24 hours in Yangon

Myanmar is the last frontier for tourists and business travelers alike, at least in this part of the region. However, there is limited information available (unlike cities such as Bangkok) and so, its quite 'mysterious' to many people. I was always asked 'what is there to do in Myanmar/ Yangon?' To me, its home. Its not somewhere I go to tour. So when I had to think on my feet about places to go and food to eat, my advice wouldn't have been very coherent or helpful.  After taking my time to think of recommendations, here is the packed itinerary if you just have 24 hours in Yangon!

Given the limited time and notorious traffic jam in Yangon, I tried to reduce travelling time by focusing on attractions which are located close together.  Downtown Yangon is made up of 6 townships (Latha, Lanmadaw, Pabedan, Kyauktada, Botahtaung, Pazundaung) and the road layout follows a grid pattern. So it should be quite easy to navigate your way around.

When it comes to choosing some places and rejecting others, I had to strike a balance between history, architecture, religious places, nature, shopping and of course, food! Being the former British colonial capital, Yangon has the most number of colonial buildings in Southeast Asia.  Since time has effectively stood still for so many decades, my colleague mentioned that he felt as if he had stepped through a time machine when he visited Myanmar. It is possible to walk the entire stretch of road without finding any modern day buildings. Instead, you would be inside the larger-than-life museum with rows of colonial era buildings. Sure, they are deteriorate and worn down. However, they are exhibits which you could never find elsewhere. So such sights would be the main highlights of my itinerary.  Based on your own preference, you may choose to spend more time in some places while forgoing other places. I hope you experience something new, something different!

Bon Voyage!

xoxo

Miss N

My Favorite List (food in Singapore) - Part I

Food is definitely an important feature of Singapore. We are all very spoiled with endless choices ranging from cheap hawker fares to expensive fine dining restaurants and from local cuisine all the way to exotic food like Mexican and Spanish.  Throw in the stressful & hectic lifestyle (hustle & bustle of city living, you know?).  Of course, eating out is so common here (I admit I'm generalizing and talking about majority). We love food. But we all have our favorites right? So here is mine:

Buffet

1) Jing Restaurant

Address: #01-02/03, 1 Fullerton Road, Singapore 049213

Nearest MRT: Raffles Place (on the red line & green line)

Price: SGD 48 ++ per adult

Remark: Only available on weekend & public holidays, from 12:00 to 14:30

Why I love it: Whenever we go for buffet, we always always end up eating more than we should, just to make our money worthwhile.  But in the long run, its just bad for us, our waistline will hate us!  I have learnt it the hard way that we should value quality over quantity and this is the place to be if you love Asian food AND buffet. It's slightly on the pricey side BUT Peking Duck, Chilli Crab & Fragrance Rice with Shark Fin will make it worth your money.

http://jing.sg/downloads/JING_WeekendAlaCarteBrunchBuffet.pdf

Mr & Missy in Myanmar - Day 8 to 11 - 26 to 29 Dec 2013

Day 8

We reached Aung Mingalar Bus Terminal pretty early around 6+ am and took a cab home. Air-conditioned cab cost us around 8,000 Kyats? 

After we unpacked, showered and had breakfast at home, we decided to go for Thai full body massage to give our tired bodies a treat.  Remember to give them a call to make reservations though. Our appointment was for 11 am but my mom dropped us off early and so we decided to pass time by enjoying Patbingsu at Lotteria!!! Yes, there is Lotteria in Yangon! The effect of Hallyu / Korean wave huh? 

Patbingsu 팥빙수 - a popular Korean summer snack of shaved ice with red bean and other toppings

Nope, not a Korean star but my fav local celebrity - Sai Sai

Mr & Missy in Myanmar - Day 6 & 7 - 24 & 25 Dec 2013

After a gruesome bus journey, we finally made it to the town of Kyaukse at 4 am. Famous for its Kyaukse Elephant Dance, this is the hometown of Missy's father. 

We would spend the next 2 days here witnessing a traditional Burmese Buddhist procession called the Ah-hlu. The Ah-hlu basically is a celebration that is held for a family when they donate generously to the local Buddhist monastery. Missy's youngest uncle had recently donated and held the Ah-hlu procession also to send his sons to become monks at the monastery. This is a traditional rite of passage for all Burmese Buddhists boys to show their coming of age. They typically spend a minimum of 3 days at a monastery to follow and learn from the monks. For me, it was truly an honour to be able to witness such a procession as I have never seen anything close to that before.

 Young girls take part in the procession too! Ear piercing ceremony is the rite of passage for girls.

