Sleeping in Mrauk U, Myanmar

Royal City Guest House

Minbar Gyi Road, Aung Datt, Mrauk U.
Ph: +45 98502400
      +45 43-24200~5 Ext: 50257
Email: rivervalleyrestaurant@gmail.com 
Website: www.newpalacehotelsittwe.com/

Through the friendly waitress at River Valley Restaurant in Sittwe, we booked a bungalow at Royal City Guest Hotel for $35/night.

The bungalow and site were nicer than the hotel room we’d paid $55 for in Sittwe, so we were happy when we checked in. It was clean and fairly spacious with a TV, minibar and small table and chairs.

While Royal City have lights 24 hours a day, they didn’t have 24 hour electricity. In the searing heat of a summer day, my boyfriend and I lie on the tiled floor in our underwear in an attempt to keep cool. Relief from the heat seemed impossible; we had a fan and air conditioner that weren’t working and a shower that only ran hot because the pipes were in the sun.

Breakfast was supposed to be included, but at around 7:30am the next morning, there were no staff to be found at reception. The outdoor restaurant didn’t look like it had been used in quite a while; the tables and chairs were stacked up and had dust and cobwebs on them.

I believe that this could be a nice place to stay in peak season when the temps are cooler, business is in full swing and service is a priority. I really got the feeling that we were the only guests there and that the staff were in a lazy low-season mood.

Room types and rates

Shwe Thazin Hotel

Given how hot we’d been at Royal City, we moved to Shwe Thazin, which has a generator and therefore 24 hour electricity. We struck a deal with Jack, the manager; because we were staying for 4 nights and had stayed in their sister hotel in Sittwe, we paid $55US/night instead of $60US.

This bungalow style hotel is relatively new and the gardens and fountain give it a fresh, relaxing feel. The rooms have air conditioning, TV, a mini bar and a spacious bathroom with a bath.

The restaurant is neat, clean and air conditioned, but not very atmospheric. There was usually BBC news on the TV and not much else going on.
The buffet breakfast was fairly standard – toast, fruit, eggs, noodles, fried rice, coffee, tea, juice.
Note: in low season there will only be a buffet breakfast if the hotel has a certain number of guests. Most days we just had eggs, toast, fruit, tea/coffee and juice.
Their menu offers Chinese and Myanmar dishes at reasonable prices, though the food is often oily and quite average.

The manager, Jack, speaks English quite well and is very helpful. He called around to compare airline and bus fares for me, calculating different routes from Mrauk U to Mandalay.
Having worked in hotels in Yangon, he ensures that a high standard of service is provided by the staff.

Golden Star Guesthouse
116 Min Bar Rd, Mrauk U
+95 435 0175
+95 9850 1664  
+95 43 09 4967 4472

Off the main strip but cheap and next to Happy Garden, one of my favourite restaurants in Mrauk U, Golden Star is a good budget option.

Electricity 5am-midnight

Room rates
Single   $10US no fan         $13US with fan

Double $15US no fan         $20US with fan

All room rates include breakfast

Kyaw Soe Guesthouse

28 Min Bar Gyi Street, Taung Yat Qr, Mrauk U
+95 435 0003
+95 9421 734 799

Almost hidden away at the southern end of the main drag, this family run guesthouse was recommended by a friend as a cheap, clean and bright option.

Electricity 5am-midnight

Room rates

Single $7US with fan              $10US with fan and breakfast

Double $14US with fan         $20US with fan and breakfast

All prices are shown in US dollars, but can be paid in Kyat at a rate of 1:1,000

Travelling from Sittwe to Mrauk U, Myanmar

There are two options for getting from Sittwe to Mrauk U - boat or bus.

Boat
There are ferries running daily, it will just depend on the day that you travel as to which boat you'll take (timetable below).

We took the Aung Kyaw Moe Express ferry, which took 5 hours. The ticket was 10,000 Kyats which included a plastic deckchair on the upper deck of the boat and a bottle of water. It's quite a nice trip along the river

 

 

Tips:

• get there earlier than the given check in time. Our boat left at 6:50 and it was packed by 6:20am.
• try to sit in the middle of the chair area; the edges of the boat are exposed to the weather and people seated at the back are sprinkled with soot from the boat's smokestack.

