Tag: bagan

My Top Highlight in each Country

This is a long time coming, and I’ve been meaning to publicly summarize my thoughts and consolidate my experiences on my journey. Since returning, so many people have reached out to me, expressed their curiosity, and asked me for advice. I’ve become a de facto Asia travel planner and role model for other women who want to travel solo as well (which makes me feel great, actually).

The number one question I’m asked is, “What was your favorite place you went to?” My answer is none of them— they were all my favorites. It’s an extremely hard question to answer, because each country was special to me in many different ways. There are highlights across the entire journey, of course.

Here are my top memories from each country (paired with my favorite photos as well) and why it is so meaningful to me. If there is something you absolutely must do or see in each of these countries, then this is my recommendation for what it must be.

India

I feel like I can’t answer this question very well because I’ve been to India so many times. My favorite memory is simply going to Chennai and spending time with my grandparents.

Nepal

Without a doubt, it’s the Everest Base Camp trek. I’ve written extensively about the trek (FAQ, Pre-trek, Days 1-7, Days 8-14) because it was so incredible and I recommend everyone do it. The entire experience is truly life changing and there is nothing more spectacular than seeing Mt. Everest in person and the entire Himalayan mountain range. The people you meet, the pain you fight through, the perseverance you gain, and the strength you find within yourself are all the more reason to do this. You discover a lot about yourself on this trek. Top moment of my life, if not just this trip.

Myanmar

Beautiful, serene, stunning Bagan. This place will take your breath away. Three days biking around Bagan is enough to enjoy the splendor of all the old temples and feel like you’ve truly stepped back in time. Catching the sunrise while watching hot air balloons rise above the plains in this still very untouched place is a magical experience. If I could go back and had more money to spend, I would absolutely pay for the $350 (per person!) hot air balloon ride.

Thailand

Even though I’ve been here before, it’s still Chiang Mai. There is something very spiritual about Chiang Mai. I always meet excellent people here and feel truly at home. I would move here in an instant. What made Chiang Mai so special this time around was the friend I met who made me realize how much I had changed, the monk who gave me perspective, and a single hike to a forest temple that made me realize how happy I am. These were pivotal moments for me in my journey.

Laos

This is a tough one, but I’m going with the Plain of Jars. This is an undoubtedly non-touristy area. I’ve written about the tragedy that occurred here, which I had no knowledge of prior to coming to Laos. Despite the amount of blood shed at the hands of the U.S. and continuing struggle the people of Laos face, they still go on. I’m glad to have finally learned about the Secret War.

Cambodia

Really I can’t decide for Cambodia. Angkor Wat and the Killing Fields were both humbling to see and learn about. Angkor Wat in Siem Reap was obviously majestic. The Killing Fields and the Prison in Phnom Penh were educational and critical to understanding Cambodia and its people.

The island of Koh Rong Samloem also stole my heart. I decided to skip Koh Rong, the party island, headed straight to its smaller sister island. I had no lodging or anything booked, but luckily a guy approached me as I got off the ferry and asked if I wanted to camp at the end of the island near their resort. Highly improvised but ended up being the best choice. The best things in life are unexpected. What followed was four days of hanging out, relaxing, meeting incredible people from all over the world, fresh fish BBQs, swimming in the clearest water, a stunning trek through the forest, and walking along the whitest sand. One night we decided to get into the water and everything began to sparkle around us. We sat there like kids playing around watching the bioluminescent plankton light up. Truly magical.

Vietnam

Many people skipped out on Sa Pa, the mountainous region in the northern most part of Vietnam where you can find the most stunning rice fields and the kindest people. Let me tell you— everyone who skipped out on Sa Pa made a huge mistake! The month I spent there traveling south to north was the best decision I made, despite the cold and bad weather I faced up north. I absolutely loved living in the villages of Sa Pa, eating with the local people, and hiking around the mountains. I even extended my stay because I loved it so much.

Malaysia

I wish I had spent more time in Malaysia because I did not get to fully experience it, but the Cameron Highlands was my favorite part of my 1.5 weeks there. I met my favorite people in Malaysia here and had such excellent conversations. The tea plantations are a dream to walk through. Not to mention, I had some of the best Indian food and strawberry scones I have ever had in my life here.

