Events in this story happened on Tuesday the 21st of January, 2020. Jonas and I hitchhiked from Mawlamyine to Dawei in Myanmar. Arranging the Tuk-Tuk As we’re slowly running out of visa days in Myanmar, we only stayed two nights in Mawlamyine. The day before departure, we asked the staff at Thanlwin Seesar Hotel to arrange a tuk-tuk for us to the toll gate. As the previous hitchhiking days had taught us, toll gates are simply the best places to stand to hitchhike from in Myanmar. We showed them the location of the Phar Auk Toll Gate on the mapsContinue reading
Wandering around Shampoo Island (Gaung Say Kyun), Mawlamyine
Events described here happened on the 20th of January, 2020. We visited Gaung Say Kyun Island, also known as ‘Shampoo Island’ on our one full day in Mawlamyine. Getting to the Jetty Before traveling by train from Yangon to Mawlamyine, I’d already marked a few spots I wanted to visit in the city. The highlight of those was an island in the Thanlwin (Salween) river delta named Shampoo Island. Its actual name is Gaung Say Kyun Island (ခေါင်းဆေးကျွန်း). I’d already spotted the island and its tallest pagoda and its scaffolding when we crossed the river by train the previous day.Continue reading
The Train from Yangon to Mawlamyine
This train journey occurred on Sunday the 19th of January, 2020. Jonas and I took the train from Yangon to Mawlamyine in Myanmar. “Kyat” and “MMK” both stand for the currency used in Myanmar. Click here to see the map of the route plus some tips. A Novel Experiences: Taking a Train Getting out of huge cities is often a problem when hitchhiking, and Yangon was no different. I’d done a little bit of research on a good place to hitchhike from after taking a long Grab ride, but it wasn’t worth it. At this point, we’d only hitchhiked twiceContinue reading
Between Two Capitals: Hitchhiking from Naypyitaw to Yangon
Events narrated in this article happened on Tuesday the 14th of January, 2020. Jonas and I hitchhiked from the new capital city Naypyitaw to the old one named Yangon. CONTENT WARNING: there are vivid descriptions of vomiting in here. Emetophobics might want to sit this one out. Early Wake-Up The breakfast time in Vegas Hotel Naypyitaw started at 6:30. That was the time we chose to wake up. I didn’t feel very great, but I soldiered on and dragged myself to breakfast. We’d already packed the night before, so the only thing that was stopping us from hitchhiking the 360Continue reading
Naypyitaw: A Surreal Planned City for Lovers of Motorcycles, Concrete, and Serenity
We were in Naypyitaw from the 10th till the 14th of January 2020. We worked from our hotel, took a taxi, and rented a motorbike for one day of exploration. A Brief History of Naypyitaw – a Planned City What would you do if you could design a city from scratch? You’d try to make it as perfect as possible, obviously. You’d try to think of everything. As someone who likes to play videogames with city planning features, I like to get things right for the sake of my sims. Back in 2002, the military government of Myanmar had it withContinue reading
Hitchhiking from Nyaung-U (Old Bagan) to Naypyitaw
This happened on the 10th of January, 2020. Jonas and I hitchhiked from Nyaung-U – the town near the famous ruins of Old Bagan – to Myanmar’s new capital city Naypyitaw. This was our first attempt at hitchhiking in Myanmar. We covered 260 kilometers by hitchhiking. Here you can find a price comparison of our hitchhiking journey versus taking the bus and here’s the map of our route and points of interest. Preparations to Hitchhike in Myanmar I’d been preparing for hitchhiking in Myanmar for literal weeks. Back when Jonas and I were in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I made the first hitchhiking signContinue reading
Shwezigon Pagoda, Bagan (Myanmar)—Wonder of the Burmese
We visited the Shwezigon Pagoda on January 8th and 9th, 2020. This iconic stupa is located in Nyaung-U/Bagan, Myanmar, close to the banks of the Irrawaddy River. During my visit, the mandatory Bagan Archaeological Zone Pass, which cost 25 000 MMK (€16.25), included the Shwezigon Pagoda. The reason there’s a dedicated post to this pagoda is its inclusion in the videogame Age of Empires II. First Visit to the Shwezigon Pagoda While plotting our 28-day itinerary in Myanmar, the Shwezigon Pagoda was the one sight I knew I wanted to see. I had my doubts about Bagan itself because it’sContinue reading
Cruising Down the Irrawaddy River from Mandalay to Nyaung-U (Old Bagan)
These events occurred on Tuesday the 7th of January, 2020. Jonas and I took a cruise down the Irrawaddy River from Mandalay to Nyaung-U (near Old Bagan) in Myanmar. At the bottom of this article, you can find information on how to book this Irrawaddy River trip yourself. Finding the Irrawaddy River Cruise Before we’d left Chiang Mai, we had to decide where we’d go after Mandalay. In Mandalay, the road to Yangon forks in two paths: to the temples of Old Bagan or to Inle Lake. Both are popular tourist destinations in Myanmar that can later lead to Naypyitaw –Continue reading
Urban Exploring at Mandalay’s Abandoned Airport (Chanmyathazi)
I love abandoned places. I especially love abandoned airports. So when I saw on the map that there’s one right in the city core of Mandalay, I knew I needed to visit Mandalay’s abandoned airport. It’s called Mandalay Chanmyathazi Airport (VBC), named after the township it’s located in. Spotting it on the Map When Googling “Mandalay Airport” there’s no mistake where you need to go to or will arrive at. Mandalay International Airport (MDL) is located a whopping 38 kilometers outside of the city. But passengers didn’t always need to travel that far to fly away from Mandalay. When scrollingContinue reading