I TRAVEL THE SEVEN SEAS: MYANMAR (mjɑːnˌmɑr/ MYAHN-mar,/ˈmaɪænmɑr/ or /ˈmjænmɑr/)

Yangon at night

Mingla'ba

Or, good fortune to you! The first word you need to know before going to Myanmar. In fact, it's good to know few words of that foreign country you are visiting, it'll be the ice-breaker as and when you need to interact with the locals. A simple gesture will go along the way you know.

At Yangon International Airport. A bit old the last time I was there.

The old Yangon Airport.

AND COMPARE THIS WITH THE NEW AND SWAG
YANGON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Awesome! My time, it was dark, murky and downright scary with officers smoking and wearing slippers!

Ok, on to my latest entry. This time I'm gonna share my experience in Myanmar. But first, I gotta warn you that most of the photos here are obtained from the internet and various blogs, sites, etc. I do not own them and credit goes to these fabulous photographers who managed to capture the beautiful images of Myanmar.

I stayed for a good 6 days here.

For this trip, I stayed at Sofitel Plaza Yangon for the whole duration of 6 days 5 nights stay. The hotel was really beautiful and I think back then it was 5 star hotel. I was lucky enough that the General Manager was a Malaysian (Mr. Chen, or Chan, and Chong. Forgot the name). He even came to meet us and treat us with welcome lunch and of course, you can't refuse to that! haha.

Longyi. Traditional Myanmar's sarong for man. You will see this a lot in Myanmar

We were lucky too in the sense that he understood the Muslim requirements and even assure us that the food prepared there are Halal. Heck, they even have separate kitchen for Muslim meals. He even advised us on the prayer time here in Yangon. FYI, the sun rises early here. At 6.30am you will feel as if it's already 8am in Malaysia.

While waiting for Myanmar friend to fetch me for some sight seeing, local style!

My trip to this beautiful land was more than 10 years ago when digital camera was so freaking expensive and even when you have it, you kinda take things for granted by not developing the photos you take (cos the cost was quite expensive too). In the end, I lost most of it in the transition of changing offices, departments, etc. I regretted it much.

Shwedagon Pagoda at the heart of Yangon, Myanmar

The philosophy behind this tall structure

Trip to Myanmar would be ridiculous if you don't go to the famous Shwedagon Pagoda which situated right at the heart of Yangon. It's like what Eifel Tower did do Paris. If you are in the city center, you will not miss this huge pagoda. YOU WILL NOT MISS IT.

Trivia: It is said that Shwedagon Pagoda kept the remains of Buddha's hair. Awesome right?

map to Shwedagon Pagoda from where I stayed. Not far and worth go by foot as you'll get to see people of Myanmar

The Google map above provide the route to Shwedagon Pagoda from where I stayed. It's about 2.7km and if you are within 3km range, I would recommend you to walk. Well, it's not that far and you could experience Yangon first hand. Plenty of stopover en route to Shwedagon Pagoda. Well, I walked from the hotel. If you decide to walk, be mindful that local Myanmar could not speak English. So if you are lost, thing could get a bit tricky there.

The famous Shwedagon Pagoda. U have to take off shoes. And the marble floor was really hot. ouch ouch!

To enter the pagoda, you will be required to pay entrance fee and it vary between local and international. I was lucky cos I came with local and I do look like a Myanmar (haha) too. He asked me to be quiet and let him to the talking. So, I save my Kyat (Myanmar currency). If I'm not mistaken, the entrance fee for International visitor is about 6000 kyats (about 4-5 dollars).

Seen this? An icon to Myanmar

And yeah, for history and those who like trivial matters (heheh no pun intended), Myanmar has plenty of it! The Lady (as above) is the latest movie depicting the struggle of the people Myanmar resonated through this iron lady named Aung San Suu-Kyi. In the movie, she was brilliantly portrayed by our very own Michelle Yeoh. To me, it was an awesome movie and generated buzz on award circle. It was not nominated for Oscar prolly due to its early release from the Oscar date. Apart from acting, you'll get to see the beautiful cinematography of Myanmar. So, GO SEE THIS MOVIE! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mb7JHsFe5I )

This is view of Bagan. Breathtaking isn't it!

Ruins of Buddhist Temple. Beautiful sight not to be missed.

The Golden Rock

Ok. The photo above is called the Golden Rock and located in Mount Kyaiktiyo. And it's quite a distance from Yangon. So, if you are here for more than 4 days, I would highly recommend for a visit to this magnificent landmark. Oh yea, it's 210km away from Yangon, FYI.For Buddhist, it is Myanmar's most popular pilgrimage site and you will definitely see monks clad in turmeric color robe everywhere.