I used to think that there's no other places in this world that is as amazing and surreal as New York. We have 4 seasons, and hence, 4 seasonal fashion. I also used to think that snow is very pretty and magical. But this year's eternal winter has brought a different perspective to me. Not sure if it's the weather or my non-stop busy schedule, I started to miss about those warm weather with the feel of sunshine on my skin. So, I was very happy when it's time for me to pack up for my 2 weeks vacation to Home, 8000+ miles away, at least 20 hours plane ride.
Unlike my other Burmese friends who visits Yangon with a long to-eat list, I wasn't prepared. Among all the trips back home that I have taken, this is my least prepared trip. But during my 2 week stay, I visited Taunggyi, Inn Le (Inn Lay), Shwe Nyaung in north eastern part of the country.
Scenes From Yangon
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| Nay Pyi Daw Movie Theater - Showing The Lone Survivor - movie ticket is 1,800 kyat which is about $1.80. The seats are not bad. But you have to endure for the noises of popping sunflower seeds and chatters. |
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| View of 29th Street from the old FMI building (next to Bogyoke market). The FMI building is now a new shopping center, with branded cosmetic counters such as Lancome |
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| Aloo Puri - Popular burmese breakfast which is based on Indian dish |
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| We call it To Shay, but it's commonly known as Dosa in the west. |
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| The renowned 19th Street, which has become the expat's gathering place. |
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| Pae Myint |
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| Made out of rice, these are a few popular snacks items |
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| Again - a few other snacks that my grandma bought from market. |
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| Inside the Junction Square Shopping Mall - decorated to welcome the Horse Year. |
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| Bread with homemade jam & Egg Custard |
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| Milk with Sagos and fruits - my favorite, the taste is not too sweet and just perfect for me. This is a renowned staple of Chinatown's 19th street food scene. |
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| Chinese Temple @ Sin Oh Dan Street |
We left Yangon at 7pm on a Thursday night in a family van. I was a little bit worried about my father and the driver taking turns to drive through the night. But they assured me that it's been done before, and so my worries were put at east. Myanmar highway roads are still a work in progress. There is a highway which connects between Yangon and Nay Pyi Daw, current capital of Myanmar, and it takes about 4 hours. From Nay Pyi Daw, the road become a 2 lane road with no street lights.
Our first stop is Taunggyi ( literrally translated to Big Mountain), a town situated on top of a mountain. The one hour mountain road was very windy and not a pleasant drive. I was happy when we reached Taunggyi at 6am, and checked into the hotel.
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| View of Taunggyi from our hotel Balcony. |
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| Cherry Queen Hotel at Taunggyi - a room with two double bed cost about 30,000 kyat ~ $30 per night. The room were surprisingly clean, and has hot water for shower. They also have wifi. |
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| Burmese strawberries. They are very much smaller and a lot sweeter, perfect for making strawberry juice |
From Taunggyi, we went to Katku Ruins, which is about 1 hour drive from Taunggyi. The road to Katku was very rough. But if you are in Taunggyi, this is a trip worth taking.
Near Taunggyi - there's a vineyard called
AyeTharYar. I was very surprised to see a big vineyard in Myanmar. The vineyard is owned by a German who married a local. Inside the vineyard, there is a restaurant where you can order food as well as do wine tasting on a open veranda with a nice view.
Our next stop is to Nyaung Shwe, from where we have to take the boat to go to InnLe. When my parents told me Nyaung Swe is full of foreigners, I was a bit skeptical. They took me to this Golden Kite Restaurant in Nyaung Swe, which makes amazing fresh pasta by the way. We were the only local family in the restaurant. Packs of young backpackers were sitting, sipping and enjoying beers. It really took me by surprise. I was proud and happy that people are now visiting Myanmar. I remembered that a friend of mine skipped Myanmar in his backpacking trip because there is no ATM and he could not use credit card. But now, even in our hotel, I see signs of Visa and Masters.
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| Entrance to Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda |
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