day 15: comfortable stay makes it difficult to leave

Among the four guest houses we have stayed, my favourite is White House in Yangon.

Here are top reasons why you should check White House out if you are in Yangon:

The boss Mr Myint Maung (pictured above) and his son are always at the front desk when you need information and travel tips.

Mr Myint Maung's elder brother runs a mean kitchen which serves complimentary breakfast. A little exaggeration to be "Best in the World", but the breakfast definitely has the best spread in Myanmar for US$22 a night! You get fresh fruit, fried noodles or rice, vegetables and eggs, sometimes tasty prawn fritters, and the amazing banana toast!

The marbled-wall room remains cool in the hottest days. If you are a penguin, you'll be happy to know that the air-con works all the time. We stayed in Room 602 and 502 - everything works the way it should. We didn't get the best view, but I'm happy with the big windows and lots of natural light!

One thing I cannot live without - hot water. And they have it as hot as I want, anytime I want. 

Roof-top garden where you can get some morning tan or hang out in the evening with friends over beer. 

The entrance is easy to spot - just find the door with plants all around it. Located on Kon Zay Dan Street, it is right in the centre of town and within walking distance to wherever we wanted to go. November Internet Cafe is just a few doors down, a small provision shop nearby has water and snacks, and we had no problems getting taxis right in front most of the time. 

And you can find wise words within its walls. 

day 14: yangon in ten minutes

For a 360-view of Yangon city, the Sky Bistro is the perfect place.

This cafe on the 20th storey of Sakura Tower looks like an undressed ballroom of a hotel. Uninspiring blue carpet with tables lining the windows, and an expensive menu.

We paid 3,000 kyat (slightly over US$4) each for our iced coffee. I wanted their home-made New York Cheesecake but it wasn't available.

Despite the underwhelming ambience, it is still worthwhile to get a bird's eye view of Yangon while escaping the heat.

From where I was sitting, I could see the golden Shwedagon, the stadium, the railway station, the Kandawgyi Lake, and on the opposite side of the cafe the Yangon River.

The cafe doesn't allow tourists to walk in for a free view so be prepared to pay. Set lunches are approximately 7,000 kyat per person.

Cost (US$1 = 750 kyat):

• 9,700 kyat - club sandwich and duck noodles at Zawgyi House
• 3,000 kyat - Chinese-Burmese book for Mr Universe
• 2,000 kyat - postage cost to Bagan
• 12,000 kyat - sunset dinner at Junior Duck overlooking the Yangon River
• US$22 - stay at White House

day 13: bbq street in chinatown

For 3,700 kyat (approximately US$5), we had five barbecued kebabs and soft drinks.

We could not resist such a good deal so we came back for more tonight.

This time, we had:

• Pork rib
• Chicken wings
• Broccoli
• Potato
• Quail's egg
• Cola and Orange soda

We shared the table with a Japanese couple who kept offering us little snacks they bought from the passing hawkers, such as nuts and samosas.

Cost (US$1 = 750 kyat):

• 700 kyat - snacks for the bus ride
• 2,300 kyat - fried bee hoon and coffee at highway rest stop
• 5,500 kyat - taxi from bus interchange to Central Yangon
• 3,700 kyat - BBQ dinner in Chinatown
• 500 kyat - rickshaw rides

day 4: bouncy train

I don't normally fancy writing a chronological record of what happened. But nothing else will give this adventurous journey to Inle fair credit.

4.00pm
Arrived at Yangon Train Station to be enthusiastically greeted by two porters who later extorted 6,000 kyat (approx US$8) for carrying our 12 kg luggage.

5.00pm
Train departed punctually. That was the only good thing, besides the nice Dutch couple we met who were going to conquer Myanmar by bike. The rest of it is, let's just say adventurous.

We were ushered into a pretty clean and new coach before they realised that we belonged to the other 'Upper Class Sleeper', in worse condition with a couple of resident cockroaches. Given that we have paid the most expensive ticket, we couldn't figured out who would be in the newer cabins.

We then got bounced around the entire night like popcorn. Battling not falling off my upper bed, and the blinding light which we couldn't switch off, I managed to sneak in a few hours of light sleep.

