Have a wonderful time and do tell us all about it!

Kathie, I promise to at least start a report! Can't WAIT to see Bagan. Staying at the Strand and Savoy in Yangon, excited about that too. Feels weird to be muffin less!!

Haha...you're the best! You and I are birds-of-a-feather, my dear. I, too, am a serial trip report abandoner.

To think I felt such guilt about it for so long. Glad there's more of us out there who can say it proudly!

Have a G&T for me on the plane!

Have fun! Looking forward to hearing about it.

Well being a Yank, I had to Google "palava" and I'm still not sure I know what it means. Have a wonderful trip and with our constant encouragement, I know that you will post a phenomenal trip report

Do have a G&T or two or three for me also on your flight(s). As I recall, this isn't the first time you have traveled sans muffin.

Glad K finally got her visa...

Sans muffin will be just fine. I'm going sans DH in October... no problems! Enjoy!

You can likely find pristine $10 bills in Singapore. Go to the main branch of a bank and ask if they can trade your bills for pristine bills. They really do need to be unblemished!

PS, while I do drink G&Ts on the ground, airplanes are for champagne.

Oops - that should be $100 bills above, but all US dollars you take in must be pristine.

Have fun in Burma Nicky and we will be here on your return leg! PS. No shoes in the temples so leave all your designer shoes in the suitcase!

bon voyage

Well I am here and it's hot hot hot in SP. Off to Demspey Hill then Sky 57 tonight.

Kathie I agree champagne for the plane but this time I didn't ( boy I must be I'll) felt too tired.

Craig -palava = hassle pronounced pa-lAr-va.

Did feel a bit like trains, planes and automobiles yesterday. All self imposed. I could have gone direct to SP but not in biz class and not suing Muffins air miles .

FW - come on FW say it will me " I have yet to finish a trip report".

So great to be back in Singapore, lots more buildings in the 2.5 years I was last here. Verrrry lazy morning. Going for black pepper crab shortly ( will be thinking of dear Gpanda) think I will go to the Asian civilisation museum tomorrow.

Pook - I'll email you to see which date is good for you.

And Carol I thought of you yesterday when I was stressing about solo travelling,

USING muffins air miles not suing.....

Have a great time!!

Aaaahhhh Singapore. Fantastic. Enjoy!

Solo means you do what you want to, when you want to, and where you want to!!! Gotta love that! I've got 4 solo trips coming up in the next couple of months, but only one is to SEA. The others are closer to home.

Warm greetings sweet smeagol, hope you have fun in our joyous city-state, and many thanks for supporting the Singapore economy! A fine place to call home.

Keep up the good work N, shop till you drop in SIN, then do the same to help out the Thai economy. (And if so inclined in future, some rather special SQ sectors to be flown, LHR-SIN and elsewhere; you know you want that 'suite life'!)

macintosh (robert)


... Singapore Airlines, You're a Great Way to Fly ...

Can't wait to hear about Sky on 57...

Sky on 57 was just as you said Craig, great food, ok service. Amazing view.
Had a good day at Dempsey today, bought a couple of bits at Dempsey and if i was looking to furnish somewhere i would definately be buying stuff here. enjoyed black pepper crab at Jumbo@Dempsey. Then dinner and cocktails at Sky on57 with K and her friend G. A great day. K is working tomorrow, so probably check out the AC museum and Haji lane and a few other places. Out for dinner with K and a few of her friends tomorrow but can't remember where she said.

Mistakenly bought a " cash passport" from A local TA in the UK ( like a MasterCard) loaded it with money, now can't get it to work which is very annoying, only irritation of the hols so far.

The Singapore zoo is really nice, easy to walk around, if you are so inclined. My computer desktop photo is a pic I took of the orangs there.

DS wants to do Sky sometime... if we manage to get the SIN at the same time. That won't happen until maybe next April?

Carol, I went to the zoo the first ever time I came here but am considering a return trip to the Botanic gardens, saw something today that made me think of you, I took a picture. Will post it when I get back

I visit the orchid garden at the Botanical Gardens every time I go to Singapore.

Made you think of me??? Hmmmmmmmmmm (curious)

I will for sure visit the orchid garden on my next trip to SIN. I simply ran out of time on the first trip. Good reason to return!

have fun...

Okay, let's hear about Burma...

I'm not there yet Craig, still in SP. Leave for Burma Wednesday. It rained cats and dogs today in SP.
Did a bit of shopping and then on to the Asian civilisation museum, ghen onto china town to visit the major oldest temple ( names escapes me right now) Dinner at Lau pa sat tonight then onto a bar to watch a magician!!! ( bit random) finished off with a drink at Roberston quay. Back early as I have been out for nearly 12 hours! Might do a boat tour tomorrow, which bob recommended, just hoping the rain holds off.