Philippines

Again, another place I needed more time in. The lack of transportation and 7,000 islands to explore did not help my very indecisive self. However, the entire island of Palawan is seriously stunning. The Big Lagoon is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to in the world. On top of that, when I finally allowed myself to have fun, Palawan was definitely the place to be— much better than Boracay which is just a ridiculous party destination. The little town of El Nido is a great place to meet people and find a group of friends. Everyone in the town knows each other. This is a place where you could get sucked in for sure…

Indonesia

This is the hardest one for me, but scuba diving in Flores on a live-aboard beats everything else I did in Indonesia (even all the incredible treks!). I spent 4 days living on a boat in the middle of the ocean with a few other people, waking up at 5:30am to get into the water by 6am for our first dive, followed by two more dives throughout the day. I have never seen more incredible, colorful, and diverse marine life and coral. It’s considered one of the best places to dive in the entire world, so I am ecstatic I had the chance to do this. Thankfully I got my advanced scuba diving certification before coming here (its required really), because the current is out of this world and occasionally frightening. Also, I will never forget that moment a manta ray just came out of the blue and swam right above my head. I stopped everything and just watched in awe. Majestic.

Singapore

Truth be told, I did not do much in Singapore. I did hardly anything touristy. Rather, I just ate a lot of food and walked around with my friend. But while I was here, I felt so independent, free, confident, and happy. I had learned everything I had wanted from this trip. I was exactly where I wanted to be.

September 25, 2016
Monkeys on the Mountain

This almost seems like a which-came-first question, the monkey or the temple? So many temples I have visited have been deemed “monkey temples.” The first few monkeys are always really cute, up until the point they turn demonic: grabbing at your clothes, trying to open your bag, and stealing directly from your hand. Monkeys overrun the climb up to the temple at the top of Mount Popa. I’m proud to say that this did not phase me at all— trekking to Everest Base Camp has put me in great shape for any steep climb up.

Visiting Mount Popa was just a short day trip from Bagan, costing 9,000 kyat. I was weirdly/understandably very excited for the hike up. Exercise! Speeding past everyone else with time to spare, I snapped a bunch of photos of these cheeky monkeys.

Unfortunately the view from the top of Mt. Popa is lackluster. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by other stunning views I have seen, but the temple at the top unimpressed me. Surely this is a first world problem of a traveler.

What I did love most about this day trip was our pit stop at the oil, alcohol, and sweet making “factory.” A man was being rotated around by a cow that was pressing down peanuts into oil. Two women were reducing down huge vats of sugar which created this mouth-watering aroma. My group of tourists was noticeably excited about being able to sample all the different sweets they were making. I’m generally hesitant about Asian sweets, but Burmese caramel desserts are bomb. Went for the culture, stayed for the sweets.

Was Mt. Popa worth it? Probably not, it’s much nicer to just look at from a distance. At this point I had done all that was possible to do in the Bagan region, and I was now off to the much revered Inle Lake to celebrate Christmas.

January 12, 2016
Chasing Sunsets in Bagan

If you could only visit one place in Myanmar, then I would say it has to be Bagan. This ancient city is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. The views of both sunrise and sunsets are forever burned in my memory.

Bagan, although a major tourist destination, still has that untouched vibe that I love. I’m hoping the mandatory $20 fee will help to preserve its temples (though I firmly believe now that these fees are going to straight to the government and are not being used for improvements at all). I’m giving Bagan 3-5 years before it’s totally overrun by tourism. If there was a critical time to visit, that time is now. At its prime in the 11-13th centuries, Bagan used to have around 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas, and monasteries. Now you can see around 4,000 of them scattered across the land. Some massive and still active temples, and others that are tucked away and undiscovered.

Arriving by night bus from Yangon around 4am, I had no where to go since I had no hostel booked. Traveling around Myanmar by bus, you start to get used to being dropped off in the middle of the night somewhere random with no idea at all where you are. That, and lack of sleep, make for a fun morning adventure. I thought this would be the kind of place where I could just show up and find accommodation, but this is not that kind of town. I ended up just taggling along with two Canadian guys, Chris and Kurt, hoping that I could find a bed at the Mya Thida Guesthouse. After waiting for 3 hours in a terrible reception area where mosquitoes were eating me alive, someone decided to check out and I quickly jumped on my chance! I tell myself that this is the last time I’m going to show up somewhere without booking a hostel in advance to save myself some stress (not true).

