Myanmar Travel Infographics

Collaboration: kateabuzo x idioticgiraffe

Backpacking Myanmar Series: Bagan

Bagan, Myanmar

When we landed in Bagan, the first order of the day was to look for transportation that could take us to our hotel and since again we were in the middle of the Thingyan festivities, we went out of the airport only to see all the other tourists rushing to take all the few available taxis until there was none left. We were about 8 travellers left with no ride, staring at nothing across the vast and dry land that surrounded the airport. Luckily one mini assembled pick up truck arrived and we all scrambled to find a comfortable spot on the floor. The catch: the whole back area was open making us all vulnerable to the trigger-happy locals armed with pails and water hoses when we make our way across town. We had to rush waterproofing all our backpacks before we reach any form of civilization when true enough, ice cold water started spraying to our faces that we all were shivering within the first 10 minutes of our ride. But it was all fun and happy. Ciel and I were dripping wet on the carpet at the hotel reception when we arrived.

Backpacking Myanmar (Yangon-Bagan-Mandalay)

U Bein Bridge, Amarapura, Mandalay at sunset

My Myanmar (Burma) trip is a spiritual and nostalgic experience. Myanmar has an old world charm with the country being relatively more open to the influx of tourists in the recent decade. My friend and I were blessed to visit Myanmar in April 2014 during the Thingyan Water Festival. In 4 out of 5 days we were touring their streets with our clothes fully wet as locals throw water at every passerby, a tradition observed to wash away one’s sins in the past as one welcomes the new Burmese year.