Exactly a year ago, I, together with family, got to explore the beautiful country of Myanmar formerly known as Burma. The country is known for the breath taking view you get to see while on a hot air balloon ride overlooking thousands of pagodas in Bagan. However, one balloon ride is equivalent to our whole week’s budget so we passed up that chance and was more than happy to savor the view on top of a pagoda- not that the sunrise was less magical this way.

So, here’s how we did it.

We took a plane (Jetstar) from Singapore to Yangon (which I thought was the capital of Myanmar but as per google it has been Naypyidaw since 2005) and from there, it was bus ride after bus ride after bus ride but who am I to complain. (You can take a domestic flight but it’s too expensive for us)

The airport taxi to the bus station in Yangon costs 7000 Kyat. The ride was around 30 mins and once we arrived at the station, we immediately bought our tickets to Nyaung Shwe where you can find Inle Lake. The bus was not scheduled to leave for another hour or so, so we decided to get our fill of our first ever authentic Burmese food. Then we bought some snacks and water since we were told that it’s going to be a loooooong ride.

*Choose a first class bus; your bodies will thank you for it. If a first class bus is not available, do not, I repeat, do not sit at the back of a local bus since the seats there don’t recline. Also, local buses do not have toilets inside so remember the rules of long distance travelling.

It was a 15 hour bus ride from Yangon to Nyaung Shwe, the longest one I’ve experienced to date. We paid 16,000 Kyat each to ride one of the local buses.

*As you already know, while travelling, you should always keep a small bag with you for your passport, wallet, wipes, alcohol, make-up kit etc etc etc hahahah this is very handy since they don’t allow you to stay on the bus during stopovers (for security purposes)

We arrived in Nyaung Shwe bus station at daybreak and hired a cab to Inle lake for 10K kyat. The entrance for foreigners is also 10K kyat good for a week’s stay in the area. We booked a family room at Inle Star hotel which was huuuuuge. The place is adjacent to the lake so we didn’t have a hard time getting a boat ride the next day.

 

After a few minutes of rest, we freshened up and started exploring the area.

Booked our ride for the evening’s fire balloon festival in Taunggyi which was also one of the reasons why we scheduled this trip to Myanmar.

Went to the market, bought some Thanaka, had lunch at another local eatery (you might have discovered the trend by now #WeChooseLocal hehehe)

Then we explored the place more and took the “muddy” road less travelled.

Afternoon came and we were all excited to witness the festival. We got dressed in our warmest clothes and waited for the pick-up we scheduled earlier that day.

*Nyaung Shwe to Taunggyi pick-up at hotel was 10K Kyat per person (the car leaves at 5:30PM and back at 11PM) the ride was for an hour and 30 mins.

Back story: Before our flight to Myanmar, a Burmese friend of my cousin told us to pack clothes to keep us warm since it would be very very cold at night in Taunggyi. Ofcourse, the stubborn person that I am, I did not heed her warning coz I was thinking that Myanmar would be too hot even for a light jacket. 

Halfway to Taunggyi, I finally suffered the consequence of my mistake. It was freezing. From that day, I swore to never again question a local’s weather advisory hahaha

 

Since it was raining, the whole place was so muddy and the people had to wait for the weather to clear up a bit since the wind would be dangerous should a fire balloon be accidentally blown away. While waiting, we bought some local snacks, ate bbq (murag larsians lang), and drank coffee to keep us warm.

 

Finally, the weather cleared up a bit, they started playing some lively music, the people were chanting and singing and they let out several fire balloons as the crowd cheered on.

We didn’t get to finish the festival because it was time to go back to our hotel. We were the last to arrive at our meet up place and all the other foreigners were waiting for us hehehehe sorry guys.

The next day, after having breakfast at the hotel, we immediately looked for a boat that would take us for a whole day tour around Inle Lake.

With us is Becky, a dentist from Ohio who has been doing some dental missions in several countries. She was scheduled to visit the Philippines (Palawan) the following month.

Inle lake boat tour (whole day) good for 5 persons 35K Kyat (price range during peak season is 35-50K and 18-20K on ordinary days)

While on our way to the “community” we saw the leg rowing Intha people going about their daily fishing activities and one was game enough to show us some tricks. Cool!

First stop is the place where they make scarves using lotus stem. Yes, not silk or anything else but the teeny tiny thread-like stem of a lotus flower.

*Did you know that it takes 20 days and 4000 lotus stems just to make one scarf?

Since it was almost noon, Onle, our boat driver took us to a local restaurant nearby.

 

After lunch, we went to a place where they make local cigars and cigarettes and they even allowed me to try making one on my own.

On our way to see the Kayan Lahwi women with brass neck coils, we passed by some beautiful floating pagodas.

