, development in Myanmar is as much as 50 years behind the rest of the region. Outside the former capital of Yangon, infrastructure is laughable and modern technology a thing of rumours. Horse carts are common as taxis, oxen plow fields and medium-sized commercial trucks use diesel engines mounted on planks outside their cabs so they can be easily repurposed when needed.

Stepping into this world is bewildering and wonderful. And endangered.

Myanmar’s holiest site: Yangon’s Shwedagon Paya just after sunset

Burma Welcomes Tourists
After Nobel laureate and National League for Democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi began encouraging “responsible” tourism to Myanmar in 2010, the country jumped to the top of the “must do” lists of travel magazines – and many tourists – worldwide. And, to the delight of those who’ve made the journey, westerners were welcomed with open arms by the Burmese people.

Myanmar in 2011 welcomed about 819,000 foreign tourists, an increase of 26 percent from the year previous. But about 500,000 of those were mere border crossings by Thais and Chinese. Fewer western tourists visited the country that year than hiked the mountains of Nepal.

But that’s about to change. Conservative estimates put tourism growth in 2012 at 30 percent. But a 100 percent increase wouldn’t surprise anyone; if not in 2012, then certainly by the end of 2013, assuming government reforms continue.

A gaggle of geese come ashore at Amarapura’s U Bein Bridge

Demand Outstrips Supply
While it that may sound like a fairy tale, the fact is Myanmar is totally unprepared to handle that level of tourism growth, especially when it comes to hotels. There simply aren’t enough.

The entire country has only 731 hotels and guesthouse with only 25,000 rooms, With 8,000 of those in Yangon, the rest of the country has little to offer. Even worse, according to the Union of Myanmar Travel Association only about 3,000 of those rooms are “suitable for tourists.” (By way of comparison, Agoda lists a total of 27 Myanmar hotels that you can currently book online, compared to 6207 in Thailand).

You Need To Book A Place To Stay In Advance
The shortage has meant the usual modus operandi for backpackers – just show up in a city and look for a room – doesn’t work. Not anymore. In guesthouses from Bagan to Mandalay to Hsipaw, unprepared young travelers now return from dinner not to socialize, but use the guesthouse telephone to call every listing in the Lonely Planet to find where they’ll sleep the next night.

Often, that doesn’t work. A French couple arriving after midnight in Mandalay in mid-February spent the night in the back of a pickup truck under a mosquito net. Every open guesthouse was already full.

While it may be less flexible, traveling in today’s Myanmar requires you plan your itinerary and book your accommodations in advance. Or accept a greater amount of stress and frustration if you don’t.

Forget iPhones, ATM Access And Fast Internet; They Don’t Exist In Myanmar

Despite rapid societal and economic changes, don’t expect technological barriers to travel to ease anytime soon. All the well-worn travel book warnings still hold true:

• ATMs are all but non-existent and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Bring crisp, clean, new U.S. dollar bills in large denominations.
• International mobile phone service is equally scarce. At least you won’t have to worry about huge roaming bills. However, you can now purchase cell phones for tourists with $20 of domestic call service in Yangon, which is helpful for booking hotels.
• Internet access outside Yangon is terrible. Many guesthouses now offer free wi-fi, but it’s as slow as dialup and some secure sites won’t accept connections from Myanmar because of the way traffic is routed by the government.

The Journey is the Adventure
Despite obstacles, traveling in Myanmar is incredibly rewarding. Most of the areas worth seeing are now open to foreigners. Only three cities are outright restricted, although much of the northernmost province, northwestern border and three central Myanmar cities require permits to visit.

Sitting on a streetside table in Hsipaw in February, a group of tourists looked around at the dark, dirt road and remarked that, within two years, the entire street may be lit and paved, power won’t run off generators and the prices will be higher.

It may not happen within two years. But it will happen. So, here’s some advice, given in the most-urgent of tones: If you want to go, go now.

