gav0106

Nice reprt, I need enjoy Yangon, my friend live is from there. May I ask what you work in Yangon?

roadwarrier

Same question here - knowing Ghana, having been there many times over the years and Asia, they are really worlds apart.

Thanks for the TR so far, looking forward to more.

Hugues

Thank you for your comment. To answer to your question, I am working in hotel management, more specifically in Food and Beverage.

Hugues

Train travel in Myanmar is quite a rustic experience. There is no good and bad, but only awesome and ugly.

The awesome is that:

- A first-class ticket from Yangon to Bagan (613 km) is only 7 USD, compared to 30 USD with a VIP bus, or 100 USD by flight

- For this price, I had a whole private wagon to myself that was inaccessible from the rest of the train, so 4 beds and a bathroom just for me

- I live right next to the train station, so this is much more convenient than going to the airport

- Your ticket is written by hand, which is really cool

The ugly is that:

- The train is terribly dirty, even in first-class

- The train machine broke, so we had to go out in the countryside and go to another train

- We arrived 11 hours late (28 hours instead of the 17 hours scheduled). Nobody informed us that we were late. Therefore, I spent 11 hours to check at every station we stopped if we were arrived in Bagan.

First class wagon (notice the dust on the seat)

A private suite on an Emirates plane would cost around 1000 more than a private wagon in a Burmese train...



Going out of the train when the machine broke in the middle of the countryside.....

g289t

I don't know how much you can post publicly, but I am interested in which hotel(s) you worked with in Accra. I am an American expat living in Ghana, although not in Accra. I go to Accra occasionally for meetings and have stayed in and/or had meetings at a number of different hotels there.

dwugson

Adventure travel leads to some interesting hotel rooms. This was my room in the Omo Valley, Ethiopia. Didn't take a photo of the bathroom though the sink leaked
and the floor was continually soaked. The next destination's campsite was even worse if you can believe with a flow of mud running through my tent. I drew the line there and threatened to fly home if the site wasn't changed the next day!

Hugues

There are things that never ceased to amaze me.
Yesterday, I was walking and suddenly I see a "street cyber-cafe". One table on the street, 3 computers on it, and you have a functioning cyber-cafe.

737Av8tor

Fascinating Hugues: I worked in Myanmar several years ago setting up Air Bagan, with initial routes to Mandalay, Bagan and Heho.
They had 2 fare structures; one for locals, the other for tourists!
We lived in the Summit Parkview with views of Shwedagon: due to our workload I never managed to visit though.
If you get the chance a trip to Heho and Inle Lake is well worth your time.

Bretteee

Is it worth visiting Myannar? Also I worry about catching Dengue and other diseases. My Doctor had a patient who caught Dengue in Thailand. It was awful apparently. My sister's Doctor had a patient who caught something in Asia and they were investigating what it was. I have been to Thailand but kept away from the jungle; only went to Bangkok and Phuket. No problems there.

drminn

I took Air Bagan a few years ago between Yangoon, Heho and Bagan. Did you have a hand in hiring the flight attendants? They all looked like perfect porcelain dolls.

dwugson

You are as likely to pick up dengue in the in the Caribbean as in the far east - have been to Myanmar twice, the first time over 25 years ago when conditions were basic, without any issues. Common sense prevails where ever you travel, just check the online travel advisories and take whatever precautions they recommend. Fear of disease is not a reason to stop travelling unless to an area with an epidemic such as Ebola or SARS.

737Av8tor

Regrettably no. The initial group of cabin crew were selected from 20,000 applicants.

Hugues

Mawlamyine is the capital of Mon State, situated around 300 kilometers from Yangon, or 9 hours by train.
3 days before the trip, I went to the Myanmar Railways Reservation Office to buy our handwritten tickets.

Handwritten Train Tickets

Yangon Railway Station

As we presented our tickets, the security guard invited us inside the train station business lounge. No comments.

Yangon Railway Station Business Lounge

At around T minus 20, the guard invited us to board the train. Wouaw, this is one tired looking cabin. However, the seat was wide with very good legrooms. For Myanmar standards, decently cleaned restrooms on board.






At 6 am the next day, we arrived to Mawlamyine Railway Station.


We found a good local coffee shop.



Visit of Hpa-An and Mawlamyine coming soon.

Hugues

First step of the day, U-Na-Auk monastery, one of the most important in the region. On the way, we see a good part of the land is inundated.

Hugues

Hpa-An is famous for its "Avatar movie" type landscape. The only other places in the world where you can find the equivalence is around Guilin, China and Halong Bay in Vietnam.