Keep it comming...easier to do a real time report than play catch up when you get home. Haveing dinner with Beth tomorrow night ...I will tell her you were thinking of Andy. Enjoy Burma

Back from Burma, which was fabulous, too tired to write up now as have an early alarm call for my flight to BKK in the morninf,will write up tomorrow. Being out of email/phone contact was also a revelation.

Hope Beth is ok?

looking forward to your report on Burma.

Now in Bangkok and it's been a hot day, finally made it to Soul Food Mahanakorn on Thonlor , staying at the Renaissance next to Amarin plaza courtesy of the very good offer Bob told us all about.

WWW.soulfoodmahanakorn.com
got a bit lost (which in hindsight is dumb but the sign is very small) enjoyed it ( it's definitely for the faring crowd - although I did see some Thais in there as well). Will do a proper report when I get home, I hate typing on my IPad. looking forward to dinner with Pook tomorrow.

LOVED Burma but I have to say, Craig I am with you all the way ref Yangon....

damn this keypad that should of course say Thonglor

Welcome back Nicky and look forward to hearing about your trip!

I'll be very interested in your reactions to Burma.

we are in suspense

yes, waiting patiently...

I am not sure I will be adding anything above the excellent past reports posted here.bit of a whirlwind trip in Burma, both K and I hope to return. More likely that K will return in the very near future as she is only in Singapore and she is hoping to go to Inle. I am going to look into the road to Mandalay cruise!

what's the good word on the renaissance? considering it for my january trip...

I kiind of like it and the price made it WAY too attractive to turn down. Think it depends what rate you get!!! Breakfast is quite nice, rooms are nice no outside space at all ( well if there is I can't find it and I asked at the front desk) if the IC rate that Bob has is near the current rates I would consider IC next time.

Just got back from an AMAZING meal at Gaggan with Pook and Ken, add this to your list of restaurants in BKK.

Where is Gaggan? Never heard of it. Type of food?

i would have loved to be one of the flies on the wall. i trust you were safe with those two letches??

Carol, it just down from central chidlom, soi Langsuan, then off a sub soi. It's described as progressive Indian food. Very good food, we had the blind tasting menu and Pook very kindly brought some bubbles along to go with it. A very good night.

BOb,I don't know what you mean, Pook and Ken were perfect gentlemen.

WWW.Eatatgaggan.com

Probably the worst that the "letches" would have done is compete for your attention. I am sure that Bob is well aware that they were perfect gentlemen...

Gaggan sounds like a great place - added it to my list.

We spent the whole evening discussing whether Bob would like the restaurant or not and didn't talk much about anything else!

Craig I think you will enjoy the place.

wow, what a dull night you had... what i want to know who drove nicki back to her hotel, or did you drop her at soi cowboy?

We said goodbye at the restaurant and then a mysterious figure emerged from the darkness of the night and offered to escort her back to her hotel. My recollection of the man was that he had cat like reflexes, semi tall, dressed like John Travolta in Saturday night fever and spoke with a gentle but sexy voice. That was the last time that I saw Nicky.

Gaggan sounds good. One more place to add to my over-crowded list of Bangkok restaurants I haven't tried yet.

It really is fabulous, very HiSo but not formal. One of the best meals I have eaten, ever.......

I think Craig and Jeane would like it, as Craig and I seem to both like the same type of things etc.
To be honest we couldnt decide if Bob would ( Karen being of great taste would, Bob we weren't so sure

Kathie, add it to your list, the chef was trained at El Bulli.....

We will have to add it to oue list. If Bob goes home hungry he can have a peanut butter sandwich when we get back to the hotel. The photos of the food look fabuloous.

He won't go hungry, we had 13 courses......

isn't 13 an unlucky #?

i bet it was delicious!! and such good company

pook contacted me about supatra... thanks a million... now, what about my hand lotion, or should i call it hand gold?

I hope you had (are having) a pleasant trip back home. I see Pook wished you bon voyage about 20 hours ago, so you are either on your way, or getting close!

Now, when are you going BACK? And, how did you enjoy solo (sans muffin) travel?

Carol

Bob - spent a fortune in Harrn on Tuesday, but I did stock up on Christmas presents ! And of course Hand cream! There are also these really cute little loyfar key rings I like to buy for gifts so stocked up on those.

