Travelog: Yangon, Myanmar (Burma) Day 1

Together with 3 other friends for a tour arranged by CV Travel, I flew to Yangon, Burma yesterday.

By the time we touched down in Yangon, it was already dark. Oh before I continue on with this post, here are a few things you must know about Myanmar- or Burma (logistics first :D):

Not all mobile phone providers from your home have international roaming in Burma. Mine didn’t. Which leaves me without a mobile phone. Best you check with your local service provider before you fly out to Burma to see if they have coverage.
Not having a mobile phone in service is alright, but I need the internet to stay connected. At the airport, they were renting out mobile phones with local service (US$2 per day for regular sim, US$4 for 3G sim, on top of a US$50 deposit for their phone which is refundable when you return the phone). Unfortunately the airport prepaid phone desk did not have any phones with the 3G sim available at the moment 🙁
The banks here are VERY particular about the condition of your currency should you wish to exchange (they take US dollars, Euros, Singapore dollars). So before you bring the cash with you to Burma, I strongly advice you to check each bill very thoroughly. If there are any stamps or markings on those bills, they will reject it. If there are any unsightly folds, they will reject it. And small tears? You can forget it– they will send the bill right back to you with a strong shake of their heads. Haha you can iron your bills if you like 😉 They’d love new and crisp bills.

Apart from those three things to keep in mind before you travel to Burma, I can tell you that you will be enchanted already. Yangon was already dark and raining when we got out of the airport but this sight greeted us and my jaw just dropped in awe…

Uppatasanti Pagoda

A closer look:

Uppatasanti Pagoda

I cannot wait to visit pagodas tomorrow 🙂 *Guide told us to forget wearing socks because the temple guides will still ask us to take off our shoes AND socks– so make sure you wear shoes that are easy to take on and off*

After passing by the temple, we arrived at our hotel, an Orient Express property. It’s so impressive!