Myanmar?

[mama squeak!]

Ladies, when you visited the temples in Bagan what was your mode of transportation? Did you go via horse-drawn carts or bike? Okay ba yung carts? Would you remember how much for the carts? The hotel I'm looking at kasi has free bikes pero baka nakakapagod hopping from one place to the other?

Anyone tried Balloons over Bagan? How was the experience? TIA! 

[Annie M.]

Ladies, when you visited the temples in Bagan what was your mode of transportation? Did you go via horse-drawn carts or bike? Okay ba yung carts? Would you remember how much for the carts? The hotel I'm looking at kasi has free bikes pero baka nakakapagod hopping from one place to the other?

Anyone tried Balloons over Bagan? How was the experience? TIA! 

Nung first day namin bike bike kami, tapos nung second day medyo pagod na so we rented a horse cart. Haha!

The cost was something like 25,000 kyats for the cart, which is roughly $25 or P1,100 pesos for TWO people. Dalawang tao lang pwede sumakay sa isang cart.

[kachich]

Hi Sis, how many days should we allocate forBagan? For Mandalay? Thanks!

[Annie M.]

Hi Sis, how many days should we allocate forBagan? For Mandalay? Thanks!

For us sis, medyo mahaba na ang 3 days. Two days is really enough to see all the attractions, and yung  3rd day is devoted to going to the next city.

[mama squeak!]

^^Thanks, Annie M! We're thinking of getting a guide to tour us on the first day to get an orientation of the place pati na rin to learn the history. Then mag-bike na kami on succeeding days.

@kachich, after reading blogs and forums like TA, we came up with a tentative IT of 2 nights in Mandalay and 3 or 4 nights in Bagan. Parang ganito yung IT namin (it's still in the planning stage):

Day 1   Manila-Bangkok-Mandalay (CebPac and Bangkok Air or Air Asia). Arrival Mandalay noon time.
           Half day city tour

Day 2   Amarapura, Sagaing, Inwa, sunset at U Bein bridge

Day 3   Boat trip to Mingun. Fly to Bagan in the afternoon.

Day 4   Bagan temple tour

Day 5   Balloons over Bagan or Oriental Ballooning
           More Bagan temple tour

Day 6  Mt. Popa day trip

Day 7  Fly back to Mandalay connecting to Bangkok.


Easy-easy lang yung travel style namin. We prefer kasi taking our time when seeing a place especially for the first time.

 

[kachich]

Thank you Annie M. and Mama Squeak!

[paulavalerie]

We booked balloons over bagan already! sayang lang, isang slot nalang yung premium flight nila. so, we have no choice kundi ibooked yung classic flight nila which is ok lang kasi mas mura. So excited!

[mama squeak!]

^when are you leaving?! We got Oriental Ballooning naman, max of 8 persons per balloon. I think it's just like BOB's premium service. Hubby and I are pretty excited as it will be our very first balloon ride.

[paulavalerie]

^jan 25 sunrise. di ko kasi na search yung oriental ballooning, sayang. how much is the balloon ride sis?

[mama squeak!]

^we're booked on the 21st naman. Pareho lang yata sila with BOB premium, $380/person. I was supposed to book BOB originally when I read a blog about Oriental. Maganda yung experience nung writer with the company. Okay din yung TA reviews nila. Plus they have green balloons (my fave color), babaw ba?  Happy trip, sis!

[paulavalerie]

^ haha sis kasi nagmamadali na kami magbook. 320 usd ang classic ng BOB. ok lang kahit madami, basta ma experience ko lang yung hot air balloon lol. kasi kay bianca valerio ko din pala nakita yung BOB. I'm so excited na sis hahaha. Happy trip too!

[lyrahs]

Buti pa kayo nakapasyal na sa Bagan...nagpa-plano din kami magpunta ng Bagan at yung sa hot air balloon...Pero dahil sa sobrang busy sa work, hanggang plano pa lang kami.

Kung mahilig pala kayo sa G-Shock/Baby G, mas mura sa Yangon

[mama squeak!]

Omigosh! Hubby and I fell in love with Bagan! Ang ganda ng place. After you get past the dusty and bumpy side roads to get to some of their temples, you'll fall in love with the place. Very peaceful and the people are wonderful! Can't wait to update my blog!

For people deciding to visit or having second thoughts pa, go now while hindi pa mainstream destination ang Myanmar. Everything is so cheap! Hubby and I are planning to go back and visit more of this beautiful country.

[paulavalerie]

just got back from our myanmar trip and it was amazing!!!!! Bagan is so nice and our hot air balloon is worth it, kahit super expensive. ang nice din ng hotel namin, Amazing bagan resort at yung bus from yangon to bagan na JJ express ganda ng bus at ng service nila.

[mama squeak!]

^Amazing Bagan talaga!!! We liked the simple, peaceful and probinsya feel of the place. Ambabait pa ng mga tao. And yes, definitely worth it yung balloon ride! The food and drinks are super cheap and ang dami ng servings nila.

We took Air Bagan from Mandalay to Bagan and back then left via Bangkok Airways for Bangkok naman. Hubby and I promised to go back. Probably go on another hot air balloon ride over Inle lake.

[rishu]

hello mama squeak and paulavalerie, when you visited, did you activated roaming on your phone? at marami ba ways to find internet connection when you were there? i'll be visiting myanmar this june and i just need to make sure that communication is still accessible sa pinas because i will be travelling alone. thank you!

[mama squeak!]

^my roaming didn't work there. I asked our guide when we were in Mandalay if telcos sell mga pre-paid sim cards. I only got a blank look. That answered my question quick! Hehe. Probably what you can do is leave the contact numbers of the hotels you will be staying at with your family here in case they need to get in touch with you. Or ask if your hotel offers cellphones to their guests during their stay para madali ka ma-contact.

As to the internet, medyo backward pa ang Myanmar when it comes to the internet. Ambagal! And usually sa public areas lang ng hotel like the lobby and dining area ang meron WiFi.

[rishu]

thanks mama squeak, mukang kailangan ko magrisk na may times na hindi ako macocontact dun.. pero sana gumana na ang roaming para hindi mahirap ang communication.. thank you

[mama squeak!]

^You're welcome! No worries naman sis dun kasi mababait mga tao. And there's always your hotel's landline in case you need to get in touch with home or vice versa.

Bring lots of sunblock and a wide-brimmed hat since height of summer punta mo. Enjoy your visit!

[Crissy]

^ Read you blog Mama Squeak! and I super love it, All your travels makes me want to travel more😃. 

Myanmar will be my next bucketlist of destination. Just a few questions. Is it safe to travel Myanmar alone? Is there a direct flight from bankok or KL to Bagan? I want to experience riding air balloon😃😜😊.