Carol, am back at home now, just got up ( it's 5am here) been dozing since about 3 45 am. I have a long journey today for work, so just as well to get an early start. I only really had the 2 days in BKK on my own, Muffin is a great travel companion but I do like my own company some times and BKK can keep me amused!! Not sure when the next trip is. we may go around Christmas not sure yet.

Busy this weekend, with special birthday celebrations for Muffin, will try and post some observations over the next few days.

Happy birthday to Muffin ...Tell him his bday present is to finish your trip report. I can see his face already!

Welcome home! I do look forward to reading your observations/reflections on Burma.

Wish we'd made it to Gaggan in July. Pook had told me about it but I was leaving it until later in our trip and ill health got in the way! Will just have to get back soon before it changes.

Glad you had a good trip Smeagol.

Ok so i have finally gotten round to starting my trip report if anyone is interested. Past history says i won't finish it but i'll ceratinly give it a shot......

Singapore
I arrived in Singapore after getting a connecting flight from BKK. After the usual Changi efficiency I am out of the airport and into a taxi in no time.

K’s condo building is lovely and she has a private lift which takes you to her place. Stayed up chatting till 2am….


K woke me at 11am (how lazy is that?) we got sorted and made our way over to Dempsey Hill. It’s changed quite a bit since I was last here and is now more geared towards restaurants than home furnishings.
We had lunch at Jumbo @ Dempsey (K’s friend G who is from Singapore and lives by Eng seng said Jumbos is better than Eng Seng now for black pepper crab as the latter seems to have gone down in quality)
We have razor clams, Kai Lan, satay and black pepper crab which I think comes to around S$60 each.
We then go for a wonder around the furniture places, which has a mix of “antique” and modern places. If I was looking for furniture I would defiantly buy from the places here.

I eye a small wooden barber stool (which there are many of here) S$130 would look so cute in my house, but as I have lots more flights I think it’s probably an impractical thing to buy at around 5kilos in weight. I did buy a couple of Indonesian Wayangs (puppets) which are gorgeous S$75 for the two at Maywell lifestyle.
Asiatique and Curio are both high end lifestyle stores but worth a look.
I actually think Dempsey Hill is one of my favourite places to shop in Singapore now and has changed so much since the first time I came here 9 years ago (and bought a huge Buddha carving weighing 10k which I did managed to check In!) Combine a visit here with lunch as there are many great places to eat. It’s hot, we stop for a fruit drink at a cute wine bar next to Curios then head off back to Kerry’s to freshen up, we have dinner reservations at Sky on 57 at Marina Bay sands tonight….



We invite K’s friend along who has been housebound due to a broken ankle. The taxi drops us at the relevant tower and this is one impressive building. I am sure its wanst here when I last came to SP 2.5 year ago!!! Anyway we go up the fast lift and settle in the bar and wait for the table. The bar and lounge are very stylish but for me the lighting needs turning down a notch.
For those who are interested we had a chefs platter to start, which was very tasty but some sort of explanation by the wait staff would have been good. K had Suckling pig, G had baked miso Cod and I had the 300 day Angus beef (which was delicious) 4 cocktails, 1 liqueur coffee and 2 bottles of water the bill was S$414 (incl gst and a 10& svc charge. I would describe the service as just ok perhaps a little amateur and the food was nice but not spectacular. We take our drink outside to finish the night off on one of the loungers at the outside bar, now this does make it worth it and without this fabulous view / bar area the night would have been OK and overpriced. Would I go back, not sure. Would I go back for the view and a drink, absolutely! A great first day in SP.

Finally! Great report so keep it coming!

Monday

When I wake up it's raining so hard I can barely see outside. K said she hasn’t seen rain like this since she came back to live in SP in January! I feel really exhausted today and mooch around the house till about 11 and then walk to the nearest MRT. I get off at Orchard and go into Paragon In search of a couple of shops I like in there.
A quick drink in Project blood bros, a cute café on floor 4 and then off to ION which is a (yet another) new mall in Singapore. It’s still lashing it down with rain outside. I have an uninspiring lunch of crab chowder at the Marmalade pantry (an off moment for my normally trusty luxe guide) but I am too exhausted to go elsewhere. (jet lag seems to be really kicking in today) I wonder around some of the different malls but to be honest I feel like I am getting nowhere and (unusually for me) I am not in the mood for shopping I catch the MRT to city hall and walk to the Asian Civilisation Museum.

Its just S$5 entrance and they currently have a special exhibit with some of the terracotta warriors, I spend a lovely hour and half here looking at the fantastic exhibits starting with a history of Singapore and then looking at the different cultures in Asia. I would definitely recommend this place if you have some time to kill and are in need of an indoor fix.