Sittwe to Mrauk U Ferry timetable (current in April 2014)

Monday                    Aung Kyaw Moe Express Boat     Check in 6:30am

Tuesday                    Government Boat                          Check in 6:30am

Wednesday              Shwe Pyitan Express Boat            Check in 7:00am

Thursday                  Aung Kyaw Moe Express Boat     Check in 6:30am

Friday                        Government Boat                         Check in 6:30am

Saturday                   Aung Kyaw Moe Express Boat    Check in 6:30am

Sunday                      Shwe Pyitan Express Boat            Check in 7:00am

 

Bus
There's a bus to Mandalay that starts in Sittwe and passes through Mrauk U and Magwe among other places. I caught it from Mrauk U to Mandalay, which was 20hrs. It's another few hours on top of that and rumoured to cost 3,000 Kyat. Ask at your guest house for details on times and tickets, and if they tell you that you need a guide to accompany you, advise them that the rules have changed and you don't need one anymore. The bus company will back you up on that.

Eating and Sleeping in Sittwe, Myanmar

 

 

 

We were only in Sittwe for a night before heading to Mrauk U. We didn't see much of the place. I loved the old clock tower and enjoyed watching people riding in the golden afternoon sun on scooters, trishaws, and bikes. I was amazed by how straight the ladies' backs were when they rode their bicycles, and I found out why when I was in Mrauk U.

 

 

We stayed at Shwe Thazin Hotel. At the time I didn't think much of it for the price ($55US), but it was clean, we had a mini bar, TV, air conditioning, 24 hour electricity, buffet breakfast and everything was in working order.

We'd tried too get a room at Mya's Guesthouse first, but they were full. As we walked down the street with the dry, hot summer sun beating down on us, Shwe Thazin was the next place we came across. After being in transit from Kuala Lumpur since early that morning, air conditioning and comfort were our priorities.

We stayed at Shwe Thazin Hotel in Mrauk U too, it's a lot newer and nicer than it’s Sittwe sister. It's a totally different style of hotel, with bungalows and gardens.

 



Our Superior Double room at Shwe Thazin Hotel Sittwe.

 

We ate at River Valley Restaurant, which is tied in with New Palace Hotel in Sittwe and Royal City Guesthouse in Mrauk U. From what I've heard, this is the best tourist restaurant in Sittwe. They serve seafood, Chinese and Rakhine fare. The waiters there wear bow ties, which is a bit ridiculous because it's not a fancy restaurant. Our waitress was friendly and helped us learn to say thank you in Burmese. We ordered the vegetables with Indian spices and the "Cherry Prawn" dish, a sweet, tomato based dish based on her recommendations, and we enjoyed both.

 

Notes: Flights within Myanmar

·        Booking flights and comparing fares from outside Myanmar is not a simple process. Air Bagan are the only airline with an online booking system. Their online flight schedule doesn’t always match the days that flights actually run, so there can be a bit of trial and error in finding an available flight.
It’s difficult to find schedules and prices for the other airlines from outside Myanmar, and their airfares are often much cheaper than Air Bagan's. Flights with Air Mandalay, KBZ, Yangon Airlines and Asian Wings need to be booked direct with the airline (email, call or walk into an office), or through a travel agent.

·        Be aware that your flight time, or even your airline may change. Keep an eye on your emails or call your travel agent or airline directly the day before. I booked four internal flights with Air Bagan and only flew with them once. My three other flights ended up being with Asian Wings and Yangon Airways. Two of my flight times changed too.

·        When you check in, you’ll be given an airline sticker to wear on your shirt. A visible sticker can help staff get you on the right flight, as boarding announcements can be difficult to understand.

·        At Yangon Airport there’s a staff member who walks around holding up a placard for the flight that’s boarding. He/she will call out the airline, destination and flight number.

·        Seating may be “free” meaning first in best dressed, so if you want to sit with your group, be ready for the boarding call and placard guy/girl. My Asian Wings and Yangon Airways flights had free seating, Air Bagan had assigned seating.

·        Flight paths often include two stops (ie. Heho-Mandalay-Yangon). Make sure you get off at the right airport.

