myanmar

I loved Myanmar. I loved the people. I loved the places within. I loved the food. I don’t know if it’s because it was one of my first countries in mainland Southeast Asia that I’ve been able to explore or because it is just that damn wonderful. I also happened to make a lot of lovely friends along the way in hostels and elsewhere, so that probably helps, too.

While in Myanmar, I spent time in Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake. I actually did a circle of sorts and ended up back in Yangon at the end of my two weeks in the country. I also happened to love Yangon… A LOT. More about all of these places below!

p.s. The names Myanmar and Burma are interchangeable. The people and the government use both! Use whichever you feel — Myanmar is the newer name and Burma is the older name.

Yangon

Things to do:

Sa Ba Food Tour: I went on a food tour with Sa Ba and it was the best. thing. I would highly suggest this. My two guides were super lovely and we chatted the whole time about Myanmar, food and things that do not at all pertain to those two topics (like boyfriends, jobs, family, etc). Plus all the food spots they took me to were AMAZING. I even went back to the shan noodle spot they took me to on my second time in Yangon at the end of the trip.
Bogyoke Aung San Market: huge market that caters to tourists and locals. Loads of jade vendors in the northwest corner of the market if you are in the market for that. I also bought my Myanmar market bag here at one of the vendors in the main hall.
Other cool markets to wander: Kyeemyindaing market, Theingyi Market and Bogalay Market
Temple hopping: top Buddhist temples to see include Botahtaung Pagoda, Shwedagon Pagoda, Chauk Htat Kyi Pagoda and Ngar Htat Gyi Pagoda. I went to a fortune teller outside of Chauk Htat Kyi and that was v fun.
Walk all over downtown: the downtown grid streets of Yangon are SO COOL. The dilapidated colonial buildings, the trees coming out of the sidewalks and streets with small Buddhist or Hindu prayer sites built into the gnarled roots, the smiling people (smile at them first and you’ll see what I mean), the street vendors EVERYWHERE. It’s like the whole of downtown is one big open-air market. I could walk those streets for many many moons and not get bored.

Restos:

Aung Minglar Shan Noodle Shop: solid shan noodle spot. make sure to mix in all your ingredients before you eat your noodles! Locals tend to prefer pork shan noodles above chicken shan noodles, btw.
Rangoon Tea House: didn’t go but heard it’s lovely, if not a tad for the tourists.
999 Shan Noodle Shop: also good shan noodles. not my FAVE but still good.
Nilar Biyani and Cold Drink: didn’t go but heard it’s good!
Shwe Kankaw food center: stopped in randomly one morning and got the roti-style indian bread with sweet beans (typical breakfast dish here in Yangon)
Burma Bistro: didn’t go but did hear good things
Xi Yang Yang Xiao Long Bao Dumplings: didn’t go but will next time!

Bagan

Things to do:

E-bike everywhere: Bagan is an area of a few miles that is made up of Nyaung-U, Old Bagan and New Bagan. There are temples throughout and in between all. The thing to do here is rent an e-bike for the day and just drive around exploring as you see fit. Stop at temples you find interesting and go inside. Climb the temples that you see other people on for sunrise and sunset. There are like 3,000 temples in this area so just bop around to your heart’s content. Don’t miss Lawkananda, Shwezigon Pagoda, Gadawt Palin, Dhammayazaka (or called Dhamma Ya Zika), Dhammayangyi, Shwesandaw, Ananda and Sulamani.
Other temples that I wrote down in case you want to look them up: Soemingyi monastery, Ta Wet Hpaya, Thitsarwadi, Law Ka Ou Shaung, Shwezigan, Pyathetgyi, Tha Beik Hmauk Gu Hpaya, Bu Paya, Bulethi, Htilominlo, Gawdawpalin, Sein Nyet, Thatbyinnyu and Thambula.
Hot air balloon: I heard its $350-$400 per person but you can take a morning hot air balloon ride to get a bird’s eye view of Bagan and the temples.

Restos:

The Moon: there are 2 of these (one in old bagan and one in new bagan). Both are solid. Do not miss. Get the tea leaf salad.
Shwe Ou Food Garden: I had a good bowl of shan noodles and a nice lemon salad.
Silver House: didn’t go but supposed to be good
Ma Mae Naing (Unforgettable): didn’t go but supposed to be good
La Pizza: nice pizza

Mandalay

Things to do:

Go to the towns outside of the city: I went to Mingun and Sagaing. Both were lovely! Mingun had a beautiful white temple (Mya Thein Tan) that is maybe one of the prettiest temples I’ve ever seen. Sagaing is a hilly area dotted with dozens of golden stupas. I would highly recommend going to Soon U Ponya Shin Paya.
Mandalay is not a walking city. Very few people walk around here. It’s a decently spread out town anyways so I took Grab Motorbikes almost everywhere I went around town.
Pont U-Bein Bridge: a super long bamboo bridge that is worth coming out to see if you have the time
Jade Market: this place is madness and very cool to see. vvv busy with jade sellers and buyers. Also, lots of jade cutters are set up around the skirts of the market if you want to watch them.
Mahar Myat Muni Pagoda: this is where the country’s most famous gold-leaf-covered Buddha statue sits. There are lots of vendors on your walk into see him. And then a few streets to the west is a long street full of shops who carve and sell stone small, medium, large and huge Buddha statues. That’s definitely worth seeing, too.
I heard it’s a nice view if you hike Mandalay Hill. I just wasn’t in the mood for that much exercise while I was there.

Restos:

Linn Family Noodle Shop: not meant for tourists so the menu isn’t in English but it was v tasty
Lotteria is Myanmar’s version of McDonalds or maybe Dairy Queen, I guess. It does the trick for when the craving for a chicken sandwich and McFlurry hits.
Other restos I had written down as options: Mingalarbar Restaurant, Daw Lay May, Marie Min, Tu Tu Myanmar, Rainforest, BBB European, Shan Ma Ma, Mr. Bar BQ, Pan Cherry Noodle House, Ko’s Kitchen, Golden Duck, Green Elephant

Inle Lake

Things to do:

There is a fantastic market in town that I went to every day, sometimes multiple times a day. I honestly think it was my favorite market in all of Myanmar. And I LOVED the markets in Myanmar. This is also the best place to buy one of the those plastic woven market bags that are seen on the arm of almost every woman (and many men) in this country.
Take a boat tour! Go for a full-day boat tour around Inle Lake. Your captain will take you to all the interesting spots, temples, workshops and markets. And it ends with sunset in the middle of the lake while you watch the famous fisherman of Inle Lake do their evening dance to show off for the tourists (for a tip of course).

Restos:

Innlay Hut Indian Food House: if you go to Inle Lake, YOU HAVE TO EAT HERE. The owner is obsessed with Eminem and has themed the whole restaurant around him. He also only plays his music. And the dude is super sweet and driven. I loved him.
Live Dim Sum House: v tasty dumplings!