I go for a coffee over by the Fullerton hotel (which is over the road from the ASM) it’s finally stopped raining I then decided to get a cab to china town to see if the Chinese temple is open (Thian Hock Keng). It isn’t but I take some pictures from the outside, I wonder up Amoy road and just stroll around some of the areas I haven’t yet been to in China town in my many previous visits and take some nice photos, past the wet market and along to the CBD to meet K at 6:15.

We walk to the hawker centre Lau Pa Sat which is housed in a Victorian building in the financial district. To me it seems for locals rather than farangs. We have sting ray, morning glory (to spicy for me) and some dim sum. The food is great and I like the fact its quick and easy. Not sure how much the rest was but the sting ray and morning glory came to S$22. If you are in this area its definitely worth eating here and the building itself is nice.
We get a cab over to a bar that K has heard about with a magician (Bar 84) which is situated in the gallery hotel. A friend of Ks said the magician is amazing and a must see. We get there just before 8 and whilst the bar is very cute we are the only people in there and they amazingly charge a S$10 patronage charge!!! We have a couple cocktails and our very own private magic show and no one else turns up!!! The magician is very very good but when he finishes after about 30 minutes we decide to go. I am very surprised to see a magic show charge S$10 on top of the S$10 patronage charge and suggest to K this is why they are empty!! We walk over to Robertson Quay where there are a few bars and have a drink outside. We talk a stroll and then get a little lost, finally finding hotel where we call a cab and wait (the taxi booking system here is so efficient) back to Ks. Not a truly adventurous day but I enjoyed it none the same.

great report... please keep it coming..

how is the 50+ man?

Following along - more, please.

Tuesday

Its mid morning again by the time I get going (still exhausted) the sun is really shining today and I grab a cab to the Botanic gardens. It’s busy at the café with tour groups but the gardens themselves are quiet. I always find it super peaceful here and find corners I haven’t explored before. The sound stage (shaped like a giant lily pad – I think) would be an amazing place to watch an orchestra and will definitely check into this for the next time I am in SP. There are new installations and considering its free it’s a great place to explore (you do have to pay to enter the Orchid gardens which I don’t go to) I’m probably here for an hour and a half.
I walk to the Orchard exit (not actually on Orchard) and walk up to Tanglin mall. It’s REALLY hot today. I have a quick pit stop at the Tanglin shopping centre then onto looking at the crafts etc in Tanglin Mall. Lots of shops seem to have disappeared since I was last here, I don’t buy anything but Tanglin mall has some nice antique shops (I would say its similar to River city mall in BKK but on a smaller scale). I walk along orchard and make yet another drink stop at a bar by the somerset MRT. I love the MRT in Singapore, like many in SE Asia they are clean, fairly cheap and efficient.

I get off at Raffles places and wonder round the area here. I then walk across to the esplanade (which is a lot further than I thought) and walk over to the Theatres on the bay, known locally as the Durians. It’s quite busy here and you can get some magnificent pictures of the theatres and the Marina bay sands complex. I sit on the bridge and people watch for a while (and get many request to take peoples photos – I also bizarrely end up in several snaps of a touring mainland Chinese family, who have me in photos with several members of their family including holding their wriggling toddler)
I walk over the bridge to the famous Merlion statue, in all the time I have been to SP I haven’t been here before. It’s crowded with tourists. I walk round the corner towards the new Fullerton Bay hotel (which is gorgeous and has one of the best lobby’s I have seen) and have a drink by customs house. This is quite a cute area for restaurants and bars. I am meeting K here shortly and her friends M & G who I have met before (they are from Singapore) at a tapas bar! (K liked the happy hour offer!) We all meet up, order tapas and drink 2 for 1 cocktails and watch the sun set!
K has booked a table at the lantern bar (which is on top of the Fullerton Bay hotel) for drinks at 9. We arrive early but this isn’t a problem and we get a table overlooking the Marina. WOW the views are fantastic and the bar is very stylish (sort of like a Bedouin tent) The British maitre ‘D is super attentive and all the staff are very friendly. Booking a table is a must but I would recommend a drink here for the views and cool surroundings. Sure the drinks aren’t cheap but it seems nothing is these days in SP (still way cheaper than the UK so I’m not complaining). M drives us home and it’s been great to catch up with old friends today.

I feel like I haven’t really done a lot in SP this time round but this is visit number 5 and I have already previously visited many of the “tourist” stuff but there are still many things on my list to do next year. (I have been feeling really tired this trip, I think the jetlag has gotten to me), no matter, K and I have a morning flight to Yangon tomorrow and we are both super excited to finally be going to Myanmar.

You should have charged the Chinese tourist for packing pictures with you!