·        All three airlines I flew with provided refresher towels, lollies (sweets/candies) on short flights and a light meal on longer flights.

·        Planes can be small (only 11 rows), and the overhead lockers are… you guessed it… also small! Take as little on board as you can. If you’ve only got carry-on luggage, take something like your bag of toiletries out of your main bag – this worked a treat for me.

·        Many airports are also small, with a basic gate lounge and 1-2 simple cafés or shops selling nibbles. Arrival areas in these airports don’t have a luggage carousel; staff will bring your bags into a waiting area and you will have to hand over your baggage tickets (stapled to your boarding pass at check in) to get your luggage back.



Luggage waiting area in Nyaung U airport.

 

 

Arriving in Myanmar

 



Arriving in Yangon International airport, I was excited. While I'd been told a bit about Myanmar, much about it was a mystery to me. I quickly found that reality see-sawed either side of my expectations, and was forced to abandon all preconceptions and give way to discovery and learning (as any traveller should). 

 

My first stop within the airport was the visas on arrival desk. I already had a valid 28 day visa, but I was staying for 32 days and wanted to find out about the two week extension I'd been told about in Kuala Lumpur. The visa office in KL had signs indicating an extension was available and I was told by a staff member that I could apply for it in Yangon. Here in Yangon, however, I was told that the 2 week extension is only for business visas. I was casually told that I could just pay an overstay fee at the airport when I was leaving.

After going through immigration, I was surprised to be standing in a room lined with ATMs and money changers. I was with my partner, who travelled Myanmar in 2012 and had believed that back then there were almost no ATMs in the country. It looked like times had changed. MasterCard advertisements sat on the walls above almost al of the exits and I started to wonder whether our efforts to get perfectly crisp, flat, unmarked US dollar bills in KL was necessary.

Moving through the airport, my attention was drawn to the local men’s attire. They wore long longyis (sarongs), mostly in dark colours with a fine checkered pattern.  I’d seen men in longyis in India before, though I hadn’t seen them teamed with business shirts and flip flops. It’s an interesting combo.
Many women wore thanaka (a paste made from tree bark and water) painted across their cheeks, a somewhat primal choice of cosmetics in this day and age.

We were flying through to Sittwe and had a layover, during which I took a gamble and searched for a free wifi network. I connected to the free REDLINK_WIFI_YIAP network. After about six attempts, I managed to post on Instagram, but booking my flight from Heho back to Yangon online was impossible; the connection dropped out too frequently for me to complete the booking.

 

Yangon's domestic terminal is a beautiful old building with carved timber pillars and balustrades. The baggage scales are analogue and the check in desks are little stalls with fake flowers and vines strung along them – very sweet.

When we checked in with Air Bagan for our flight to Sittwe, I was surprised yet again – this time by my boarding pass. Two years before my boyfriend had been issued hand-written carbon paper boarding passes. While Air Bagan have upgraded to printed cardboard boarding passes with stamps on them, the stamps only detailed our flight number, our destination and the date. A sticker with a seat number had been added, but the gate, boarding time and flight times were left off. I found it funny that they had advertising on the back of their tickets, but on the front they' were missing many of the details a Westerner would consider necessary information.  

Boarding announcements were made in the gate lounge, though distorted and in Burmese. To back up the announcements visually, a man with a placard bearing the destination and flight number made laps of the area. We waited for the placard man to do his thing for flight W9309 and once he did, we boarded our plane.

Intrigued by what I'd discovered within a few hours in the airport terminals, I was eager to explore and find out more about Myanmar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travelling light

Until recently, I was the type to back a bag til the zips burst – my handbag, a backpack, a suitcase – it didn’t matter what size or type – I’d load it up. I’d travel with 6 headscarves and little bags of jewellery. For a total of thirteen months over 2 trips, I travelled with a torch, a poncho, Bandaids (plasters) and all kinds of other little things that were never used. I’d hoard plastic bags, rubber bands and sachets of condiments “just incase” they came in handy. Sometimes they did, but realistically I could have sourced them when I needed them rather than lugging them around.
I’ve had honey leak through my things and my bags were so far over the weight allowance in 2011 that I had to ask all three friends I was flying with to carry things in their bags to help me out.