Now, here’s the part I have been waiting for! After watching several episodes on National Geographic and Discovery Channel for many many years, I was finally able to see them. And we even got to take a selfie heheheh

Last place is where they make parasols and notebooks made of paper mache. And again, the “kulit” kid that I am, I volunteered to try my hand at making one hahahaha

After getting our fill of all the local snacks, souvenir shopping, selfies and goofing around, we decided to go back to our hotel to rest for a bit before taking another bus ride to Bagan.

I can’t wait to share with you how beautiful Bagan’s sunrise and sunset was. ‘Til my next post.

RT promo airfare (Cebu Pacific Air)- 5000

RT aboard the cheapest train from Narita to Tokyo (Keisei line)- 1000

Accommodation for 6 nights (guest house wasabi)- 5000

Pasmo pass load (can be used for train passes & convenience store purchases) 5000- you’ll still have extra which u add as meal budget for restos that accept Suica or Pasmo cards

Meals, entrance fees and etc.- 4000

There u go: enjoy a week in Japan with your 20K pesos budget

Pasalubong is not included because it varies from person to person (and when you’re really on a very tight budget, then it’s optional hehehe)

You might think I’m pulling your leg, yes it is indeed tight but here are the places that you can enjoy within that budget:

1.) Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bldg.- where u can have a 360 view of Tokyo (North observatory) for free and if the weather is good, you can get a glimpse of Mt. Fuji (head to the South observatory) . I suggest you do this on your 1st or 2nd day because there is a Tourist Information Center at the ground floor where you can get maps, discount coupons,  public wifi password and tips to optimize your Tokyo travel experience.

2.) Kabukichu– numerous tall bldgs housing the Metropolitan Govt., corporate ofcs, restos & hotels

3.) Shibuya crossing– the busiest intersection in the world

4.) Hachiko statue

5.) Takeshita Dori- shopping street and a good place to people watch. Here you can find Wolfgang Puck’s café.

6.) Sensoji Temple– the oldest temple in Tokyo

7.) Nakamise shopping street

8.) Kaminarimon gate– you pass thru this famous gate to enter the temple grounds and Nakamise shopping street

9.) Tokyo Skytree– the tallest free standing broadcast tower in the world

10.) Ryoguko Kokugikan– where grand tournaments of Sumo are held. Luckily I was there during tournament season so I got to do a selfie with a real life sumo wrestler)

11.) Kaneji Temple– originally built as a prayer temple  which later served as a family temple and entombed here are 6 former shoguns (visiting this place, I remembered the stories popsy doodle told me about shoguns)

12.) Ueno Park– designated in 1873 as the first park in Japan

13.) Kanda Myojin Shrine– believe to bring luck in business, family and finding future spouse (bahala og magka wala2x basta makita lang jud ni nga shrine hahaahha)

14) mAAch ecute Kanda Manseibashi– a commercial facility completed in Sept. 2013 where the national railway’s Manseibashi Station used to be. I love the building’s beautiful brick exterior and a comfy feel of the interior where you can see specialty shops and cafes.

15.) Imperial Palace– probably one of my favorite places in Tokyo together with the East Garden.

16.) East Garden of the Imperial Palace

17.) Marunouchi Nakadori– one of the top brand oriented streets in Tokyo

18.) Tokyo station– one of my fave stations; that bldg is just so beautiful.

19.) National Museum of Emerging Science– Got a discount coupon from the tourist center and paid around 200 pesos for the entrance fee. I know my cousins would love this place.

20.) Toyota’s “Mega Web” auto showroom

21.) Shrine of Confucius

22.) Divercity Tokyo Plaza and Gundam Statue

23.) Aqua City and the Statue of Liberty in Odaiba

24.) Rainbow Bridge

25.) Decks Tokyo Beach– shopping mall with an open air deck resembling  a ship deck and overlooking the rainbow bridge. This houses legoland discovery center Tokyo

26.) Palette Town– a popular spot which contains the “VenusFort” shopping mall and the giant ferris wheel that symbolizes Odaiba

27.) Meiji Shrine– a shinto shrine where the ashes of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken are enshrined. You may even witness a traditional Japanese wedding ceremony. (No pictures allowed inside) Picture below is the O-tori gate, the largest tori in Japan.

28.) Tokyo Disneysea– happy place 😊 entrance fee is around 2700 pesos

29.) Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden– around 100 pesos entrance fee, not bad. There’s also a greenhouse inside and you can take part in a tea ceremony.

30.) Togo Shrine

 

31.) Tsukiji Market– world’s largest fish market

32.) Ramen at Ichiran– 350 pesos for a bowl of one of the most delicious Ramen in Japan

33.) St. Mary’s church- the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tokyo

Not going over this budget was not easy. It took me months of research and planning.. Which places to visit, which route to take, which train to board, where to eat, what to do, how to do it- I wish you could see how messy my travel notebook is, you’d realize it was not an easy task. But it all paid off! I won’t say it was a perfect trip and that everything went smoothly but I wouldn’t do it any other way… Thank you Lord! It was indeed a memorable birthday experience.