Originally posted at Travel Happy


Title: Travelling In Myanmar (Burma) In 2012 – Why You Should Go Now

View With A Room Outdoors Bedroom, Bangkok Tree House Hotel

Getting back to nature in the middle of an urban metropolis may seem impossible, but it’s what the newly opened Bangkok Tree House is aiming to do. Currently in soft-launch mode and opening fully on 1st May 2012, Bangkok Tree House is a unique eco-hotel built above Bangkok’s riverbank and surrounded by lush tropical forest. .

Room Exterior, Walkway and Jungle canopy, Bangkok Tree House Hotel

The result is one of the most unusual and inspiring hotels I’ve seen, an attempt to fuse new buildings into the environment rather than impose them on it. The architectural style is quite reminiscent of Bauhaus with a cube like feel – something that will become softened with time as the forest greenery takes hold on the trestles covering the side of each room and starts to mask its original shape. In a couple of years the Bangkok Tree House will look completely different to today.

Reflect Restaurant Roof Interior, Bangkok Tree House Hotel

There’s no roads to the Bangkok Tree House – visitors arrive by longtail boat from across the river from the pier on the other side. (Just call the Tree House and ask them to direct your taxi driver to the pier). The Reflect restaurant is the first thing to be seen after stepping onto the floating pontoon. The restaurant sets the tone of what’s to come, showcasing the extensive use of bamboo and other natural materials to great effect.

Reflect Restaurant, Bangkok Tree House Hotel

Beyond the restaurant lies the rest of the resort, suspended over the riverbank so the water can come and go with high and low tide. There are eleven rooms, or nests, in total, including a Family Nest and a Honeymoon Nest.

View With A Room Outdoors Bedroom at Sunset, Bangkok Tree House Hotel

The already iconic View With A Room is an open-air bedroom suspended above the jungle treetops with stunning views, and it catches a beautiful breeze thanks to its height that keeps away the mosquitos and reduces the heat. (Guests who book this room do also have an indoor, aircon bedroom to retire to as well if they don’t want to sleep out under the stars). It’s important for prospective visitors to understand though that there is no fumigation or any other measures used to keep insects away – the whole point of the Tree House is to be part of the forest rather than impose on it. As such, just like it says on their official site, “the Bangkok Tree House is not for everyone”.

View With A Room Outdoor Bedroom Suite, Bangkok Tree House Hotel

The View With A Room is surrounded by a self-purifying swimming pool that uses natural agents rather than chlorine to stay clean. This wasn’t completed during our visit, and I think it will take
a while for it to get fully sorted out, but it’s an interesting concept. Solar and wind power also help offset the resort’s energy usage, and there’s an ongoing program to collect trash from the river – over 200 kg has been picked up already.

Room Exteriors at Bangkok Tree House Hotel

Each nest is not just a bedroom, but a three storey eco-house of your own. Thanks to the large sliding window doors and use of hardwood floors, there’s a real feel of space and peace inside the nest. It’s definitely a great spot for simply relaxing and doing nothing.

Room Interior and Outdoor Rain Shower at Bangkok Tree House Hotel

The ground floor is the reception and dressing area, with sliding doors out to a very spacious outdoor shower (with two showerheads) and an indoors toilet complete with slightly un-nerving glass floor which looks down onto the riverbank so you can see the river water rise and fall with the tide.

Interior Staircase, Bangkok Tree House Hotel

From the entry area there are hand-built wooden stairs heading up to the bedroom.

Bedroom and Computer, Bangkok Tree House Hotel

The bedroom has air-con and a computer equipped with free wifi and hundreds of movies and television programs if you want them. The sliding doors open out onto a small balcony with another ladder leading upwards.

Room Rooftop Stargazing and Sunbathing Bed, Bangkok Tree House Hotel

On the roof of the nest is a sturdy canvas stargazing and sunbathing bed to recline on.