When planning a trip to the Philippines where I’d take 9 flights in three weeks, the thought of waiting for luggage on every flight and lugging a big bag on and off of boats made me cringe. The thought of travelling carry on only seemed like a dream, I was doubtful that I’d make the 7kg cut off that most of the flights had when carrying my camera, a spare lens, a tripod, a laptop, a hard drive, chargers and adapters.

Four weeks before leaving for the Philippines, I decided to extend my trip an extra three months to travel through South East Asia. I had the choice of adding extra luggage or continuing carry-on only. For me, there was only one choice - travelling light - and I haven't looked back.

Here are a few key things to think about for those of you who’d like to pack light too.

Multifunctionality is key. My favourite items:

·         Sarong – sheet, beach towel, sarong/dress/skirt, can be worn over head and/or shoulders in mosques or temples.

·         20L dry bag – useful on boats, doubles as a day bag, saves me buying/carrying a beach bag or large handbag. It's the perfect day bag because it protects my things when I get caught in sudden downpours.

·         Shockproof/waterproof/snowproof/dustproof camera – these babies are great size wise, functionality wise and durability wise. They’ll fit in your pocket or small handbag, they have a range of functions and shooting options, are easy to use and can be taken sight-seeing, snorkelling, snowboarding, rock climbing, rafting and partying (trust me when I say that you don’t want sticky cocktails jamming your camera’s shutter).

·         Smart phone – use wifi to access the net in cafés, hostels and airports. Watch movies, read, take photos, calculate exchange rates, read maps.

Size & Weight

·         This is a game of prioritising. For every item you take you will need to analyse whether there’s a lighter or smaller option, or whether you need it at all. Light clothes can take up a lot of space and small things can be heavy.
On this trip, photography and writing are my top priority so I gave the majority of my weight allowance to my camera, notebook and their accessories. My bag was 7.6kgs and my tripod, spare lens, SD Cards, external hard drive, adapters and chargers weigh 3.8kgs.

·         Minimise the extra bags and packages that you’re carrying. Take new SD cards, razors, toothbrushes etc out of their packaging and you will find that you have more space and less weight.

 

Bag

 

·         Choose a light, comfortable and appropriate bag. A rolling suitcase is good for cities and sealed roads, a backpack is far better for boat trips, dusty, uneven roads and for climbing stairs in hostels and train stations with your bag on.

 

·         Organise your bag so that you know where things will be kept. This makes it easy to find things and also means you can re-pack your bag systematically to fit everything in comfortably (rather than having a phone charger jabbing you in the back). I like a bag with a few small pockets inside and out. I keep all of my chargers, adapters and SD cards in my “electronic sack”, which is just a mesh bag that came with a travel towel. I have a little makeup case for my makeup and jewellery just so that I can find them easily.

 

·        As far as a packing method goes – I recommend folding or rolling your clothes and keeping small items in mesh bags or side pockets. I’ve done vacuum bags and advise against them because every time you need an outfit I had to open and seal a bag for underwear, one for a top and one for bottoms. It was time consuming and noisy for my dorm mates.

 

Clothing

·         Adaptability. Take clothes that are appropriate in a variety of situations. Take tops and shorts that you can wear to sleep or sight see. I feel that shorts and pants are better than skirts and dresses for bike riding, windy conditions, bungy jumping, rock climbing or falling asleep on a train without flashing your undies. Skirts and dresses are nicer to wear out to dinner or clubs, and are far easier to wear if you are in a country where you need to use squat toilets. Use tights underneath pants/skirts for cooler weather.

Adaptability example – singlet, sarong, hippy pants.

      Bed: singlet and pants as pyjamas, sarong as a sheet.
Beach: add a bikini. Sarong can be worn and also used as a towel.
Religious building/site: singlet and hippy pants with a sarong as a shawl.
Dinner and bars in backpacker areas: singlet and hippy pants dressed up by styling your hair, adding some jewellery (guys, that’s for you too) and a bit of makeup (guys, take it or leave it).

