Myanmar – from Yangon to the beach at Ngwe Saung and into the mountains around Taungoo

Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon

I was supposed to be getting away from the depressing misery of British politics, but within a few hours on my first day in Yangon I somehow found myself having to explain my position on Brexit. The guy who started speaking to me wanted to practise his English and seemed remarkably well-informed. I soon realised that there is a lot more freedom and access to media and news than I had thought. Why is there another election? the guy wanted to know. Is Boris Johnson not allowed to do the job any more? Oh, if only! It must be quite confusing for someone brought up in a military dictatorship and I quickly realised I was making a real hash of attempting to explain British democracy. So, I left to continue my exploration of the city.

Shwedagon Pagoda at dusk, Yangon

The biggest tourist attraction in Yangon is the huge Shwedagon Pagoda and I visited it around 4pm which was a great time to arrive. The colours in the late afternoon sun were stunning and I also got to see it lit up at night as the sun sets quite early at this time of year, around 5.15.

Snake Temple

But for me the best day trip I had was catching the Dalah ferry across the river from Yangon where I teamed up with 2 others to hire a tuktuk to take us to the town of Twante. The highlight here was the Snake Temple, where huge Burmese pythons slither and slide freely around the altar. Our driver joked – don’t be scared, they don’t bite. They just swallow you whole. We were also lucky enough to see some local people, who consider the snakes holy, come and give offerings. Not far from the Snake Temple is the tranquil Pagoda of 1000 Buddhas. It’s relatively new and not in the guidebooks so we saw no other tourists.

Temple of 1000 Buddhas

After a few days in Yangon it was time to recharge my batteries at the beach in Ngwe Saung, about a six hour bus ride west on the Bay of Bengal. There’s nothing special there, but it’s a good place  to relax. I took a boat trip out to Bird Island and the view from there was great, but the crossing was surprisingly rough and there we’re  too many waves to go snorkelling.

Bird Island

After a night back in Yangon I headed north to Taungoo, a little visited place. I spent a day driving up into the mountains with a motorbike taxi. It was a bumpy 2 hour journey, but the little village of Than Daung Gyi was fascinating. Many of the local people have converted to Christianity and I climbed up Naw Bu Baw mountain which has a church perched precariously at the top.

Naw Bu Baw mountain

 

So far, my impressions of Myanmar have been great. The people are really friendly and, despite the fact that it’s less developed than neighbouring Thailand, it’s much easier to get around than I expected. The only sad thing is that it’s obvious tourist numbers are down due to the political situation with the Rohingya and local people are suffering from the lack of business. It’s easier than I thought to discuss the issue with people, though, and from the few people I have spoken to it seems to be there is a recognition that the military government is in the wrong  and has behaved appallingly. My advice: come to Myanmar and engage in conversation.

Street food, Yangon