Ignoring the military and solicitation, I can totally relate to this irreverent story about arriving in Yangon.
On an unrelated note,this smoking man was chilling out under/inside a food vendor’s stand at Thazi railway station (maybe they are married?):
This was my itin from Yangon to Inle Lake:
1 – 17:00 train in sleeper car to Thazi, arr 4:55 (12hrs; K12,500/$12) actual arrival 1hr late (it’s a stop on the way to Mandalay)
2 – 7:00 slow scenic train to Shwengyaung, arr 17:00 (10hrs; K3,000/$3)
3 – taxi to Ngayng Shwe, the town in the northeast corner of the lake (15km, K10,000/$10, split with the other couple on the train). Yes, that is the previous town name transposed word-wise, like Tokyo and Kyoto, except in Japan those cities are hours apart.
First train:
Small gash in floor through which you can see the ground, check.
Spiders on the ceiling, inc one over my bunk, check (they were mostly in the hallway).
Amazingly rickety, check. the writeups weren’t kidding and perhaps even underdescribed it. At first, moving slowly through the burbs of Yangon, it rocked either side to side like a ship, or up and down like riding a horse. Forget about reading or writing (but ‘rithmetic OK). Which meant we basically laid down to sleep by 18:30…
Except I was often woken up during the night by the violent rocking and bouncing, sometimes literally tossing me 1-2″ above the bed.
Sleeper compartment has 4 bunks, I had a top one which is less desirable, esp when getting off at an intermediate stop in the middle of the night (you can’t look out the window). Plus I didn’t have a station list, nor did I know if we were running late or not… so I ended up getting up just before scheduled arrival time (around 4:30, not as hard as it sounds given the early bedtime), and kept asking locals (in the non-sleeper car) which station it was, as I couldn’t always see the sign (at one little station, the master shone a flashlight onto the name sign).
Several people said my stop was next, though it was actually several stops later. I ended up standing in the hallway for an hour…
You get a pillow with case, and a sheet, but that’s it (the conductor gave them a quick spritz of something, either freshener of bug spray. Hopefully the former, as I don’t care for bug spray on my face).
It was an experience, to say the least. No wonder the night bus is more popular…
Oh, the toilets were pretty clean (one squat, one western) since they were hard to use due to the rocking, and I don’t think people from lower class cars snuck into my car. Thank goodness for Immodium!
However, train #2 made up for it…
Being at ~4000ft above sea level, you need a light sweater in the evening and early morning. And when boating on the lake… Doh, barely have enough warm clothing again – I should have read up more beforehand.
Inle Lake is in a valley between two mountain ranges, and this town is on a river leading to the north end of the lake.
During the taxi ride from the train station lay night, the full moon came up over the mountains to welcome me.
I rented a single speed bicycle from my hotel (K1,500/$1.50 per day) to poke in and around town, and will do an all day boat trip tomorrow.
View from my hotel roof early this morning, close to river. On the street are monks receiving rice from a guy.
In contrast to the dark stormy clouds and rain in Singapore this morning, it’s sunny and hot hot hot 32C and humid in Yangon.
Traffic is brutal, even with my driver taking side streets and dodgy left turns. It’s about 25km but took 45min (leaving the airport at 11am). 15,000/$15 fixed price (which might have been high – the businessman on the plane next to me thought 8,000).
Internet might be too slow to upload photos…
After sleeping a good 3 hours on the flight from Tokyo last night, which landed at 0:40… Next flight is at 7:55 to Yangon, Myanmar/Burma.
I did some research a few days ago and executed a plan in 1hr from touchdown, only doable at the best airport, Changi (SIN):
– clear immigration and pick up checked bag ANA bag
– go upstairs to checkin level
– change clothes
– split out winter clothes, presents and papers that I don’t need in Myanmar into a soft duffel bag
– checkin at Singapore Airlines counter – open until 1:40 (at T2) and reopens at 4:30, though at T3 they are open until 2:00
– go back downstairs to the manned luggage storage – open 24 hours (there are ones inside security too) which cost S$33/US$26 for 8 days)
– go back through exit immigration and security and head to lounge to relax (open 24 hours – only 6 of us, until 5am, then a steady trickle of passengers)
Since there happened to be a “repacking station” and scale, I split out 5kg of stuff from the original 18kg bag).
Why did I do that you ask?
My bag was more stuffed than when I left due to buying clothes while waiting for delayed luggage, I wanted a lighter bag in Myanmar, I had 2 separate tickets on 2 airlines, and I’ll be spending a day in Singapore on the way back next week. Hence there was no need to keep the bag inside security. Oh, and I had to check my bag due to my bug spray and liquids.
And I managed some needed Myanmar research and hotel availability.
On an ANA one, which has a 2-4-2 configuration, unlike UA and AC which cram 9 seats across instead of 8.
Extra bonus, I’m in the 2 seats on the side with an empty seat beside me(and in front of me)! Actually last night during online checkin I changed my seat from the one in front of me to this one which had an empty seat beside it at the time…
I thought the new window was larger than it is… Basically it’s a little taller than a regular window.
