Little did we know how much our morning would suck the next day, only to find ourselves slowly sinking deeper into a miserable undesired test of patience. Our train for Hsipaw departed at 5:45am, which meant we had to be up an hour before. Unsurprisingly, the platforms and trains were not labeled in the Mandalay station. We showed a couple of people our tickets, they pointed us to the “correct” car, and we comfortably sat down with fifteen minutes to spare. The car was completely empty except for one passenger, whom we asked if the train was heading to Hsipaw.…

After extensive research in Bagan, I wished I came into Mandalay first and traveled south with Yangon being the final destination. Doing so would have allowed us to see Mrauk U and it would have provided us with more flight options out of Myanmar. Mrauk U is another archeological site in Myanmar, not incredibly far from Bagan. Upon a quick scan of Myanmar’s map, I assumed Mrauk U would have been a simple bus ride from Bagan. However, due to its remote location in western Myanmar over a mountain range, the only way to get there would be a flight…

Next up on our list of Myanmar destinations was Bagan, the ancient kingdom I looked forward to the most while visiting Myanmar. Home to over 2,000 temples, stupas, and pagodas, Bagan houses the highest concentration of Buddhist monuments in the world. Like Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, Bagan is famous for its vast archeological religious complex; however, unlike Angkor Wat, Bagan’s monuments seem to trickle on endlessly between the 26 square mile bare desert valley and farms with winding dusty dirt paths. It is difficult to comprehend the placement of Angkor’s notorious temples with its numerous moats, never-ending courtyards, and sky-reaching fortifications…

During my trek, I met Avi from Israel and Lyvia and Ivan from Switzerland. We agreed to share a boat the day after trekking for an all-day tour of Inle Lake, which cut down the cost and provided good company. I had just spent my last three days of being 28 years old trekking the Myanmar mountain countryside, and now I would spend my 29th birthday with Chris and some new friends on a boat! Some photos around Nyaung Shwe, the town we stayed in: The five of us boarded the boat and departed the pier a quarter until 8am.…

It was a difficult decision but Chris and I decided to journey separately for the next 3 days and 2 nights due to his everlasting cough. Chris probably needed about three or even four more days to completely recover, and we were stuck in a village with no internet and nothing much to do. With a strict deadline of our return home approaching, I felt pressured to do everything I could do with the time we had remaining. It was either I go, or both of us don’t go at all. We came to the decision that I would do…

Despite it being July, Kalaw felt like a warm autumn evening in San Francisco.  Situated over 4,000 feet above sea level, Kalaw is a chilly mountain village, a refreshing escape from the sweltering hot Yangon. After we stepped off the bus into the middle of the night, we faced three or four local men, waiting for easy targets like us. One asked us where we were staying, and we told him Eastern Paradise Hotel. (We didn’t have a reservation; we planned on just showing up and hoping for the best.) He actually led the way to the nearby hotel and…

I have never done so much research on a country in my life until the few days leading up to my journey to Myanmar, and because most of my friends and family know nothing of this underdeveloped country, I want to share my brief knowledge of this country before I dive into my photos and experiences.  Responsible tourism takes on a new meaning in Myanmar. Previously I have only heard that term with regard to drugs and alcohol. People advise against partying late and getting too wasted in foreign countries, trusting strangers, and wandering in unfamiliar neighborhoods. In Myanmar, once…