Burma Day 1: Shenyang - Seoul - Yangon

Note: I wrote these next few entries as I traveled through Burma, but I have taken the liberty to go back and edit them minimally to add details and pictures. 

Getting out of Chinese airspace is such a great feeling. Even stepping on the Korean Airline flight was a relief: courteous Korean airline stewards and tasty Korean airline food. The little things make it worth it. I had heard such great things about Incheon International Airport that I was very much looking forward to it. Everyone was right! The concourse is so easy to navigate and the design is very modern and clean. 

Happy with my bibimbap, of course!

R, A, and I ate at the food court while we waited for our respective flights. R & I agreed, though, that out of everyone traveling during the Chinese New Year, our destination was the coolest. We're going to BURMA! Much excitement was had just saying that simple sentence over and over.

As R & I boarded the flight to Yangon, we noticed that we were at the lower end of the age spectrum traveling. Aside from a youth-group mission trip, he and I seemed like the youngest travelers on the flight. This makes sense though, when you think about it. Although Burma is opening up, there are still a good deal of hoops we had to jump through to get there (procuring visas at the Myanmar Embassy in Beijing; fully pre-paying hotel arrangements, domestic flights, and travel arrangers in cash; finding crisp, new, and pristine US dollar bills, to name a few). Traveling to Burma is not for your typical southeast Asian backpacker. At least, not yet. 

I never order alcohol when flying. It feels rouge to me to drink when contained in such a small space. And it seems like a luxury on an airplane. But I felt like a glass of white wine, to celebrate the accomplishment of getting through a stressful few weeks and making it on the plane to Burma. The waitress asked what R & I would like to drink, we asked for wine. "Of course!" she chirped, "You can have wine WHENEVER you like!" her voice reaching its highest pitch on the 'when,' accompanied by a jazz-hands motion that indicated lots of sparkle and happiness. R & I looked at each other and giggled. This was going to be an ah-may-zing journey.

We're really going to Burma!

Upon landing in Burma, R and I found ourselves needing to haggle for a taxi and I find myself instantly trusting any man in a skirt. Something about the men wearing longyi here make them seem honest. The taxi drivers could very well cheat me out of $10, but because they're wearing a skirt, I think I'm okay with it. 

Burmese father in longyi

If you can imagine, the drivers are even crazier than Chinese drivers, going speeds of 90+ on curvy, hilly streets. On our way from the airport to downtown Yangon, our taxi's roof sign fell off and smashed against the window, scaring the living daylights out of R and me. But no worries, life just goes on here. At a seemingly pleasant yet eager pace. Everyone smiles and wants to chat. The eagerness comes from their desire to please, I think. And maybe their desire to grasp onto the growth that they're experiencing. 

I digress. 

At least the roads are wide and relatively low in traffic. Though I estimate that during the day the traffic increases significantly. Some cars have the steering on the right, some on the left. It's almost as if all the world's cars have come here to live out their last days as Burmese taxis. 

On the ride from the airport to the downtown, I had a quick chance to see the scenery. It surely is tropical here, with the roads lined in palm trees, and the night full of sounds of bugs and birds living in the heat. As far as I can tell, the roads in the city are well-kept and easy to navigate. Signs are mostly in Burmese, with some English/romanized translation.

In my hotel room, I'm happy to have wifi, but it almost feels like I'm cheating. Before I left, all the research I had done told me that there would be little to no connectivity anywhere. But actually, the internet is free and faster than in China. Who knew the digital infrastructure would have changed in such a short amount of time. I sense the rest of Burma will be like this, surprises around the corner everywhere.

Nevertheless, I am tired and planning to get up early to see the Sule Pagoda, which is viewable from my room's window. 

Sule Pagoda from my window in daytime

Until then!