Traveling Alone Has its Perks.
Traveling alone is a bit like living alone, where you can have everything just how you like it. When you travel alone you get to do and see everything you plan. You can follow an online travel review that piques your interest or leave in the wee hours of the night to save a buck. You can use that money you saved to afford something else that takes your fancy. I've had amazing adventure with other people, but I am surprised at how much I am enjoying this season of traveling alone.
The location of one such, interest piquing, online review.
I was interested in going to the double-named nation even before seeing pictures of Bagan, a land generously sprinkled with ancient temples. Travel bloggers' photos sealed the deal. Only later did I hear about the must-see area of Lake Inle.
In 1989, 'Burma' officially became Myanmar, though many people still refer to it by its former title. Many of the people in Myanmar are Burmese and speak Burmese. From what I understand the people in the nation use both titles and have all along. Myanmar just reopened to tourism in 2012 after being closed for 50 years.
Reading Biographies.
I bought the Kindle version of Bound for Burma, a missionary biography, because I was bound for Burma.
I was sitting at a skybar in Yangon, Myanmar waiting for the impressive golden Shwedagon to light up. As I relaxed, I read about the very first missionaries sent from America, who went to, none other than, Burma. The biography described the harrowing and adventurous journey of the Judson's. It was surreal that they first docked in the very same city I was in. The book described something glistening over the tops of the trees as they approached. Yes! it was the very same pagoda I was gazing at as I read; the same one I had visited earlier that day. Even then, it was over 400 feet tall and covered in pure gold.
The Shwedagon.
This solid brick structure was built between the 6th and 10th century, though it has been enlarged and renovated many times. It is completely covered with gold. Close to the top there is an umbrella crown, tipped with 5,448 diamonds and 2,317 rubies. At the very top is a diamond bud, tipped with a 76 carat diamond.
You have to take off your shoes before entering and walk barefoot around the massive structure and grounds, even up escalators which I am convinced is a safety violation (or should be). My pampered feet hurt in no time. Luckily the ground was mainly marble, so it stayed cool even in the scorching heat.
Balloons Over Bagan.
Bagan, home to over 2,200 temples built between the 12th and 13th century, has been popping up in travel photos and blogs over the last few years. Some of those showed hot air balloons, which I have wanted to take a ride in for some time. So... I did. 12 people rode in each balloon. We actually stayed quite close to the ground much of the time. We hovered over temples and rural areas. Because of cows in our ideal landing spot and due to the inclination of the wind that day, we got an extra long balloon ride. We almost needed to land in the water, which I found out balloons are made to and are able to do without any damage to itself or it's inhabitants.
How I spent some of that money I saved by traveling crazy hours.
Free to Explore.
Unexpectedly, I also learned how to ride and electric bike and it is one of the my favorite parts of the whole trip. Bagan's flat landscape and sparse traffic made it the perfect place to do so. Unbelievably, I had free range to explore almost all of the 2,200 temples. Most were small and only a few of the larger ones had any restrictions. I wound in and out of narrow dirt paths, and weaved my way between ancient temples, which were scattered, as far as the eye could see, in every direction.
I love these e-bike pictures because I remember how much fun I was having when I took them.
There were a few temples large and safe enough to climb. They are now famous tourist viewing spots. They are popular for photographing Bagan's beautiful sunrises and sunsets. I did meet people from all over the world in Myanmar, but there really wasn't all that many tourist around, while I was there. One exception to this, was at these prime places to capture breathtaking photographs, namely the hot air balloons and these climbable temples. I don't like crowds so I had already resigned to the possibility that I may not get any great shots during the prime hours(sunrise and sunset). In the end, the few I captured, didn't turn out too bad.
The Countryside.
I took a comfortable, overnight bus to my third, and final locale, Lake Inle. We arrived at 4:30 AM and I was allowed to check-in early for no extra cost. They also gave me a hunormous breakfast that first day, for free. It was arguably the nicest, and it was the cheapest place I stayed. They also has bicycle rentals. So I roamed around the countryside the first day.
In the countryside, I saw village folk reaping their harvest with sickles and tilling their fields with oxen and even hand-pulled carts. It was peacefully, nostalgic of a simpler time and yet, it wasn't, because this is 2017. It reminded me of the American pioneer life I've read about in children's literature and idealized. But this... this is how these people actually live now. Such hard work. I don't know much about the economy of Myanmar, but it didn't seem right. In an attempt to assist, I bought some local goods from locals and when I returned home I provided a loan to some Burmese women, through Kiva. I was happy my lodging was locally and family owned because many of the larger accommodations are not.
The Lake.
On the second day, I took a boat tour of the Lake. They have many stops planned for tourists such as, lotus and silk fabric, boat, silver and cigar making, a local market, a breathtaking beautiful place with a ton of stupors, and a stop to visit the famous long-neck women. The 8 hour tour was ridiculously cheap, even with a fifty percent tip. In comparison, I'm too embarrassed to reveal how much I paid for the trending hot air balloon ride. The balloon companies were, unfortunately, foreign owned, too.
Myanmar or Burma, whatever you call it, is a beautiful place with beautiful people It is also safe and relatively inexpensive to travel. I recommend, even to females traveling alone, visiting this remarkable place.