Mr & Missy in Myanmar - Day 5 - 23 Dec 2013

As we started the 5th day of our tour, first stop was the iconic Htam Sam cave, located 19 km east of Taunggyi (1-hour drive away from Taunggyi). Believed to be one of the longest caves in Myanmar, Htam Sam is found in Hopong Pa-O self-administered area.  From the entrance, it did not seem like there was going to be much to see inside but the moment we stepped in, we were taken aback by its natural beauty inside. Never, ever judge a book by its cover. 

Limestone and natural rock formations littered the place and were truly a sight to behold. They reminded us of icicles, just in the form of rocks. Also, further down in the cave, various Buddha images were scattered around and at the end of the path was a small waterfall. 

Discovered only recently, this cave currently does not have the popularity of Pindaya Cave but surely in time as more people come to know about this, it will be a new tourist hot-spot.

Mr & Missy in Myanmar - Day 4 - 22 Dec 2013

We were ready and packed our bags by 7:30 am and headed to breakfast.  The previous night, we had arranged with the boatman to fetch us at 8 am. Our plan was to have breakfast, check-out from hotel but leave our bags at the lobby, go around Inle Lake, collect our luggage from hotel and go back to Nyaung Shwe Jetty.

At the beautiful Royal Inle Resort / Inle Palace Resort

Mr & Missy in Myanmar - Day 3 - 21 Dec 2013

On such a cold day (definitely below 10C), enjoying the warmth of cocoon between the thick blanket and a bed, further comforted by the heater, was just a bliss.  We had a hard time getting out of bed. But we forced ourselves to get ready and pack our stuff due to the long day of sightseeing ahead. By 8:30 am, we were enjoying breakfast on the balcony, overlooking the Shan mountain range. Due to the cold weather, we could fully appreciate the warm sun light without breaking any sweat. But our food turned cold sooo fast! So we had no choice but to eat as fast as possible.  By 9 am, we had checked out and loaded our luggage onto the van, ready to head out.

Mr & Missy in Myanmar - Day 2 - 20 Dec 2013

Our day 2 was extremely tiring.  We reached Kalaw around 5 am and alighted in front of New Shine Hotel, which is situated along the expressway.  Our tour agency "Golden Express" arranged 2 rooms for 5 of us to rest till 730 am.  As soon as we stepped out of the air-conditioned bus, we were shivering! It was so freaking cold, definitely lower than 10C. It is thus not surprising that Kalaw was one of the hilly retreats for British officials during the hot summer months [during the colonial era]. 

New Shine Hotel, where we rested for a few hours

Mr & Missy in Myanmar - Day 1 - 19 Dec 2013

Nothing much happened on Day 1.

We left Singapore with an afternoon flight and landed in Yangon around 3 pm local time (after a 3-hour journey).  I don't really like taking early morning flights since I have this phobia of missing my flight if I can't wake up hehe :D

Mr & Missy in Myanmar

Have you guys read the news that Myanmar will be named as the World's Best Tourist Destination for 2014 by EU? 

[http://www.business-standard.com/article/international/myanmar-to-be-named-world-s-best-tourist-destination-114030900300_1.html]  

2014 Valentine's Day Dinner at CottonSG

Of course, we all have our own favorite restaurants but sometimes, we just want to try something new, right? So for this year's Valentine's Day dinner, we decided to visit Cotton restaurant at East Coast Park.

Cotton Restaurant

902 East Coast Parkway

Block E #01-26

Playground @ Big Splash

Tel +65 63482126

Sun - Thu : 5:00 pm - 12:00 am

Fri - Sat   : 5:00 pm - 3:00 am

Mr & Missy in Bali Day 3

Time flies! Its already our last day in Bali!!!  I was quite excited as we planned to do some water sports that day! 

My must-have items in my bag for a day out at the beach! 

Remember to always bring sunblock, sunglasses & hat to protect your skin from the harsh sun light.

Breakfast served in our villa by the pool

Of course, we gotta re-charge ourselves first! 

Our mini-kitchen is well-equipped, right?

Mr & Missy in Bali Day 2

We were up at 7:30 am and I went for a swim before our breakfast. But someone felt the water was too cold for his liking and chose to continue lazing in bed! Hahaha

What is the use of a private pool if you don't swim in it yeah?

Mr & Missy in Bali Day 1

We were so very excited to be visiting this famed paradise - Bali!  Our flight departure time was 1020 am and we were done with check-in by 9 am.  It helped that we didn't have any check-in luggage. Since it was just a 3D2N trip, we were just going with our cabin luggage.  Besides, the focus is not on shopping, its more on sightseeing and relaxing.

Off we go!

Landed in Bali right on time around 1 pm!

Mr & Missy in Bali

Hotel stays should be a norm for people in Singapore, considering how much we love to travel. But staying at a private villa with a pool just for your own usage is not! We were very lucky to be blessed with a 2-night stay at the  Khayangan Dreams Villa Kerobokan for SGD 351 (Normal rate for 2 nights stay at a one-bedroom pool villa is about SGD 600).  Amazing 42% discount! So just to enjoy this pool villa stay, we planned our trip to Bali! 

