1. Three Treasures Tourism in Bagan

The day after my accident, I planned on going on a village walking and private photography tour, with Three Treasures Tourism.

What I think makes Three Treasures special, is that Ian (the owner and my guide) goes above and beyond to teach locals how to cater to the growing “tourism industry” in Bagan.  He shared with me one of his first conversations with a local, after he started his business, and they said they knew how to cater to tourists – just charge them 3 times what we would pay ourselves!  And in many parts of Bagan, that is certainly the case!  But not with Three Treasures.

He takes the time and energy to teach the locals the little things like supply and demand, or ethical treatment of their animals.  Things that honestly, no one ever taught them in the past. 

What I really wanted from my tour was to be able to capture both sunrise and sunset and the expansive temples of Bagan. I was able to customize my full day tour to include a walk in the village, which included some time spent with locals.

2. Sunrise over Bagan

A driver picked me up from the hotel, in darkness, and drove me to a remote temple.  He said that Ian would meet me before sunrise.  So, I climbed to the top of the temple where several people were already waiting for the sunrise.  Some vendors began to show up and line up their paintings and artisanal goods along the walls of the temple.

Bagan is known for its temples.  There are estimated to be over 2,000 known temples.  I say known, because, several hundred temples were badly damaged during the 6.8 earthquake in 2016.  Several hundred were damaged, but during a post-earthquake mapping exercise, several hundred undiscovered ones were found.  So, I guess it all evens out in the end.

3. Breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa

After the sunrise, Ian took me a small temple.  “Grandma” and “Grandpa” are the caretakers of a small temple, and receive a stipend each month to maintain the temple and to farm the land around it.  They set up a small seating area and table. Grandma brought out breakfast.

The main course was cut up fried dough fritters, or 油條 for Chinese speakers, with a chickpea paste (“chunky hummus”), followed by fruit and coffee. Grandma decided to take a seat near us and watch while I ate.

4. Village walk

After breakfast, Ian took me to a village, where our first stop was a family that made bamboo lacquerware.  They made everything from serving dishes and trays, to jewelry boxes, to bowls.

The light coloring on the lady in green’s cheeks and arms is a root-based paste that local Burmese use to protect from the sun.  This is very common in Myanmar.

Regrets: I wish I took a picture of their actual lacquerware products, but I was so enthralled with the artisans themselves.  I will do better documenting my upcoming travels.

Scenes from the village:

5. Temples, temples, and more temples

Ian and I walked around and chatted through the day.  Since there are so many temples to choose from, he had taken me to ones that he thought were more interesting or had something a bit more special about it.

6. Sunset over Bagan

We ended the day with a horse cart ride to another temple, for the sunset.  The horses that are used in his tours are treated ethically and given a high level of care, including ensuring they are vaccinated as needed.  As I mentioned before, this is not the case for all horses in Bagan or Myanmar.

Conclusion

Ian was kind enough to arrange transport for me back to the bus station.  After a full day’s tour with him, I was heading back to Yangon for my flight to Hanoi the following morning.

Despite the pain from the day before, the Bagan trip turned out to be an enjoyable one, filled with great conversation with Ian, and an amazing look into village life in rural Myanmar. 

If anyone ever goes to Bagan, reach out to Three Treasures.  You won’t regret it!

Lannie

Lannie is a perpetual wanderer and loves to share her travel adventures and the food she eats along the way with everyone.  She works during the day while bouncing around the world and dreams about new places and faces at night!  She has a home on the magical Isle of Islay in Scotland, where the whisky flows freely and happily.

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I don’t talk much about my trip to Myanmar, and you all will find out why later. Let’s just say, for now, that I still carry scars from this trip.  Don’t worry, obviously I am still alive and functioning and writing to you today.  The story will come soon.

1. Morning at Shwedagon Pagoda

I started out in Yangon, where I spent the morning roaming around Shwedagon Pagoda, or the Golden Pagoda (for obvious reasons).  Everyone who goes to Yangon simply has to go there.  It’s the primary monument in the city.  There are surprisingly few tourists there, but booming with locals.  Locals enter free, tourists pay.  I think I paid about 9,000Ks (or about $6-8).  I understand they raised their rates again recently to 10,000Ks for tourists.  And it honestly would not surprise me if it is raised again in the near future.  Oh, and because this is a place of worship, you’re asked to remove your shoes before entering.

And here it is, the Golden Stupa itself:

You can actually see the sparkles a little better in this video I took.  Look at the top.

I mean, there’s a lot here for guys and gals who like gold and sparkles.

After roaming around the complex in the heat, I was happy to see a vendor selling whole coconuts outside.  I sat and drank the coconut water as I people watched.