Look forward to the Myanmar portion!

Keep writing...there are alot of us following. Any photos to go along with this story?

Karen check Nicky's Facebook wall. She has over 850 photos from her trip!

you may have not done anything specific in sin, but it sure sounds like you enjoyed the down time...

I'm enjoying your report. Like others, I can't wait for Burma!

Now Pook you know I only posted about 120 pictures LOL. Poor David did sit through all 847 photos the other night......
Just got in, I'll try and do a bit more In a bit, not sure how interesting it's going to be for those of you who have already been, we didn't do anything off the tourist trail!

fab pics, thanks...

maybe we need to return there and go up bagan way?

and Inle, too, Bob

Bagan is gorgeous, both K and I want to go back and Inle is high on the list. with K being only 2 hours away she will probably make it back quicker than I.

>>>I feel like I haven’t really done a lot in SP this time round but this is visit number 5 and I have already previously visited many of the “tourist” stuff but there are still many things on my list to do next year.<<<


And please do return to our sweet Singapore! More than a few gems to be discovered; special place.

Thanks again for your fine writing; always a pleasure to read your impressions. (And, completely off topic: I was in London last week for a few days of meetings and had the privilege of staying, for the first time, at the Mandarin Oriental. What a place - have you been there for meetings or dining? I'll still take her sister property in Bangkok, but it was quite a treat; had not been in that area of London for some time.)

All the best and do return to SIN at your earliest convenience. (And you know the airline to fly!)

robert

to quote andy: 'and the report continues, WHEN'?

Looking forward to hearing about Myanmar

Robert , Singapore is a definate for 2012, love it there. Now if only I could afford SQ business, I'll have to settle for business on BR to BKK and then Y class on SQ from BKK... More to follow promise, busy this weekend.

I'd be interested in your experience in Burma. It's always nice to know what other travellers have experienced, even if it is not much different from what others have posted. Please continue your TR for the benefit of those of us who are going in the future. It seems like there will be quite a few of us there in January.

we all are busy this weekend TOO, but we would find time to read your continued report--tell HRH harry to do the cooking while you type

shelleyk I think you will have already traveled to Burma by the time Smeagol finishes her trip report.

shelly, you may even be finished with your 3rd burma trip before she gets motivated.... now if there were a hand cream sale at her fav paragon shop she would have no trouble finding time for that....but us?????????????????

You guys are so cruel.... Ok ok I will do some this morning ( I have to transfer to my laptop and type in word then cut and paste - which I KNOW isn't a pain I just haven't seemed to find the time to do it!!) later I promise. Bob/Pook LOL. And Bob I only bought 1 hand cream.....( although their new candles are fabulous, the ones called Bangkok and Phuket are heavenly......)

candles are for dreamers

we do love you still

Did you post a link to your facebook pix and I just missed it? Would love to see them! Tomorrow night we are having dinner with our Myanmar travel agency friends (Joe and Lulu Shein--if any of you know them-with Goldenrock) in southern CA and taking a Blurb book to them of our time there. Love talking about Myanmar and remembering!

Still waiting...We have a block party to go to, an Indian cooking class, babysat the grand kids on 2 diffeent days, made curtains for the computer room this week end. Surely you can write a bit.

its getting on towards night time in the UK... did we miss something?

I hear she's going to Canada and I'm not sure if they have the internet over there.

they do have internet on planes now so maybe there still is hope..

She said she will be flying Ryan Air so no net and no free toilet for the flight.

hanuman, me fly Ryan Air - are you crazy!!!! Canada is not for a couple of weeks I promise to add some more of my TR soon, you guys are really making me laugh with all your sarky comments

Wednesday

Whenever K has lived abroad and I go and see her we also add in a little side trip to some where, we had originally thought of going to Borneo or Lombok but we couldn’t make the flights work and it became too complicated for such a short trip. K has also travelled extensively throughout Asia, so trying to find somewhere we have both haven’t been to can be a challenge (although it’s not a major requirement just a nice to have). I checked out Silk Air and their flight timings were perfect to Yangon, not cheap but fitted our schedule (Air Asia do a flight also but the timings were so convenient), so I booked it online. (Very easy site)
At this point it hadn’t occurred to me to think about whether it may be a good time to go weather wise, it wasn’t till I read Balloons over Bagan stop operating in the summer I realised we had planned to go during monsoon time….