Room Exterior and Kitchen with Wind Power and Solar Power, Bangkok Tree House Hotel

There’s been a heavy emphasis on using recycled and and natural materials, and the ingredients for the vegan and pescetarian menu served in the hotel’s open air riverside restaurant are both grown on site and sourced locally. There’s even a parabolic solar mirror on the restaurant roof to catch sunrays to cook dinner, although at the moment it’s proving tricky to keep it constantly in motion. The food has some interesting twists on Thai dishes as well as classics and the complimentary Western breakfast is a superbly assembled mix of scrambled eggs, whole meal bread, plain yoghurt and truly huge fruit platter with real coffee. There is also free water and Thai coconut ice-cream available 24 hours a day from the fridge located in the library. Perfect for midnight munchies.

Tabletop Over The Treetops, Bangkok Tree House Hotel

As you can imagine, the Tree House is somewhere to come and relax and do very little – there’s not a huge amount to do in the surrounding area, although a floating market 15 minutes cycle away could be an interesting morning excursion. Simply exploring the waterways and fruit orchards of the surrounding area – known as Bangkok’s “Green Lung” – is definitely worth doing by bike. It’s also possible to have a picnic and visit Ancient Siam, the theme park a short journey away that showcases all of Thailand’s most important temples in replica. And of course there’s all of Bangkok to explore. There are some thoughtful touches to minimise stress too for guests – bikes are free for use by guests throughout their stay, along with free wifi, free movie access in your room, free breakfast, free cellphone rental with Thai number during your stay. And did I mention the free 24 hour ice cream?

This considered approach comes from owner Joey’s previous experience working within the other hotel owned by his family, the Old Bangkok Inn. One of Bangkok’s original boutique hotels located in the heart of Bangkok’s historical Rattanakosin royal district, the Old Bangkok Inn has won numerous accolades for quality of service as well as accommodation and Joey is bringing this same approach to the Tree House. Dividing a stay in Bangkok between the two properties would be a superb way of seeing the contrasting faces of the city.

Originally posted at Travel Happy


Title: Bangkok Tree House – The Back To Nature Boutique Hotel

iPhone 4 in Thailand - Just Get A Thai SIM Card

They may be expensive, but iPhones and iPads are a common sight amongst travelers in Thailand these days. Walk into any cafe around Khao San Road and you’ll see more Apple devices than guidebooks.

It’s straightforward to connect your iPhone or iPad to any wifi source – and there’s plenty of cafes in Bangkok with free wifi (and you can search for Bangkok hotels that have free wifi as well) – but what if you want have always-on internet on your iPhone just like at home? That’s quite easy too – you just need to buy a Thai SIM card for your iPhone.

Is Your iPhone Unlocked?
The only caveat is that your iPhone needs to be unlocked i.e. not restricted by your phone company from using another telecom company’s SIM card. If you’ve bought your iPhone in the USA or UK as part of a promotional deal where you have a contract for a fixed length of time, for example, it’s quite likely that your iPhone is not unlocked. You will need to check with wherever you got your iPhone from to be sure. You can “jailbreak” your iPhone to unlock it but that will invalidate the warranty and may well completely freeze the phone – “brick” it – next time you update the iOS software. Unless you know what you’re doing, I would avoid jailbreaking it.

Unlocked And Ready To Rock
If your phone is unlocked, then all you need to do is go to one of the three main Thai mobile telecoms companies – AIS, DTAC and True – and ask for a prepaid SIM card for your iPhone. It’s probably a good idea to do this at a telecoms shop branch that is used to dealing with tourists and where the staff can speak English.

Get A Thai SIM Card At Bangkok Airport
The easiest solution is to do it as soon as you arrive at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. There are branches of all three telecoms companies – AIS, DTAC and True – in Bangkok Airport’s Arrivals Hall so you can get a SIM as soon as you arrive. Ask them to install and set up the SIM card for you, just in case any settings need to be changed. Ensure the data connection is working and you can access your emails, Facebook etc before you leave the shop. These shops stay open late so check them out even if you arrive in the small hours of the morning.

