Myanmar - The hidden gem of Asia

Nyaungshwe...

....is a place made for travellers. You will find quite a selection of Hotels and a lot of opportunities to organize little tours and it’s the perfect gateway to visit the Venice of Myanmar ;) and cool off in the fresh mountain air.

I usually didn’t note the places where we ate, but Namaste kitchen was probably the best Indian food I ever had in my life. We ate there 3 times and still reminiscence about their Naan bread and Daal curry years later. You will have enough time to try Burmese food, so treat yourself to some Indian food when you are there!

Maybe it is also worth mentioning that we used a night bus to get here, so the first day was sleeping and chilling.

Activities:

Boat tour: This is something you must do when at Inle lake. A traditional Boat will take you around the lake to all the sights and it will bring you to many many shops showing you what their crafting and trying to sell it to you. This might sound bothersome, but the selling wasn’t aggressive in anyway and visiting the production sites of various things was super interesting. Fabric made from Lotus or cigarettes made from banana leaves, everything is handmade and unique. Even bargain hunters like my friend and I couldn’t resist buying some things.

There are sunrise boat tours offering you to take you to the one-legged fisherman to get those pictures Inle Lake is famous for. Keep in mind that those aren’t really fishing but posing for pictures, since this method isn’t used anymore. But in the end, you are only supporting the local community for paying extra for a sunrise tour, so don’t hesitate to do so if you want those pictures.

Bicycle ride:

Something I really enjoyed was renting a bicycle and going out exploring. We went to the Red Mountain Estate Wine yard for a wine tasting. (really funny for Austrians like me and my friend) and had lunch at Maung Thauk: Floating Restaurant, where they take you to the Restaurant on a boat, since it is built on the water. We also went up a little hill to see a forest pagoda. All in all, you can just freely explore the area and the climate is perfect for a bike tour.

From here we took a Bus to the famous city of Bagan, be prepared to pay for entry to the city of Bagan (your ticket for visiting all the Pagodas). (Marked on this map is just any part of Bagan, I honestly can’t remember where exactly I stayed)