Anyway that aside, we decided finally to go for 5 day, after looking at a few of the tours on Santa Maria’s website. To be honest I didn’t even bother with any other travel Agents, they had such a good reputation on here and TA, I told them what I wanted and let them sort the rest. So our trip was planned as this

Day 1 -a.m flight to Yangon from Singapore – Savoy Hotel – City tour
Day 2 – early a.m flight to Bagan – Aureum palace hotel – All day guide
Day 3 – Bagan – more temples, village tour, horse cart ride etc…
Day 4 – Morning at leisure (considered an excursion to Mt Popa but after reviewing a few trip reports decided not to bother) afternoon flight back to Yangon – The Strand Hotel
Day 5 – Morning at leisure – Afternoon flight back to Singapore

Santa Maria would provide drivers and guides for the whole trip including airport transfers. I know we could have done a lot of this our selves but for such a short trip we were happy to let someone else do all the work. I gave SM a free reign to arrange what we would do with the guides (I did say I wanted to go to Shwedagon at sunset) with the caveat that we would discuss when we got there and change or add anything, which was cool with them as it was a private tour. I can say now we were extremely pleased with the service we received from SM and will use them again for sure next time i/we go to Burma.
The only thing that freaked me out was the deposit; they wanted it wired to a “friends” account in Bangkok!! I emailed Craig and Kathie who confirmed it was all above board. K did this as I was away in Corsica and it took 2 weeks for them to confirm as the “friend” was away. This made me nervous some more but eventually they confirmed and all was ok. I guess until international banks start trading in Burma this will be the way it is. The balance would be settled on arrival in CRISP US$ as most places do not accept credit cards (some hotels do but they charge 6%) but its not a widely accepted method of payment so K and I would need to take all the money (in crisp US$) we were going to need.

VISA
I applied for my visa in July as I had to wait till I came back from a trip to Amsterdam in June. Sent everything off to the Embassy in London and received it back in 8 days, cost £14 + postage.
K had a nightmare and it took about 7 weeks to get hers…..We actually thought at one point we would have to cancel as they initially suggested she may not get a visa. K works for a news affiliated company, she isn’t a journalist or anything and her work is in no way related to the news side of the company. Because she had to apply at the Singapore based embassy, she had to prove her residents status (otherwise they would have told her to apply in London) eventually when K had befriended the guy by ringing nearly every day and going to the embassy with a letter from her HR department detailing her job and details of our booking via SM (which he looked at but gave her this back) he finally called to say it had been approved and could she drop her passport in. She got her Visa in her passport 2 days before I arrived in Singapore…..

The flight to Yangon was half empty and k and I had a whole row each to ourselves at the back to have a snooze after getting up at 5am. Anyway we arrived in Yangon International at 09:20am, from first look the airport is kind of modern in a sparse way, quite small and immigration was relatively easy. SM (in fact the guy I had been conversing with over the last few months) was there to greet us. We got into an old car (all the cars looked old to me in Burma) and went straight to The Savoy hotel. SM had recommended we stay here and I was happy to do so as we had agreed we would stay at the Strand on the way back. I won’t name our SM guide here, so will just call him SM. Anyway SM gave us a potted “history” of Yangon and talked about the areas we were travelling through, it was raining but not hard and in about 30 minutes or so we arrived at the Savoy hotel, after welcome drinks we would check in and freshen up, we were happy to get going ASAP so told SM we would dump our bags, freshen up and meet him back down in the lobby shortly.

Like a lot of hotels in SE Asia (not though say Singapore or BKK) it has that damp smell to it, but the hotel was nice in a “shabby ex colonial looking” kind of way. We had a deluxe room overlooking the pool, this would suit us fine.

We sorted out the payment with SM (I was slightly gutted that he didn’t remark on the crispness of my US$ because for us non US citizens it was a right drama getting those in the UK and my local branch of Thomas Cook went through ALL their $100 and we decide only 4 were good enough so I had to bring $50s – note to any non US citizens, arrange this earlier than the day you are actually leaving the UK like I did!) and discussed our itinerary for the next few days. They had already arranged a late check out at the Aureum Palace and the Strand and reconfirmed the flight on Air Mandalay for the next day (apparently it is super important to do this!) and asked us to ask our guide to do this for our return flight to Yangon on Air Bagan.

Back in the car and off to Botataung Pagoda by the riverside….

"shabby ex colonial looking" can be use to describe Bob!

Good to get an impression of Burma during the wet months. Look forward to more Nicky and soon!

Actually the first stop is to get some money. SM takes us to a building which I guess are some local shops, upstairs there is an office and it’s crowded with foreigners, here K and I both change $150 we get a huge wedge of Kyat. The rate here is better than the bank…..


