"Another pearl of Asia" Burma by 1W1V

Burma Travel Guide: 3,746 reviews and 10,036 photos

young monks in a wooden temple

I went to Myanmar (Burma) in Dec 03/Jan 04. I spent moreless 3 weeks there and I must admit that I enjoyed every single minute of my trip.
Being a backpacker in Myanmar is still nicely rough, not like Thailand !

Long haul buses are not that comfortable and most of the trips are 12 H +.

For the second time in my life, I met a fellow Belgian traveller and we decided to team-up (also with a Canadian guy). We had really good fun !

Most of the picture have been shooted by Cedric the Belgian.

My routing was :

Bkk-Yangoon (Plane)
Yangoon-Inle Lake (bus)
Inleh Lake - Mandalay (bus)
Mandalay - Bagan (boat)
Bagan - Yangoo (bus)

But my existential questions with VT are :
1/ Why Myanmar is called Burma ?
2/ Why Yangoon is called Rangoon ?
If you know the answer, thanks for letting me know !

Here is the shooter and some of his victims

I shoot the shooter

Full team at a wedding in Piyn U Lwin

wedding

From left to right :
Cedric the Belgian
the Unknown Danish
the happy bride and groom
your servant
Robert the Canadian

Pros and Cons

Pros:breathtaking, not too touristic, cheap, friendly people, .......
Cons:junta, not always in comfort
In a nutshell:Go before it's too late !!!

Last visit to Burma: Jan 2004
Intro Updated Apr 2, 2005
Add to Trip Planner (?)
Report Abuse

Reviews (22)

Pyin U Lyin Things to Do (10)

Over 1000 metres above sea-level, Pyin Oo Lwin is a popular hill station about 69km away from Mandalay. It is well known... more travel advice

Mount Popa Things to Do (10)

Popa is popularly recognized as an abode of many "Nats" (spirits of ancient ancestors) who dwell in various parts of the... more travel advice

U Bein's Bridge Things to Do (10)

more travel advice

Yangoon Things to Do (10)

a golden mystery upheaved itself on the horizon - a beautiful winking wonder that blazed in the sun" . Rudyard Kipling... more travel advice

Warnings and Dangers (1)
Do not waste your stay in Myanmar !

Transportation (11)
See All semi-direct with Qatar Airways

Comments (2)

Reply
- Report abuse
MariusG Aug 31, 2005 at 6:55 AM

Great pictures - way to go!
Reply
- Report abuse
irisbe Apr 2, 2005 at 3:13 PM

Marvelous pictures ! :) I see you just started the page so I guess I will need to do some more check up later.