Author: Elize Tikmane
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One week in Bangkok
The arrival I don’t even know where to start. Maybe with the fact that getting an on-arrival visa in Bangkok Don Mueang Airport for the first-timers is a pain. There are no clear signs, no clear guidelines. (For many countries a visa is not needed, but unfortunately Latvia is not one of those). If you…
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Return to Yangon, the last days in Myanmar
Long time ago we had booked our flight to Bangkok from Yangon. Because Katie (our Hsipaw trekking friend) intrigued us with her stories about hidden gems of Yangon, we decided to have a full day there, before we left Myanmar. Katie was also so kind to offer us a corner in her apartment – we…
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The beach and the holiday makers
It was not one of those deserted white sanded beaches, where we would sit under parasols with tropical fruit cocktails in our hands. It was more moderate. The palm trees were there, the sun was setting in the sea, but the sand were not white, the beach was crowded and there were no cocktails on…
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Nay Pyi Taw – welcome to the empty utopian city of tomorrow
Every single person who heard, that we would be spending our New Year’s eve in Nay Pyi Taw, raised their eyebrows and asked “really!?”, not believing that we knew what to expect or rather – not to expect from the capital of Myanmar. The road and why we chose to go fancy for the last…
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Trekking in Hsipaw
It was clear, that trekking is one of THE things one should do in Myanmar. We picked Hsipaw over Kalaw for our trekking tour. We arrived in Hsipaw with the Goktheik train. There was nothing arranged, except one night booked in Mr. Charles’ Guest House. As we got off the train, it turned out that…
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Pyin Oo Lwin and Goktheik viaduct
We included Pyin Oo Lwin in our itinerary, because we were told that it is a nice town up in the hills, with a big botanical garden. Tired of traveling from city to city, we needed some nature therapy. Going to a big botanical garden was the first step towards it. From Mandalay we took…
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Boat to and bike around in Mandalay
We were not quite sure, if we should take a boat or a bus to Mandalay. For sure we did not want to spend another night in a bus so soon. We have not unlocked the secret how to sleep undisturbed in a bus yet. The boat would take a whole day and the one…
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Enchanted and old Bagan
We arrived in Bagan early in the morning. It was around 5 am, when we got off our VIP bus. A bunch of taxi drivers were ready to trap tourists in their vans. From 12000 kyats we bargained the price down to 8000 kyats. I believe it still was too much, but it was 5…
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Arrived in Yangon
I had very clear first impressions of Yangon. After vivid experiences in India, Yangon seemed a very clean and green city. Drivers on the road are very organised and do know how to used the honk moderately. It seemed that there are blooming flowers, trees, parks and lots of water everywhere. The first hours in…
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Kolkata is a harsh city
Kolkata was our last destination in India. We had booked our flight to Myanmar from Kolkata, so we had no other chance, but to go there. We were not sure, if we wanted to visit the city centre. We had our hotel booked close to Airport. We wanted to be sure that we can get…