Botataung Pagoda is a beautiful pagoda, with space and a riverside location and has the added benefit that you can actually go inside the Pagoda Structure (they are normally solid) this one is adorned with gold walls and the very centre has a Buddha hair relic. We wonder round this pagoda for a while and then out to the other outer buildings, here they have a shrine dedicated to the “nats” K thought it in appropriate that I remarked one of them looked like Colonial Gadaffi.There are some workers in the main hall who have taken a break from polishing all the statues and are having lunch, they invite us to join them. It always amazes me that people who have so little are always willing to share; this turns out to be a theme during our trip. We very politely decline and walk down to the riverside.
A huge market boat has docked and SM takes us aboard. Here the workers are off loading huge old oil drums, pottery etc. This is their work space, cooking space, eating, washing, sleeping etc…. quite fascinating. These boats travel up and down the river probably arriving at each destination once a month.
We then head off by car downtown to see some of the old colonial buildings. Yangon city hall has been spruced up with a new coat of lilac paint (it was formerly yellow) It’s interesting to see the mix of old British buildings with a Burmese twist. It’s also sad to learn that they are not allowed to renovate these buildings unless the government say so. Yangon could be a beautiful city but it just looks worn with damp and plants growing out of buildings crying out for renovation.(I guess on the scale of disasters this isn’t one, as the money could be better spent on a decent education system, healthcare etc etc – although I don’t really want to get into the politics of things on a travel forum)
Next is Sule Pagoda , right in the heart of town another fascinating place. The traffic has grown around it and the 2000 year old Sule Pagoda is like a large traffic Island. Inside though it’s calm and people go about the business of worship. Everywhere we look is a gorgeous picture waiting to be taken. We spend some time here with SM learning about the place and talking in general about Myanmar. Sule Pogoda is also the point where all addresses to the north are measured.
AT this point I am very hungry and a perfectly placed lunch stop is scheduled. We walk to Zawgyi house, which is a café very close to Bogyoke Aug san market. It’s clearly a favoured spot for the tour guides to drop their clientele as the crowd is definitely tourist but the food is welcome (Its sad to say I had a club sandwich – I was so hungry having not eaten on the plane and after heeding Lori and Pook’s words about the food in Myanmar I wanted to be sure I wouldn’t spend the rest of the day hungry.) K has a very uninspiring noodle soup. We asked if SM and the driver wanted to join us be he wanted to get back to the office. We agreed to meet back in 1.5 hours time as the market is next door we would look round there too.
Well we go into the mall next door and it’s a very uninspiring place we don’t know how we are going to kill the time, its not till we wonder down the road that we realise that wasn’t the actual market….. We have a quick look here, its hot and starting to drizzle we can come back when we are back in Yangon on Sunday. One of the things I notice is that if you smile at people they always smile back, some stop to ask you were you are from (are these the government spies we have read so much about – or just people being friendly) as soon as you mention England, the inevitable is football (K hates football) and then of course Manchester United (that will please you Pook)

SM arrives back and we walk a few blocks to the car and we make our way out of downtown Yangon, a quick stop at Kandawgyi lake and view from across the lake a HUGH structure on the water which is actually a large conference centre/ restaurant of sorts. It’s built in the style of a royal barge and must of cost a fortune, it’s (of course) run and owned by the government. Our next stop is Chauk Htat Yi monastery and it’s reclining Buddha. This is a simply stunning reclining Buddha and it’s huge. Attached to this is a meditation centre and monastery. For me this is a must see stop in Yangon, its peaceful and beautiful and we just wonder around the grounds. I can hear monks chanting in the class room and people getting on with daily life. We take lots of photos here and I am in a mild panic when my battery on my camera starts to flash (I have no spare) especially as our next stop is what we came to Yangon to see, Shwedagon Pagoda.

Coor.... 2,123 words from Smeagol and in one day! Nice report Nicky and I look forward to your report on Shwedagon and Bagan.

Yes Manchester United rules and so far the best season ever!

Thanks for the encouragement Pook, hope it's of interest. It takes me hours... will try and do a bit more later. Housework and shopping to do today! BTW K was on a quick stop to the UK and I caught up with her yesterday, we are considering Inle for our next trip but she is not sure she can stand the potential hassle with the visa again. I did suggest that she probabaly won't have the same issues next time, but hey we'll see.

Thanks for getting back to this TR. It is definately of interest to me. I'm looking forward to more,after the housework and shopping are done.

Good job...keep it going .

yea!!!!

i am a relic

I too enjoyed all 2.123 words. More please...

me too.....waiting for more.

Enjoying reading....

