The Journey and First Night in Yangon

Finally, the adventure starts. After weeks of preparation, emptying the flat, asking for visas, troubles with the flights etc., we ended up in the train to Zurich airport. It was only the evening before, when we finally received the confirmation that we can actually fly. Our flights had been changed at least 5 times, which was getting very annoying. But it worked out in the end. And we could fortunately do the online check-in through smart phone in the train to Zurich.

 Flo checking in online (in the train to Zurich)

Flo still a bit sick (at the airport in Zurich)

At the airport, we admitted that we brought too much luggage, so we had to pay some charming 120 CHF for additional 7 kilos. :-) But what else can you expect when moving to another country…?!

After a very comfortable flight with Swiss to Bangkok, we changed to a smaller airplane operated by Bangkok Airways. Since the connecting flight was late, we were allowed to spend the waiting time in the first class lounge, where drinks and food was served for free. Nice one! :-)

When arriving in Yangon, we had to take a bus from the plane to the building. Oh my God, this heat!! We will burn, burn, burn!! But fortunately, most buildings have air condition, also the tiny airport of Yangon. The immigration check point shorty checked our visas and passports and let us through. The luggage was already there and we left the airport. We actually expected an extensive inspection, but they were not interested in us, nor in the huge luggage. Perfect!

The taxi drive to our guesthouse was already an adventure. Crazy traffic, crazy drivers, crazy pedestrians… We arrived well in the guesthouse and received a wonderfully cool and home made ice tea before checking in. And the nicest surprise of all was: Our room has an air condition, woohooooo!!! So important, I can tell you!! :-)

Our lovely Guesthouse Thanlwin

After resting a bit, we left for our first Burmese meal. Once we arrived at the recommended Burmese restaurant, nervousness broke out among the waiters. But they stayed calm on the outside and smiled all the time, since most of them didn’t speak English. After having received the menu, the waitress in the most beautiful dress just stayed next to our table but on decent distance. So we were wondering, whether we had forgotten something or broken some kind of rule…?! A friendly smile then gave us the idea that she was just waiting for us to choose our dishes. So, the first thing we learnt regarding restaurant manners, is that the waiters wait next to your table, until you have read the entire menu and decided what to eat and drink. They would even wait there for 30 minutes, if you haven’t ordered yet… :-) And once the food came, we again were put into trouble… They only brought one plate, not the ordered two plates and also no rice with it. Should we ask for rice now? Or will they bring it? Should we have ordered rice? And should we wait for the second plate before start eating? Or would this be rude? But if we start speaking in English, they would become very nervous… So we waited for another 5 minutes, smiling friendly at the waiters, they smiled back and walked around. After a while, an older waiter came to ask, whether we wanted rice and we happily confirmed. Soon after, the second plate arrived. And it was full of CORIANDER, noooo! Lara hates it, Flo somehow does not mind it but does not love it either… Well, we were brave and ate all of it. :-) So, the second insight we had, is that you should ask for rice if you want some. And apparently, many dishes have coriander in it, especially when it’s a traditional meal from Kachin state. We also ordered two bottles of Myanmar Beer. And they looked very surprised that we would order two bottles at the beginning already. They asked especially Lara, whether this is really true. We confirmed and soon after realized why. The Myanmar Bottles contain more than 6 dl beer. Lesson number three: Probably ask for one bottle first, and then, when this one is empty, order the second one. If you order two bottles at the same time, the beer only gets warm… :-) After some time, the waiters, especially the young men, become very used to us and overcame their shyness. They tried out many English words with us and were very happy when we replied. We guessed that they wanted to practice their English. Later we learned (we read it in our guide) that many young people take private English lessons, because in school the English teaching is not good enough and that they hope to improve their job opportunities if they learn English.

Our first Burmese dinner :-)

After this wonderful and very delicious dinner, we returned to our guesthouse and slept for 11 hours. We were completely exhausted. But we slept really well!