Getting A Thai SIM Card In Bangkok
If you don’t get your Thai SIM at the airport, you can find branches of all three mobile carriers in Siam Paragon, Bangkok’s ritziest mall where the staff speak English. The mall is located right next to Siam Square BTS Station – very easy to find.

There are numerous other branches dotted around the city for each carrier if you prefer to try there instead. See their respective websites for complete addresses of each of their outlets. ( DTAC Shop Locations – AIS Shop Locations – True Shop Locations (True’s page is – bafflingly – Thai language only, despite being linked from their English language site!))

Remember To Bring The Thing That Pops Open The iPhone SIM Slot

True, DTAC or AIS – Which One To Choose?
I personally use True, which has great coverage in Bangkok. but can be patchy elsewhere in the country. I don’t have much firsthand experience of the other two networks on iPhone but there does not seem to be much between them.

True claims to have 3G coverage in Bangkok, which is a very elastic use of the term 3G, but it’s pretty fast most of the time and certainly adequate for casual web browsing, email, Facebook and uploading photos.

AIS and DTAC both have excellent English language help over the phone – call AIS on 1175, DTAC on 1816 and True on 1331.

The iPhone 4 uses a microSIM and each of the telecoms company sell this smaller size now as standard, with an adapter for normal sized SIM slots (handy if you are bringing an iPhone 3G or older smartphone).

How Much Does Does It Cost?
Thai SIM cards and data usage for iPhones are remarkably cheap. All three carriers offer Unlimited packages, meaning you can use the net as much as you want within a set time for a fixed price. The prices are continually fluctuating with offers and promotions, but expect to pay somewhere around 600 Baht (around $18 USD) for unlimited data usage for 1 month, provided you have the right data package. You can get packages for just 1 week as well if you wish.

All You Can Eat – Local Phone Calls And SMSs Included
These packages usually also provide free phone calls and SMSs – within Thailand only, not internationally. Sending SMSs overseas is fairly cheap, expect to pay 10 to 15 baht per SMS depending on where you’re texting. This can also give you access to each telecoms company’s wifi networks too (which normally you need to pay to access). You will find True and DTAC wifi networks in every Starbucks in Thailand, for example.

For examples of current Thai SIM card with unlimited data usage prices, see the price pages for True iPhone SIM cards and DTAC’s Happy SIM cards. (True iPhone SIM price page – DTAC Happy iPhone SIM price page – AIS 12 Call SIM price page).

You should definitely ensure you have a package set up and operational on your Thai SIM before you leave the shop, otherwise you will burn through whatever credit you have on your SIM card very quickly.

Use Your iPhone As A Wifi Hotspot For Your Mac / PC / iPad
The other real bonus to getting a Thai SIM card for your iPhone is that, as at the time of writing (March 2012) all three Thai mobile telecoms companies let you use the Personal Hotspot functionality on your iPhone. Switch it on under Settings and any other wifi enabled device can connect to your iPhone – and so be connected to the internet as well. I regularly use my iPhone to connect my MacBook and my iPad to the net and the connection is zippy enough for web browsing and email.

If this functionality is important to you, I’d suggest you bring whatever device you need to connect to your phone to the shop when you buy your SIM card initially. That way the staff can help you set it up and connect it for the first time.

Personal Hotspot is a function that many other foreign mobile companies – e.g Vodafone and 02 in the UK – charge an extra fee for. This is pretty outrageous but it sets an unfortunate precedent which Thai telecoms carriers might follow in the future. For now though, the Personal Hotspot really makes get a Thai Sim card for your iPhone invaluable if you need continual internet access while you’re on the move.

Originally posted at Travel Happy


Title: How To Get A Thai SIM Card For Your iPhone