Getting around Bagan is best by bike or scooter. Having never ridden a scooter before, I opted for a bike instead for 3,000 kyat (less than $3). Biking from New Bagan, where most people stay, to Old Bagan, I got to stop at whatever temple interested me. It amazed me just how many there were. I had passed by 20 already within 10 minutes. At one of the temples I was roaming around, a Burmese man came up to me and pointed to the top of a monastery. I definitely wanted to see Bagan from a viewpoint, but this seemed like one of those don’t-follow-strangers-into-dark-tunnels kind of situation. I considered this for about 2 seconds— then decided I didn’t care and it was probably a good idea anyway (sorry, Amma and Anu). Plus, I had yet to meet a Burmese person who was not friendly or honest.

Crawling up monastaries with my new tour guide

The view above Bagan is a completely different world from that below. My main goal was to find a secluded temple that I could climb up and watch the sunset from. This monastery wasn’t it, so the search would have to continue.

Biking around all day was making me ferociously hungry, so I stopped at a restaurant which had a funny sounding name: Be Kind to Animals the Moon. Odd name, but absolutely phenomenal food. Plus, entirely vegetarian. I went back three more times and told everyone I met to go here. I still say this is the best food I had in all of Myanmar. They should really be paying me for how much I marketed this restaurant. To be fair, I was right, and friends who visited Bagan said they also went back over and over again. Still dreaming about the tea leaf salad and coconut milkshake.

Tea leaf salad, pineapple curry, and traditional Burmese spices

Of course I run into Chris and Kurt at the Moon restaurant, and we decide to go explore some more before hunting for a large hidden temple with a fantastic view. After a leisurely ride to the waterfront, a local tips us off to the perfect sunset temple that isn’t explicitly mentioned on the map. It’s now around 5pm and we realize we have to book it to make it to this place. With a vague idea of directions, we find ourselves biking 5 miles through mainly tiny dirt backroads and fields trying to find this temple which we are not even sure actually exists. Racing against the sun, we finally see a large temple in the distance with only a few people climbing to the top. This has to be it! Extremely sweat and maybe a little out of breath, we climb up the stairs to the top to be rewarded with an incredible view. This is the Bagan you see in all the guidebooks and postcards.

Unfortunately as it got closer to sunset, the crowd of people thickened and more tour buses came in. What we thought was a secret was definitely not. There were around 75 people crowded around the temple, which was still less than the more popular temples with 200 to 300 people all fighting for the perfect sunset photo. Having so many people around detracts from the overall experience and ruins the mood. This is why it’s so imperative to visit Bagan now before it becomes too overcrowded.

The next day I was expectedly sore from a day’s worth of biking, so I rented a scooter instead to go even farther towards Nyaung U. I don’t know why I was so nervous about using a scooter because it is glorious. Why didn’t I do this sooner?! I was able to visit Htilominlo Temple and see so much more. Unfortunately these temples were more modern and overrun by Burmese people trying to get you to buy tourist products.

Disappointed by the crowd of people from the previous nights sunset, I made my through the backroads— only falling off my scooter once— to find a small temple with less than 10 people perched atop. Still not a temple all to myself, but good enough. The real hype though is for the sunrises, not the sunsets. My last day in Bagan was my last chance to see the sunrise. You find yourself telling people how long you’ve been in Bagan by number of sunrises and sunsets. I had seen 2 sunsets and 0 sunrises. I was clearly doing something wrong. Waking up at 5am, I sped through the dirt to make it to the Shwezigon Pagoda, which was when I was thrown off my scooter into the fields. Worth it. It’s surreal watching the sky turn colors and hearing the birds begin to chirp as you see the hot air balloons rising in the distance. The view is breathtaking and unlike anything else I have ever seen. Next time (when I have the money to spend $350), I’ll see Bagan from a hot air balloon, not the top of a temple.

January 10, 2016