The overhead lighting is nice but ultimately it comes down to the comfort and spacing of the seats (see note above)
Since it’s a new month, the are a few new movies in the personal seatback entertainment system versus my ANA flight last week (this us an evening flight so no sleeping).
The washroom door cantilevers around a third of the width, and there is a light above the door indicating occupancy. But why is there a little ashtray when it’s new and non-smoking, and above the seats they didn’t bother with a no smoking sign.
The washroom also has a touchless faucet and flush, the latter makes the toilet lid go down automatically.
Overall I can’t say the plane feels much different and is overhyped. Sigh.
Will get more stories and photos together, yesterday I arrived in Kobe (after a rainy detour through Onomachi, a small seaside town on the local train line) and spent the day walking around with Susan’s high school fried Junko. Had some very tasty sushi last night. And some Japanese language tips, thanks Junko!
Tomorrow I return to Tokyo for a few hours before going to Narita airport (NRT) for a 787 dreamliner flight to Singapore, followed by an early morning flight to Yangon (Rangoon)
Update: the shinkansen (bullet train) translates to “new trunk line”, and it’s pretty much always elevated, like a modern aqueduct, even in the countryside.
Also, they must clean the bullet nose front frequently, because it’s shiny white (you can see near the crown and sides and top of the train that it’s gray from dirt)
I was fine during the night with a thick comforter, but I was freezing this morning in the common room, wearing 2 sweaters and my hands going number on the computer.
The unusually warm 17C gave way to a cold wind yesterday (though the rain did stop, after my toes got wet walking around in the morning) and today it’s 7C feels like 3C! Staff wasn’t around at 9am.
I was so cold I went out and bought a hot cafe audio latte can from a vending machine (¥110/$1, very convenient) and stood in a sunny spot out of the wind, to warm myself up.
Can’t wait to fly to hot Singapore and Myanmar/Burma tomorrow evening!
As in 30C hot!
I mean I am very much enjoying Japan, and my vocabulary is expanding, just weatherwise I am ready for phase 2 of thus trip.
So after 3 banks couldn’t do a manual Visa cash advance, I called my credit card company again and made my car for emergency access. They transferred me to the issuing bank an they were able to set the PIN for my choice over the phone (something my cc company had said they couldn’t do).
I waltzed down to an ATM with a veritable skip in my step and voila, cash (lots of fees, ie 3% min $10 and almost 20% interest accruing immediately, but that’s irrelevant at this point). Unfortunately this ATM only gave ¥10,000 notes ($90) so this morning I went to a bank to exchange them for smaller bills, for which I had to fill out a form (money in, types of bills back, plus name and address) because I wasn’t a client. The guard/concierge and the teller knew a little English.
They also had an automated machine to change US$ bills into packets of smaller US$ bills (no yen involved) but inexplicably it wasn’t available until 10am (I need smaller bills for Myanmar, hoping they will be newer crisp bills). Will go back while my laundry us drying…
Update: no, it converts yen to dollars (choice of 3 options: $100, $300 or $500 packets of mixed bills). Not what I was looking for.
I hasn’t seen this coffee brand before – definitely not from Seattle!
First one is my fault…
– on way to airport i realize that I somehow left a prepared-last-nught-while-packing ziploc bag with my debit card, global sim card and backup credit card. I did double check my passport, Japan rail pass voucher and Myanmar visa though
– United Express flight gets canceled due to mechanical, I get auto rebooked on an Air Canada flight that gets me in an hour before connecting flight (kudos). Some folks had to overnight in Toronto.
– Both UA and AC gate agents double check my luggage tag
– After deplaning in ORD, half way to the lounge, no I realize I left my mobile phone battery charger plugged in under the seat, return to gate and agent retrieves it for me
– Upon boarding ANA in Chicago, gate agents double check my baggage tag again and seem happy
– Upon deplaning in NRT, a sign with my name on it (and 7 other passengers), agent tells me by baggage probably did not make it
– I go through baggage claim desk, it won’t arrive for 24 hours or more, and will have to be sent to Nagasaki. After I ask, they give me a well stocked amenity kit, missing only dental floss – the one thing I had in my carry on.
– But not having my global sim means they can’t call me and they don’t so email, so I gave them my 4 hostels’ info
– Because of filing the claim, I miss the last Narita Express train and the chance to exchange my rail pass voucher for the actual pass (so train would have been free)
– So I buy a different $21 train ticket (using cc to preserve what little Yen I had from a previous trip)
– I tried to use my visa cc in an ATM but I don’t know the pin for it as I’ve never used it for cash advance
– And I have no lock on my carryon, which I usually but twice this year my tsa-approved locks disappeared on flights. This is problematic in a hostel… though this first one rents a lock for a ¥200/$2 deposit, woo hoo
– Did I mention I have no shoes (flip flops), no jacket and just a buff for extra warmth (it’s 13C here) since that’s all in my checked bag.
Yet it will all work out, with friends willing to help in Japan and Myanmar