Mystical Myanmar (2014): Accommodations

Here is the compilation of all the accommodations my friends and I stayed throughout our trip in Myanmar including Bagan, Inle Lake and Yangon.

Thiri Marlar Hotel, Bagan (Currently known as Thurizza Hotel)

Among all the three hotels we stayed, this is our favourite one. I couldn't remember how I came across this hotel, either recommended by a blogger or my friend but this hotel also featured in Lonely Planet. 

Mystical Myanmar (2014) Day 6 & 7: From Inle Lake to Yangon & Goodbye Myanmar!

I think we left our hearts in Inle Lake...

and it's really hard for us to bid goodbye to this pristine and wonderful watery world. We really wish we could spend more times here but because our trip to Myanmar was pretty short, no choice but to make our way back to Yangon again before taking flight back to our sweet homeland. 

#1: Bus from Inle Lake to Yangon details 

To Yangon, we took overnight bus which depart around 6.30 pm at Nyaungshwe Bus Station. Among all the bus ride we experienced; the journey from Inle Lake to Yangon is not just the longest ride we had which took more than 11 hours, it's also extremely one stomach-churning bus ride. My friend who sat next to me keep throwing up throughout the expedition. Therefore, remember to take motion sickness medication before embarking on this long journey. 

VIP overnight bus from Inle Lake to Yangon = 22,000 kyats (approx. to US$23 or RM75)

Mystical Myanmar (2014) Day 4 & 5: Impressive Inle Lake

Date Visited: 12th January 2014

We left the ancient city of Bagan and travelled to a beautiful highland lake, the Inle Lake via a public bus. We bought the 7.30 am bus tickets and the journey from Bagan to Nyaung Shwe of Inle Lake took more than eight hours bus ride. Although the bus ride was uncomfortable and time consuming comparing to those VIP buses which we took earlier from Yangon to Bagan, however it was relatively cheaper, for as low as 11,000 kyats only (approx. to US$11 or RM37). Overnight bus is available but my friends and I opted the morning one so that we able to enjoy the awesome scenery and landscape. 

#1: Welcome to Inle Lake

Mystical Myanmar (2014) Day 3: Temples & Pagodas Hopping In Bagan (Part 2)

Previous Post: Day 2 in Bagan - Temples & Pagodas Hopping (Part 1)

Date Visited: 11th January 2014

Not just one but we spent completely two days solely for temples and pagoda hopping around this home to the largest and densest concentration of more than 2,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas, stupas and monasteries. Instead of charter a whole van like we did yesterday, my friends and I decided to rent a horse cart with driver and few bikes as there were two in our group who didn't know how ride a bike. 

So now let's me continue the second part of temples and pagoda we visited on the second day in Bagan:

Soemingyi Pagoda

Mystical Myanmar (2014) Day 2: Temples & Pagodas Hopping In Bagan (Part I)

Date Visited: 10th January 2014

Immediately after we done with gazing at mesmerising and awe-inspiring sunrise view of Bagan with the layer of mist and hot balloons flying over abundant of small and medium temples, we then proceeded with temples and monastery hopping before we could eventually check-in into our hotel. We chartered a mini van that can accommodate 6 of us perfectly and we agreed with the charge of 50,000 kyats (approx. to US$51 or RM168) for the full whole day.

Thatbyinnyu Phaya

We started off with Thatbyinnyu Phaya, a famous old temple situated in Old Bagan. The uniqueness of this temple is that it has a square base shaped, surrounded by diminishing terraces, rimmed with spires. It has two primary storeys, with the seated Buddha image placed on the second storey.

Throw Back of My 2015 Travel Adventures

Before bracing myself for another possible adventures in this brand new year, let me begin my first official blogpost by reflecting my travel adventures for the year 2015 like what I always did in the past. #dtgotravel #travel #throwback

• January - Superstar Aquarius Cruise. Kicked off my year 2015 by sponsoring my whole family for a short cruise vacation. However, this 1 night highsea cruise turned out to be a disaster whereby we had quite number of bad and horror experience with them. Maybe no next time! 
• January - 18 Hours Road Trip to Brunei & Miri. Drove for 9 hours from Kota Kinabalu to Miri and passby Brunei together with Boyfie. Both of us across international borders Malaysia & Brunei 4 times and cleared 10 immigration checkpoints. A road trip within 2 days only and two pages of my passport has been fully filled with stamps whereas for Boyfie, the stamps occupied his three pages instead. That's the difference between Sarawakian (me) and Sabahan. 
• March - Taiwan. For the sake of my birthday celebration. Both of us managed to cover Kaohsiung, Kenting, a short trip to Taichung merely for my favourite night market, Fengjia Night Market and lastly spent few days in Taipei again. And one of the best thing was we flew with Malaysia Airlines on Business Class for less than RM1,000 each. 
• May - Bangkok & Hua Hin, Thailand. Told you, Bangkok has indeed put spell on me and made me wanna return Bangkok again and again. This is my third visit by the way. Besides Bangkok, my friends and I also went to Hua Hin, a chic and artsy town which is three hours away from Bangkok.
• May - Kampar & Ipoh. For my BFF's big day which held in Kampar. Right after her wedding, we did road trip to Ipoh for a gastronomy adventures. 
• June - Singapore & Johor Bahru. Also to attend my good friend's wedding. 
• July - Tokyo, Japan. I went Tokyo before back in 2010 but because two of my brothers were so eagerly wanna go to Tokyo, hence my dad requested for me to become their personal tour guide. Besides spending almost a week in Tokyo alone, we also extended our trip to Hakone and Yokohama. 
• August - Penang. Thanks to AirAsia for the #aabc Penang Takeover invitation where we're joined by 10 amazing Penang bloggers for fun packed and fascinating challenges. 
• September - New Zealand & Sydney. 16 days trip to North & South Island of New Zealand, including transit in Singapore and Sydney. First time flew with British Airlines, Qantas and Air New Zealand.
• November - Hanoi, Vietnam. College gathering with two of my friends who I haven't met for almost 10 years. I guess the best way to do gathering is indeed by planning a trip. Besides Hanoi, we went Ninh Binh (instead of Sapa) and overnight cruise in Halong Bay. 
• December - Hong Kong & Macau. Last but not least, another Christmas celebration in oversea with my mom. Glad to fulfill my mom's wish who dreams of visiting Macau someday.

One of the unfortunate event was due to some personal reason, I burnt my ticket to Boracay, Philippines which I bought for RM120 only. It's unlikely for me to grab this kind of great deal again in the future but then, I don't regret with any of my own course of action. Something are meant to be more important in my life than travelling. 

Except for New Zealand and Vietnam, almost all my oversea trips for last year are revisit for the third time - Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Macau and city of Bangkok. Why I return to the places I've been before? Cause there are always something new to explore and discover. Now I'm looking forward to go South Korea for the third time. 

Any travel plan for this year? Of course, it's a lie if I say I don't have one but there are plenty of them in my current wishlist and I doubt myself whether I can accomplish or not but one thing for sure is my wish for this year is to have more trips and travel together with my beloved family and friends. Obviously, I hate travelling solo. 

Blog wise, I hope that I can complete my 2014 and 2015 endlessly travelogues before start to occupy with more upcoming trips. Till then, 

"Travel Because Life Is Short and The World is Huge"