Myanmar 2001 Articles
Myanmar 2001: YangonYangon – Monday, February 19
I took a trishaw to the Botatung Paya after breakfast. As I was walking around a guy stepped out of a little shop and called me over. The sign above his door said he was a fortuneteller. I had actually thought it might be interesting to [...]
Myanmar 2001: The mechanics of a trip to Myanmar1 US dollar = 450 Kyat
Boring but Necessary
The mechanics of a trip to Myanmar: visas, hotels and travel agents
The first step was getting a visa. I called the Myanmar Embassy in Washington D.C. and they gave me the URL of their web site (which has since closed) where I downloaded a copy of [...]
Amarapura, Sagaing, Inwa – Friday, February 16
In the morning I found my sore throat had changed into a runny nose, so I walked back to the pharmacy and bought some antihistamine. Well, at least my throat felt better.
When I got back there was a guy waiting for me in the lobby – [...]
Salay – Wednesday, February 14
I wanted to take another short trip out of Bagan today but had made no arrangements. After breakfast I walked outside the hotel gate and ran into Song Song again. By now he thought he was running my affairs. He always seemed to get his fingers into [...]
Myanmar 2001: Mt PopaMt Popa – Tuesday, February 13
With Song Song’s help, I arranged for a car to take me to Mt. Popa in the morning. The half-day trip cost $25. Song Song told me that the driver was his brother but I suspect he was using that term with the widest possible meaning. [...]
Myanmar 2001: MingunMingun – Saturday, February 17
When I stepped out in the morning, Mg Aye Lay was waiting for me. Our first stop was the pharmacy – again. I was making some kind of strange progress with my cold: the running nose was gone and now I had a cough. This being my third [...]
Myanmar 2001: MandalayMandalay – Thursday, February 15
To my great disappointment, I awoke with a sore throat. Usually if I’m going to get a respiratory infection, it happens just after I arrive or when I first get home. I have always blamed this on the hours spent in the poorly circulated air of a crowded [...]
Myanmar 2001: BagoBago – Sunday, February 11
At 8:00am my driver Jeffery arrived. He was a tall, handsome man in his early 30’s who spoke English with a thick Indian accent. He wore a crisp, white shirt and a dark, plaid longyi, the skirt-like affair that Burmese men wear instead of trousers.
We were [...]
Bagan – Monday, February 12
At 5:00 in the morning I left for the airport. The hotel’s regular driver hadn’t arrived yet so the doorman walked out into the dark street to look for a taxi. He had to go down to the first major intersection, but finally he found one. As I hopped [...]
Myanmar 2001Travelogue Dates
February 10th: Yangon
The single most striking sight in Yangon – and perhaps all of Myanmar – is the Shwedagon Paya.
February 11th: Bago
From this vantage point of Shwemawdaw Paya it seemed that every hill top within sight was covered with additional payas.
February 12th: Bagan
Two things about horse transportation: first, it’s [...]
