After our very brief stop in Singapore, we had just three days to recalibrate for Burma, which was easily one of the most highly anticipated ports on our trip. Semester at Sea had not visited Burma (now Myanmar) since 2006, so the ship was on particularly high alert in preparation for our landing.
Unfortunately, that landing was delayed.
I think we all expected a certain degree of difficulty in dealing with the Burmese government (and possibly Burma in general), but maybe not as quickly as it came. Before we even neared the waters surrounding the country, we were informed that ‘routine’ river maintenance was going to occur on the day of our debarkation. Because the Burmese government has incredibly stringent immigration laws, this process would delay our entry into the country by about 10 hours, ultimately shortening the length of our stay in the country from 5 days to 4 days.
Total bummer.
So the day that we began our trip up the river to our port, we knew we had some time to kill. We enjoyed the onboard pool deck and slowly took in the changing scenery around us. As we watched the beautiful blue sea turn a dark muddy brown, we were all a bit intrigued as to what our experiences would be once we finally arrived.
But after laying out, working out, eating a leisurely lunch, and laying out again, I was relaxed and ready to see what Burma was all about. By the time we arrived and debriefed with a few ambassadors who had boarded the ship, it was about 5pm in the afternoon. Naturally we were all itching to get into town and see what there was to see.
But this too, had to wait.
All of our ports prior to the one in Burma had been within a reasonable distance to ‘town’. By reasonable, I mean spitting distance.
Except Singapore. No spitting in Singapore!
In Japan, we could walk to Yokohama. In Shanghai and Hong Kong we could hit the nearest skyscraper with a rock. In Vietnam, the lights of Saigon cast shadows over the ship.
But in Burma, we made port at a lumber yard and had an hour and a half shuttle bus ride to Yangon.
Not exactly convenient.
But from the moment those busses came in sight, I knew that we were in for a treat. Next to the busses was a welcoming committee like none other before it. Dancers and banners united to greet us with smiles and cheering. I knew from that moment on, that these people were going to be different than any others we had experienced thus far.
Longyis (those skirts in the picture) and laughter were everywhere!
So off we went to explore the largest city of this enigmatic port: Yangon (or Rangoon).
Once we arrived, we realized just how incredibly unprepared we were. Every other stop was at least somewhat ‘touristy.’ Not touristy in the sense that the local people knew we would be visiting or that there were people selling things everywhere, but in that there was some sort of infrastructure that allowed foreigners to successfully navigate the city.
Yangon had none of that.
But it did have a lot of pagodas.
Thankfully, we ran into our savior for the day, Chase. Chase is dating a fellow shipmate and was traveling in the country to surprise her. He had visited Burma before and had made friends with a local boy, and between the two of them, we figured out where to get money, and more importantly, where to get food. After our slightly sketchy encounter with a money changer (don’t worry, I made sure we got at least something close to the right rate), we headed into Chinatown for dinner at Shwe Mingalar.
But again, not so fast.
Boy, did we get lost.
This city was just so incredibly different than any we had seen before. No street signs. No English anywhere (which was surprisingly available elsewhere). No easy way to get around other than walking, which is really not something I would call ‘easy’ in this case. The streets were supposedly numbered, but there was no comprehensible way to figure out which number you were on. And our damn map had about half as many streets as there were actual roads. Tough travel to say the least.
But eventually we found it. And we celebrated!
With Myanmar beers of course!
And just wow… Chase really delivered on the food! This place was phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. That meal kicked off what would be an amazing food adventure in Burma. Not only that, but all seven of us had full meals, beers, and waters for less than $40 USD TOTAL. So happy to be out of Singapore and back in the land of a good, cheap meal.
After our amazing meal, we wandered around town for an hour or so before the last shuttle would leave to take us back to the ship. Had we realized at the time, that we could get a taxi from Yangon to the ship (again, this was over an hour away) for less than $10 USD, I’m sure we would have stayed out all night. Considering we all had very early on-ship times, it’s probably better that we were in the dark on that one.
During our late-ish night wanderings we stumbled on a public religious service that showcased what I was told was one of the most famous monks in Burma. Pretty awesome stuff.
When we finally found our way back to the bus, we were all exhausted. This place had already taken so much more mental and physical energy than the other ports. I was honestly worried that Burma just wouldn’t be all that great—that I might not like it. I was discouraged by this first encounter with Yangon’s dirt and difficulty that I thought Bagan would be exactly the same, and not at all the oasis I had expected.
I would eventually be proven incredibly wrong, but that is yet to come.
The next morning, we had a proper tour of Yangon before heading to the airport to travel to Bagan. This had not been in my original plans, but because of the delay in arrival, it was added last minute. I’m definitely thankful, though, because we got to see a lot of the finer parts of town that would have been difficult to explore otherwise.
The Shweddagon Pagoda was our first stop of the day, and it was magnificent.
The locals use it as a town square. People come with picnic lunches, bring their whole families, go on dates, you name it! It was amazing to see their interactions and the generally friendly demeanor that would come to define the local culture for me. I just can’t stress enough how beautiful these people are. Happy, loving, playful, affectionate, ingratiating—not only with each other, but with us as well.
I decided to get really into the experience and get my Buddha on.
Fit pretty nicely, if you ask me.
From there we hit a few more town highlights including:
Bo Aung San Market
Aung San Suu Kyi’s house
And of course, the Burmese airport… which was a SIGHT, let me tell you…
That was literally the whole thing airport. This picture. And the flights were announced by one man with a picket sign with the flight number on it. Pretty low tech, to say the least. But the Burmese and Buddhist colored chairs were a nice touch.
But once again, we were thwarted by a delay.
However, this delay gave me some good life perspective. We had two flights to get to Burma, and a layover in Mandalay, but these were no ordinary flights. This plane was incredibly old, had two propellers, and oh, NO AIR CONDITIONING!
I cannot possible describe to you people how hot a small airplane can get on a tarmac in Mandalay when the sun is setting and it is still at least 40 degrees Celsius outside.
It’s so damn hot.
So, henceforth, I will never (yes, never) complain about a flight again. I type this while staring an 11 hour flight home from Milan in the face at the end of May… but still. That was one of the most miserable flying experiences to date.
So thank you, Burma, for the perspective.
But as we landed in Bagan, there sprouted up a teeny tiny glimmer of hope as the setting sun illuminated the tips of the pagodas on the horizon. Even from thousands of feet in the air, this place looked magical. I absolutely couldn’t wait for the adventures that lie ahead.
So while my first day and a half in Burma was a lot of sitting, waiting, and wishing for something I could not yet see, the rest of the time was spectacular, and Burma quickly became my favorite port of the trip thus far.
Stayed tuned for the next post to find out why!
Question of the Day: What was your worst flying experience? (I can always use a little more perspective.)
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