Top 5 Things we Did in Yangon
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Yangon was a fairly short visit for us, but we managed to pack in a good amount of activity in our few days. From all that, here's the our Top 5 favorite things we did.
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Delightful Encounters in Inle Lake
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Inle Lake was one of those places we couldn't make up our minds on. Should we go or should we not go? We'd heard various testimonies from fellow travelers. Some who hated it, some who loved it. Isn't it so hard when that happens? The fact of the matter was this: it's incredibly touristy. In our minds, that alone was reason enough not to go. We always enjoyed places more if we could get a taste of the local life and from what we heard, Inle Lake was definitely not that. The funny thing is, we ended up with some of of our favorite memories there... despite all the tourists.
Read MoreLife in the Mountains near Kyaukme
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Kyaukme was a bit of a lucky accident: originally, we planned on heading to Hsipaw to do some hiking in the mountains. Then, our guesthouse owner in Pyin Oo Lwin suggested we head to Mogok, a relatively un-touristed town known for its gem business. That idea lasted one night until the next morning he told us about some possible rebel-government fighting in the area near Mogok – not something that interested us. So, he recommended yet another option: Kyaukme. As a less-touristed option to visit mountain villages, our research made it seem like a great option, so we headed there. The benefits of a flexible itinerary!
Read MorePyin Oo Lwin
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Visiting an old British hill station in the middle of Burma definitely felt a bit unsettling. No matter how much I'd read about it, stepping into this charming little town felt so odd after we'd just spent days seeing hundreds of pagodas everywhere. It was now time for horse-drawn carriages, colonial houses and lots and lots of trees! We were most excited to spend a few days in Pyin Oo Lwin because of its much cooler climate (it's situated in the mountains, a couple hours by car from Mandalay). Temperatures still reached 25ºC during the day but after months in near 40ºC weather every day, the air almost felt cool and actually a bit cold at night, if you can believe it. Like most people, we came here to relax, which we sure did plenty of. But looking back on our time in Pyin Oo Lwin, what I remember most is the friendliness of its inhabitants. Yet again, Burma treated us with nothing but kindness.
Read MoreA Couple Days in Mandalay
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After the spectacular scenery of Bagan, we bussed on to the final capital city of the Burmese Kingdom. We had arrived in the city from Bangkok and took a bus to Bagan on the same day, so we had experienced a bit of it before exploring it...
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