We get back in the car and drive the short distance to Shwedagon pagoda. Ever since I read Somerset Maughams “the Gentlemen in the Parlour” and saw the cover shot of Shwedagon from the very early 1900’s and when Pook sent me the link to a free app of pictures of Burma I have been looking forward to visiting Shwedagon, which is the most sacred site in Burma.

We arrived by the north entrance (I think) SM pays the entrance fee for us (which he did in all the places we had been) and we go up in a specially built lift. When we step out, walk along the “sky bridge” K and I are awestruck OMG this place is awesome….. Gold stupas, statues, elaborate buildings are everywhere, its so beautiful we’re trying to decided if it’s the most beautiful place we have ever been (on a temple scale) SM tells us all about the carvings, buildings, statues, worshippers everything really. I don’t think I would do it justice in describing it here and for sure my pictures do not convey the beauty. (I think I end up taking about 15 before my battery finally dies!)

Sure you can do Shwedagon on your own (and we do later) but for us it was enhanced by all the detail SM gave us. (he got the measure of us for sure and didn’t overload us with facts) An interesting fact was the “temple” dedicated to the spirit who could grant wishes, this Buddha statue you cannot directly see, it has a camera pointing at it and it’s broadcast on a TV screen, this I am told is so the worshippers cannot directly wish for something (like a new government perhaps??)

We linger for ages just wondering around, until we finally make it back to the north entrance. There is a lot of cloud cover so sunset is a bit of a let down. SM asks us if we want to go anywhere else but we call it a day and ask him to takes us back to the Savoy. K and I have been on the go for about 13 hours and we are shattered but it’s been great. SM comes in to the hotel with us and arranges with the desk an early morning call and orders breakfast in a box so we can take to the airport in the morning. The same driver we have had today will take us to the airport at 05:45am tomorrow for our 7am flight to Bagan.
We tip SM (with an amount I hope is appropriate) and say our goodbyes.
K and I both agree that when we come back to Yangon on Saturday we will go back to Shwedagon to see it in the dark.

After a quick freshen up, K and I head for bar in the hotel, this is quite a buzzy little bar again for the expat crowd. Its quite smoky but K and I settle in and have a couple of beer Mandalay’s ( nice) and even though SM said there were some good restaurants nearby we are too tired and end up have some bar snacks and another beer. We both liked this bar as it had a good atmosphere. We retire quite early, shattered but having really enjoyed the day. Another early alarm call tomorrow and off to Bagan…..

Boy , they must have really revamped the Shwadgon Pagoda since we were there. I remember walking up alot of steps in horrid heat. I am noat sure we even saw the Budha in it. Glad you liked it.

We used the lift as well and I think it has been around for a while Karen.

Look forward to your Bagan episode Nicky!

The lift was put in in the 70's I think!

I think Bob was there during the colonial days. Picture him sweaty and in a white suite with a 100 coolies carrying his belonging behind him....

LOL Pook. I really like Shwe Dagon and would be a reason for me to visit Yangon again.

K is daydreaming.... we took the same lift as you did... the place is unbelievable... be careful not to slip on the marble floors or to burn your feet...

Omg that marble floor, slipped so many rimes......

Was it wet when you went Nicky?

It was when we went back on the evening. We met a guy though who told us to walk on this black line and he was right, not so slippy. when we went during the day and when it wasn't raining it was fine. Damn I just realised how much I loved Shwe Dagon

i'd go back to yangon just to visit there...

Me too Bob. (but only for one day!)

Enjoying your account. I'm looking forward to Bagan.

You might be interested to know that as a foreigner, you are not allowed to change money at a bank. The government has an "official" exchange rate of something like 8 kyat to the dollar, while the current black market rate is about 700 to the dollar. I actually know of someone who asked to exchange money at the airport and was told by the man at the desk not to. At the airport they would have given him 8 kyat to the dollar. Scotts Market is the usual place to exchange money in Yangon.

I didn't know about the official exchange rate so thanks Kathie!

Nicky I will give you 10 kyat to the the dollar, minimum exchange $1M.

i am offering 11

Well as I got 750 if I was changing $ 100 in Yangon and about 680 in Bagan, Pook I will politely decline your offer.....

Bob is that US$11 to 1 Kyat? If so I would like to exchange 10M Kyat but if you can wait I will go and get more.

Oh, glad to hear your got 750 to the dollar! Some people have reported as low as 650 recently. The rate when I was there was 1000... obviously it's dropped a lot! I'm hoping I can get as much as 750 when I'm there in November.

Pook, if you go to any of the currency exchange websites, you'll see the "official" exchange rate. When NGOs bring money into Burma they have to exchange at the official rate. Ironically, charitable donations to NGOs working in Burma probably bring more hard currency to the junta than tourism.