Traveling alone is a bit like living alone, where you can have everything just how you like it. When you travel alone you get to do and see everything you plan. You can follow an online travel review that piques your interest or leave in the wee hours of the night to save a buck. You can use that money you saved to afford something else that takes your fancy. I've had amazing adventure with other people, but I am surprised at how much I am enjoying this season of traveling alone.
The location of one such, interest piquing, online review.
I was interested in going to the double-named nation even before seeing pictures of Bagan, a land generously sprinkled with ancient temples. Travel bloggers' photos sealed the deal. Only later did I hear about the must-see area of Lake Inle.
In 1989, 'Burma' officially became Myanmar, though many people still refer to it by its former title. Many of the people in Myanmar are Burmese and speak Burmese. From what I understand the people in the nation use both titles and have all along. Myanmar just reopened to tourism in 2012 after being closed for 50 years.
Reading Biographies.
I bought the Kindle version of Bound for Burma, a missionary biography, because I was bound for Burma.
I was sitting at a skybar in Yangon, Myanmar waiting for the impressive golden Shwedagon to light up. As I relaxed, I read about the very first missionaries sent from America, who went to, none other than, Burma. The biography described the harrowing and adventurous journey of the Judson's. It was surreal that they first docked in the very same city I was in. The book described something glistening over the tops of the trees as they approached. Yes! it was the very same pagoda I was gazing at as I read; the same one I had visited earlier that day. Even then, it was over 400 feet tall and covered in pure gold.
The Shwedagon.
This solid brick structure was built between the 6th and 10th century, though it has been enlarged and renovated many times. It is completely covered with gold. Close to the top there is an umbrella crown, tipped with 5,448 diamonds and 2,317 rubies. At the very top is a diamond bud, tipped with a 76 carat diamond.
You have to take off your shoes before entering and walk barefoot around the massive structure and grounds, even up escalators which I am convinced is a safety violation (or should be). My pampered feet hurt in no time. Luckily the ground was mainly marble, so it stayed cool even in the scorching heat.
Balloons Over Bagan.
Bagan, home to over 2,200 temples built between the 12th and 13th century, has been popping up in travel photos and blogs over the last few years. Some of those showed hot air balloons, which I have wanted to take a ride in for some time. So... I did. 12 people rode in each balloon. We actually stayed quite close to the ground much of the time. We hovered over temples and rural areas. Because of cows in our ideal landing spot and due to the inclination of the wind that day, we got an extra long balloon ride. We almost needed to land in the water, which I found out balloons are made to and are able to do without any damage to itself or it's inhabitants.
How I spent some of that money I saved by traveling crazy hours.
Free to Explore.
Unexpectedly, I also learned how to ride and electric bike and it is one of the my favorite parts of the whole trip. Bagan's flat landscape and sparse traffic made it the perfect place to do so. Unbelievably, I had free range to explore almost all of the 2,200 temples. Most were small and only a few of the larger ones had any restrictions. I wound in and out of narrow dirt paths, and weaved my way between ancient temples, which were scattered, as far as the eye could see, in every direction.
I love these e-bike pictures because I remember how much fun I was having when I took them.
There were a few temples large and safe enough to climb. They are now famous tourist viewing spots. They are popular for photographing Bagan's beautiful sunrises and sunsets. I did meet people from all over the world in Myanmar, but there really wasn't all that many tourist around, while I was there. One exception to this, was at these prime places to capture breathtaking photographs, namely the hot air balloons and these climbable temples. I don't like crowds so I had already resigned to the possibility that I may not get any great shots during the prime hours(sunrise and sunset). In the end, the few I captured, didn't turn out too bad.
The Countryside.
I took a comfortable, overnight bus to my third, and final locale, Lake Inle. We arrived at 4:30 AM and I was allowed to check-in early for no extra cost. They also gave me a hunormous breakfast that first day, for free. It was arguably the nicest, and it was the cheapest place I stayed. They also has bicycle rentals. So I roamed around the countryside the first day.
In the countryside, I saw village folk reaping their harvest with sickles and tilling their fields with oxen and even hand-pulled carts. It was peacefully, nostalgic of a simpler time and yet, it wasn't, because this is 2017. It reminded me of the American pioneer life I've read about in children's literature and idealized. But this... this is how these people actually live now. Such hard work. I don't know much about the economy of Myanmar, but it didn't seem right. In an attempt to assist, I bought some local goods from locals and when I returned home I provided a loan to some Burmese women, through Kiva. I was happy my lodging was locally and family owned because many of the larger accommodations are not.
The Lake.
On the second day, I took a boat tour of the Lake. They have many stops planned for tourists such as, lotus and silk fabric, boat, silver and cigar making, a local market, a breathtaking beautiful place with a ton of stupors, and a stop to visit the famous long-neck women. The 8 hour tour was ridiculously cheap, even with a fifty percent tip. In comparison, I'm too embarrassed to reveal how much I paid for the trending hot air balloon ride. The balloon companies were, unfortunately, foreign owned, too.
Myanmar or Burma, whatever you call it, is a beautiful place with beautiful people It is also safe and relatively inexpensive to travel. I recommend, even to females traveling alone, visiting this remarkable place.
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