2. Lunch at 999 Shan Noodle Shop

After the refreshing coconut water, and putting my shoes back on, I made my way back to the entrance to look for one of those taxis.  I took out my phone and showed the driver on google maps where I wanted to go. I was headed to 999 Shan Noodle Shop for a bowl of noodle soup.  The driver did give me some grief and of course, over charged me by quoting a fixed price, instead of a meter.  Sometimes, no matter what they tell you in guidebooks about being persistent about meter fare vs fixed price, there’s nothing you can do but continue to argue with the driver and end up still paying the fixed price.  Of course, I did not, and have not, walked off in a huff.  So whatever.  I roll my eyes, and it’s the cost of being a tourist.

I chose this noodle shop because it was open early, had good reviews, and honestly there’s nothing more I love than a good bowl of noodles.  It was one of those places where, the longer you sat down, the more tourists walk in.  Apparently they all read the same reviews I did.

3. Burmese Foot Spa & “Hidden Gem Yangon”

After lunch I went roaming around in the neighborhood down in the direction of two things: traditional Burmese foot spa and the result of my googling “Hidden Gem Yangon.”

First, the Sapel Traditional Burmese Foot Spa was amazing, and I had a great foot massage there.  So relaxing and a welcome break from the heat outside!!  {I literally could not tell you how much it was or how long it was for, since it happened almost a year ago, but it was a nice break in my day.  I also could not tell you why, if you look at their trip advisor page, there are pictures of the tribal women with rings on their necks.  They do NOT have these women in the spa just sitting there weaving…}

And Hidden Gem Yangon… tada!  This banana shop.

Yes.  Literally walked by, tried not to stare, and took a singular photo of this amazing banana shop.  It’s hard to do that, by the way.  Walk and try not to stare, while obviously staring.

4. Woops! Snack on my way to a Food Tour

Anyway, I had to make my way back towards the Sule Pagoda for my food tour.  On my way there, it’s true, I stopped for a snack.

And yes.  It is stored within that wine barrel.  Eating here, was not a tourist trap (notice plastic chairs) and if memory serves me, cost a cool 1,500 Ks ($1).

Now, back towards the main town square and my food tour waiting for me.

Interested in my Foodie Guide to Yangon? Click here!

5. Yangon Street Food Tour

So, in the end, I didn’t take many pictures on my food tour.  My tour guide was very nice, and explained that Myanmar food had a lot of chickpeas, cilantro, and spices.  A lot of the street food we tried were fried snacks.  Although it was good, they make ugly pictures.  But here is a lovely stall owner and some of the fried snacks she was selling.

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We also stopped by a different Shan noodle place.  The noodles were pretty good, but I think by that point, I was too full.  And then on top of that, we stopped for dessert.  At this point, I am regretting my sweet tofu dessert from five seconds ago.  But I put on my determined face, and finished the food tour with this lovely dessert drink.

Conclusion

So, following my street food tour, which included several bags of leftovers for the road, I took another poorly negotiated taxi back to my hotel.  I didn’t mention this earlier, but I booked a hotel just for the day – a pretty nice room (with shared facilities) at Wai Wai’s Place, for $26.  When I arrived in Yangon that morning at 9:20 am, I had less than 12 hours before I had to catch a bus to Bagan around 8 pm.  I basically went from the airport and dropped off my bags in my room, had a juice at their rooftop lounge, and then set off for Shwedagon Pagoda.  Why was it so crucial to get that $26 room?  For the shower, after roaming around all day in the heat, before boarding a 10 hour bus to Bagan.  Worth it?  Absolutely.

So thanks for reading all the way until the end.  And if you realized there was nothing particularly unspeakable about my Yangon post, tune in, next time, for the conclusion to “what happened to Lannie in Myanmar that makes her not like to talk about her trip.”

Half Day Recap:

• 10 AM: Delighting at golden stupas at Shwedagon Pagoda | map
• 12 PM: Touristy shan noodles at 999 Shan Noodles | map
• << explore downtown and passing through Chinatown >>
• 1 PM: Relaxing Burmese Foot Massage at Sapel | map
• << meander back to downtown, stop at banana store, Sule Pagoda >>
• 4 PM: Street Snacks Food tour with Yangon Food Tours

Lannie

Lannie is a perpetual wanderer and loves to share her travel adventures and the food she eats along the way with everyone.  She works during the day while bouncing around the world and dreams about new places and faces at night!  She has a home on the magical Isle of Islay in Scotland, where the whisky flows freely and happily.

Click on the blue icons below to follow her on social media!

lanniesfoodandtravel.com/index.php/about-me/