·         Acceptability. Are your clothes acceptable to the communities that you will be staying amongst? Can they be worn in places of worship? Your denim short-shorts will not attract the attention you’d like in Muslim areas and will be seen as disrespectful by many other cultures and religions.

·         Weather suitability. Choose clothes that suit the conditions you’re going into. For warm weather, choose clothes that can be “warmed up” with a jacket, tights or a change from shorts to pants.

 

·         Coordination. Can all your tops and bottoms be worn together? There’s no point taking things that you won’t wear together. Carefully consider your choice of colours, patterns and styles so that you can rotate your wardrobe. An outfit relying on what’s clean and what’s dirty is not what you want.

·         Ratio. Be reasonable about your top:bottom ratio. I think 3-4 bottoms is enough: shorts, pants, something to sleep in and something dressy if need be.  

·         Tradability. If you are smart about packing and happy to ditch clothes for new ones as you see fit, you can easily travel through summer into winter or vice versa. You’ll just need to carry/wear a big jacket and boots on your flights in colder weather. This is the factor that will allow you to travel for years through all seasons. You must be willing to lose/trade your clothes for other more appropriate things along the way. Your clothes will wear out quickly if they are being washed and worn once or twice a week. They’ll stretch, fade, get bally and possibly be stained or broken during your adventures. If you love it, leave it at home.

 

Underwear, bras, swimwear

 

·         Take 5-6 pairs of underwear, this gives you enough for a fresh pair each day and night for 2-3 days and enough time to wash and dry them in between.

·         Consider your wardrobe when packing underwear. If you have light pants, make sure you have more than one pair of light coloured undies.

·         The smaller and quicker-drying, the better.

·         Pack 2-3 bras and wash frequently. Remember they’ll be washed and worn frequently – don’t take your best lingerie.

·         If you’re swimming every day, two pairs of board shorts or bikinis is best. I wore my one and only bikini every day for more than a week in the Philippines and it didn’t always dry properly in the humidity so it started to smell. Not cool.

 

Shoes

 

·         Bring shoes that you’ve worn in. Blisters are not fun when you only have 1-2 pairs of shoes.

·         In Asia, you take your shoes off a lot to go indoors. I considered sandals so that I’d look a bit nicer when I went out partying, but knew I’d get annoyed at the effort they take to get on and off. Thongs (flip-flops) or ballet flats are far easier. In European/American winters you might be wearing boots all the time – walking, partying, sightseeing…

·         Be reasonable with the number of pairs of socks that you pack. If you’ll be living in thongs (flip-flops) or sandals and using closed shoes for occasional activities, pack one or two pairs. In warm climates, thin socks will do the job and they will dry more quickly after washing.

 

Toiletries/Medicine/Cosmetics

·         Take small amounts (60-100ml) of shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, moisturiser with you and buy products along the way to top them up. You will often find that you can top up shampoos and body wash at hostels who provide it.

·         Use roll on deodorant to save space.

·         Leave perfume/cologne at home.

·         Minimise “incase” medicines/tablets/creams. If you get headaches weekly, take painkillers with you. If not, you can buy them in any country if and when you need them.

·         Girls – minimise the amount of make up that you take. If you must take some, a powder foundation, eyeliner, mascara, a small eyeshadow with 3-4 colours and a couple of lip pencils will do the trick. Use the lip liners for your lips & cheeks.
 - 2-3 hairties is plenty and I advise taking just 10-15 bobby pins, not a whole case. If you lose or break them, just buy more.

 

Towels

·         Carry one for swimming and one for bathing if you’ll be swimming a lot.

·         Personally, I don’t like microfiber travel towels. They aren’t really absorbent, they just push the water around on your skin. They also smell bad really quickly. This is the one thing I get laundered rather than washing it myself.

·         I highly recommend sarongs, and think I will travel with two next time rather than taking a travel towel. When you’re buying a sarong, make sure you get an absorbent one, synthetic fabrics aren’t good.

Elastic clothes line

·         This is a MUST HAVE! It saves you time, money and running out of clean clothes.

·         You don’t need pegs as you can pinch your clothes between the twists of elastic.

·        To hang it, you can either use the suction caps on windows or tiled walls, use the hooks or loop it around curtain rods, bed posts etc.

 

 

Happy packing!