6am the next morning
We got to Thazi Train Station punctually as expected only to realise the scenic train ride to Shwenyaung has left an hour ago. The timings has changed since research and now there is only one train per day. Thazi didn't seem like somewhere we wanted to spend a day at, so we decided to try the bus station which turned out to be a coffee shop and was 1000 kyat horse carriage ride away. (The trains from Yangon to Thazi now leave at 8am, 3pm and 5pm.)

7.30am
Bun brilliantly got us two seats on a local bus (from the driver who doesn't speak English) and bargained the ticket down from 20,000 kyat to 16,000 kyat. Bun also befriended a Chinese guy from Yunan working in Yangon who provided valuable info on where we should alight.

For five and a half hours, we drove through many villages and at each stop, more passengers hopped on filling gaps on the bus you would never think can fit a person. At one time, a man squeezed between Bun and the lady beside, when there were clearly only two seats.

While we were not worrying when the driver is going to put someone on our laps, we tried to enjoy the ride through the mountains.

1.00pm
We finally arrived at the junction just outside of Nyaungshwe. Bun and I were almost grey, from the layers of dust we have put on. But not grey (and local-looking) enough to escape the Inle Lake authorities who demanded US$3 fee for foreigners. From the number of people who thought I was Burmese, I think it was Bun who gave the game away.

1.40pm
After a 20-minute chilly pick-up ride, we arrived at Joy Hotel, strategically situated along the start of a busy canal. Finally.











Cost (US$1 = 750 kyat):

• US$32 - night train from Yangon to Thazi
• 6,000 kyat - porters' fee (cheaters!)
• 1,000 kyat - horse carriage ride
• 600 kyat - coffee and you tiao breakfast
• 8,000 kyat - local bus from Thazi to Nyaungshwe junction
• 1,500 kyat - pick up to Joy hotel in Nyaungshwe
• 5,600 kyat - late lunch at Shan Land Restaurant

day 3: wanton noodles

Not exactly like what we have in Singapore, but the fried wanton is almost as good as our famous Fei Fei Wanton Mee along Joo Chiat Place.

999 Shan Noodle is one of the eateries recommended by Lonely Planet. It's easy to see why with its clean interior and tasty familiar food.

At 1000 kyat to 1500 kyat per main, it is our cheapest meal in Yangon so far.

Service is exceptional. Bun ordered a dried pork rice which didn't turn out to be the same delicious dish we saw the guy at the next table eating. We returned the plate with a grin, pointing at the next table, and they generously served us the right dish.

I would have polished off all ten fried wanton if Bun had not stopped me.

Cost (US$1 = 750 kyat):

• 2380 kyat - durian ice cream and other groceries from 360 degree supermarket
• 4300 kyat - lunch at 999 Shan Noodle
• 1500 kyat - taxi ride to train station
• US$22 - one night at White House

day 2: golden yangon

'Shwe' means gold and 'dagon' is the old name for Yangon, says Win, our Burmese guide.

Win picked us up at the Foreigners' Entrance of Shwedagon Paya, the glorious gold-gilded national symbol. Standing at 98 metres tall on a hill, it is the tallest architecture which could be seen from all corners of Yangon. Not even the modern Traders Hotel or Sakura Tower could beat its height.

Win, a gentle Burmese man with a young two year-old daughter, is a certified tour guide. In an hour, he took us around the Paya, explaining the history and culture of the Burmese.

With a little matrix, he calculated I was born on a Sunday, which is represented by the powerful Garuda. Bun is born on Tuesday, the day of the Lion, signifying honesty.

It looked like a popular destination for family picnics. Lots of local Burmese sat on shaded cool marble ground, around good spreads of silver tong-kats filled with rice, vegetables, curries and more.

If we had known, we would have prepared a basket too!

Cost (US$1 = 750 kyat):

• 300 kyat - 30 mins at internet cafe
• 1500-2000 kyat - taxi rides
• 5000 kyat - entrance fee to Shwedagon Paya
• 5000 kyat - one-hour guide by Win *star buy for today*
• 6700 kyat - lunch for two at Feel Myanmar Food, the local version of economic rice
• 1000 kyat - rickshaw rides
• 7350 kyat - road side BBQ dinner in Chinatown
• 1500 kyat - groceries from supermarket in preparation for our train ride
• US$22 - one night at White House Hotel