Myanmar Visa Application

Recently, we just came back from Myanmar and I would like to share about Mister's Myanmar visa application process with you guys. Myanmar is opening up and many people are interested in touring the country to discover the untouched beauty. But several nationals are still required to apply for visa and here was what happened!

Tourist Visa

- valid for a stay of 28 days

- valid for entry within 3 months

Hours

0930 - 1200 : Application form submission

1630 - 1730 : Visa Collection (on the same day)

Fees

SGD 35 : Tourist Visa Application

SGD 10 : Service Fees 

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 14 (29 May 2013)

My last day in Korea T.T

We met at Sinchon only around 10 am to give me enough time to pack everything.  Then, we walked over to Slow Garden for brunch.  It's actually just 5 minute walk away form Yonsei's SK Global House and 3 minute walk away from Ewha Women University's back gate.  If you are in the area, you should consider going there! I love the cozy, comfortable atmosphere and food there was great!!!

Some selfies while waiting for our brunch

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 13 (28 May 2013)

Rainy weather continued :(

Oh well, what to do? We gotta do what we gotta do! I was determined to find all the photo spots in Bukchon Hanok Village today haha Bukchon refers to the area between Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace featuring well-preserved traditional Korean Hanok houses. During the Joseon era, this village was populated by royal family members and aristocrats. Today, it is a popular spot for shooting films and TV dramas (Personal Taste, 2Days1Night).

Relying on the "Pleasant Tour of Seoul on Foot" Map (courtesy of Seoul City), we started our walk from Exit 3 of Anguk Station, Line 3. 

http://www.visitseoul.net/en/article/article.do?_method=view&art_id=58509&lang=en&m=0004004004001&p=04

Tada! We found our first spot! It offers a very nice view of the Changdeokgung Palace.

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 12 (27 May 2013)

As our flight back to Seoul is at 8:40 am, we wanted to be at the airport by 8 am.  So we checked out from our hotel at 7 am.  We stayed very near to the airport but we had to look for a gas station to refill the Mini's tank. When we collected the car, it was with full tank so we had to return it in the same condition. Plus, we had to drop of the car to the car rental company's parking lot.  They would need to check everything was fine with the car before they send us to the airport with shuttle bus. Yeah, so that was why we needed to set out about 1 hour earlier. Plus, its easier to get lost inside a city than on a expressway right?  

Saying bye to our Mini of 72 hours

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 11 (26 May 2013)

Today was the coldest day in Jeju during our short stay. It was cloudy the whole day with strong gust of wind! There were times we were worried that our Mini would be blown away by the wind.  Cloudy weather matched our mood as we were a bit sad that it was already our last day of sightseeing in Jeju T.T

After 2 full days of driving, I wanted Mister to rest well so we left our hotel at 9am and reached our first stop of the day - Cheonjeyeon Waterfalls around 1030am. There are actually 3 falls altogether and one of them only flows after a heavy rainfall. 

After we bought the entrance tickets, we did not cross the arch bridge yet (it was next to the car park / ticket counter).  Instead, we walked down the wooden steps to the below waterfall. After about 15 min (we were walking quite slowly and stopping occasionally to take photos), we were greeted with this beautiful view.  Sure, it was no where near the size of Jeongbang Waterfall but the azure / turquoise color of the water added a nice twist to the view.

Our first of the 3 waterfalls at Cheonjeyeon 

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 10 (25 May 2013)

HAPPY NEW YEAR, my dear readers!!!

I am so sorry for being MIA! Past few months were considered peak period for my company and so, work has been keeping me busy. By the time I came back from work, I was too exhausted. On top of work, I barely had time to blog with the visits from my dad, my mom and my sister, the planning of my own birthday party as well as a private celebration for Mister's birthday and a 11-day trip to Myanmar! I will really really try my best to blog regularly in 2014 :D For now, let's continue our Jeju journey!

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I had cramps through the night so I didn't have a proper rest & we ended up leaving our hotel quite late (around 830am). So to make up for the lost time, we decided to have a picnic lunch at one of the attractions in our list. Thus, our first stop was a traditional market (Seomun Market) to buy Korean picnic items such as Kimbab 김밥 (Korean rice roll with ingredients such as radish, Carrot, sausage, egg).  But it was so empty! Was it not a market day or were we too late? In any case, we didn't find any picnic food T.T BUT we found a pharmacy and bought painkiller pills for my cramp. They were such a lifesaver! It took about 30min for the pills to start working but it was more effective than Panadol Menstrual for me. 

Seomun Market