January 25, 2014
Day 1
I was so excited for the trip that day. It was the start of a 9 day holiday.
So off to the airport at 1 pm then boarded the plane at exactly 40 minutes before the flight and the plane took off without much delay and waiting. It was as said by a fellow passenger the fastest boarding time in our history of flights.
Once we arrived, we took our time to walk at the right pace to enjoy our first time in Myanmar. Everything looks new and clean but there were a lot of mosquitoes at the airport. When we arrived at the immigration control, the women had this white patches on their cheeks called Thanaka which I've learned later on that it is used as a cosmetic, for cooling and to prevent sunburn. We were given a 14 day tourist visa without paying anything upon arrival. I read that it was a new rule that just took effect on January 4, 2014.
Upon picking up our luggage, we went off to change money from USD to Kyat (pronounced as chats) our 100 USD was equivalent to 98,900. We we're amused to see this Caucasian couple took out their money from an empty box of tea. Talk of concealing your money from thieves. Not a bad idea. We then proceeded to look for taxi and we got one for 8 thousand kyats going to the hotel. Going out from the airport, we compared how it looked at bit like Bali and it was also warm. The streets were clean and obviously new but it was such a contrast with all the old buses and cars. I even saw full packed buses running fast tilting side to side. In a way, it reminds me of Manila buses.
Here's a pic of a taxi like the one we've taken on our first day.
So basically, all taxis are called city taxi and they don't used the meter system so you just have to show your destination and they will tell you the price and you can bargain for a lower price but as compared to Hanoi. I find it almost the same but of course sometimes a bit overpriced if you don't ask for a discount. Another thing is the fact that they don't use air conditioners even if it's the middle of the day and it's hot but since we didn't ask. I am not really sure. The price is way much better than the 1000 Baht that I paid when I first went to Bangkok. I was really ripped off at that time since I discovered that you only have to pay 250 baht from the airport.
when we arrived at the hotel that I reserved through Agoda, I was surprised that the lights weren't on. We were then informed by the staff that there's a problem with electricity and so they got as to another hotel which took us another 30 minutes before arriving. The hotel was basic but the toilet is inside the room which is only separated by a glass. Some guests complained that it's like a jail which I agree but then just 1 night won't do any harm. Anyway, we asked the front desk staff and one guy agreed to help us buy a ticket early in the morning for our next destination. So off we went for our first dinner in Myanmar.
The food was very delicious partly because we were hungry and it is similar to Filipino food with all the oil...which I've missed since living in Hanoi but of course I also love the fact that they have vegetables (fresh and raw) which I love (something I came to learn to love to eat living in Hanoi) and because they also have a lot of fishes in their menu. It's something I missed too since I just don't like the river fish that is common in Hanoi. It has a smell and I don't really like how they cook it. They also had this circular in shape raw veggie that I tried. It was okay. It was served together with some boiled veggies (eggplant, radish etc.). It was also a bit strange to see a receipt in different writing. But the amount was there so it wasn't bad and yeah, some of the staff in the restaurant can speak good English so it was easy ordering food and paying. No hand movements for communication at all.
