Myanmar, or as the western world commonly know it, Burma is yet to be completely overwhelmed by tourism. Everywhere you look you will see men wearing skirt-like attire called longyi, you will see women pAinted in tree bark paste called thanakha, instead of handbags and backpacks things are carried on bamboo sticks, \240handwoven baskets or trays balanced on heads and locals mouths are stained blood red from betel-tobacco-leaf chewing.

There is an incredible amount of landscapes, pagodas and Buddhas to be seen, but the best part of Myanmar is the people. Along the way you will encounter locals who are gentle, engaging, humorous, passionate, inquisitive and considerate. Each of them with very different stories to offer, from the traders in the markets, the families and farmers in the small villages, the taxi drivers in the city to the monks in the monestries.

Through my travel journal of Myanmar I will share my experiences, explain my learnings and offer general advice and recommendations/reviews of places I stayed, ate at and visited.

Make sure before you arrive in Myanmar that you have clean crisp USD notes as they are quite strict on what is accepted. The notes cannot have AB or BC in the serial number so be sure to check this when purchasing your foreign currency..

What should you pack for the monsoon season? \240Pack light in the wet season. Definatly pack an umbrella but don't worry about any heavy wet wether gear. It was generally too hot to put on any wet weather clothes. A disposable poncho or 2 would be sufficient. The rain was generally warm considering the 30degree temperature. In my 3 week trip I used a poncho for just over an hour on a boat trip, and that was the one and only time I was phased enough to cover up. There was occasionally moments where I used my umbrella but not for long as it was often only a passing shower.

Travel plugs- almost all of the hotels had a wall socket that was somewhat \240universal. The most common plug types where the British and American so make it simple for yourself and get a universal multi plug that has USB slots for all your gadgets.The standard voltage is 230v.

First of all landing and clearing immigraton in Yangon was simple. From plane to taxi it was around 20 minutes ( including baggage reclaim) A taxi from airport to downtown Yangon was USD $8 or K8000.

On your first day I recommend heading to one of the many banks and changing some of your USD to Khat you will get more for your money by using the local currency (prounced Chat). At time of my travel (August 2017) $1 USD = K1350.

Next suggestion is get yourself a local SIM card. Choose a phone shop in the towns and ask them to put it and set it up. I managed to pick up a Ooredoo SIM card for about K3000 and a top up of 4.5gb of data for an additional K5000 so all up I spent $6 and I never had to bother finding wifi. I could use my travel down time on buses etc when doing the long distance transfer from state to state to do research check in with home. Another good brand is Telanor. MPT is the government brand and doesn't have the same data top up options and signal in varied locations isn't as good.

Let Yangon take you for a ride - Yangon Circular Line, an almost 32 mile slow moving train trip costing K1000 (USD $1). Tickets for the train are purchased on the platform. The journey through the 38 stations on the circle line takes roughly 3hrs. The ancient carriages have no air conditioning but they do have wide open windows.

Hoping on the train is a great way to experience the commuter life, interact with the passengers and even be entertained by the vendors sellling their items. The vendors are going to sell everything from herbal medicines, fruits and veg, quail eggs boiled (which people seem to eat like candy) hot foods and sugary covered pastries. In the photo below it's like a donut (without the hole) that gets sliced in half filled with condensed cream and sugar scooped into it.. The vendors carry a plastic stool in one hand and the other hand supporting the tray of food balancing on their heads. To serve you they place the stooll down in the middle of the isle, take a seat and take the tray from their head to complete the transaction and off they race to the next person.

I found It is impressive enough they can balance a tray on their head let alone one filled with hot food and walking carriage-to-carriage along a rickety train full of commuters.

If you want to you can disembark at any station and easily take a taxi back to downtown however I would suggest the train as a loop to avoid the traffic-clogged roads.

Yangon Central Station to Danyingon ( the main food markets ) is about an hour and a half journey time. Along the way you will get to see off-the-beaten-track areas of the city. A real visual of life in the 'burbs. The changing views of shanty towns, watercress fields, the golf course and markets.

Your first glance of the markets will be as your climbing off the carriage onto the tracks where the commotion of trade is taking place.

Before each train comes there is an announcement over the speaker system. The vendors stand up and the train rolls in, hardly disturbing the process of purchasing.

There is 2 parts to this market area. The outside area subject to all weather conditions sells mainly fruit and vegetable produce. The markets run daily and in all weather conditions. If you are planning a visit wear shoes you don't mind getting wet or dirty.

Prepare yourself as you venture inside the walkways are dark and uneven and in monsoon season they will be wet and muddy. A stench mixed of fish paste, raw meats and dirty water lingers in the market air. .

In the back section of the market you will find the raw meats and butchers. In the wet season locals are trudging through knee deep muddy water shopping for the perfect cuts of fly covered meats that have been slapped on the tiled surface spaces. A dramatic change to the sterilised metal displays of your local butcher shops in the western world.

Once you have finished exploring the inner markets it's time to watch the buyers and sellers bundle their produce ready for transportation back to the suburbs.

The Monsoon weather doesn't deter the locals. It wa 30degrees and the rain poured down with the sun shining through in patches.

The challenge was boarding the train back to the city. Leaving the markets crowds of people rush to load their stores onto the train, often the vendors pay a friend to help them throw and shove all the stock onto the carriage in the quick minute or two before the train leaves the station.

No visit to Yangon is complete without heading out at night to 19th street. 19th street is known for its rows of barbecue stalls and bars. It’s here where you will find cheap skewers of every assortment ready to be tossed on the bbq. The selection is no short of tofu,mutton, pork, chicken, mushrooms, quail eggs and fish.. Grab a basket, pick your selection then hand it over to the staff while you take a seat and sip on the local brew and take in the hustle of the street. Skewers cost around 150 kyat for veggies or 300 kyat for meat options. I recommend giving tea leave salad ago too. Despite every foreigners concern of getting sick from the street food, i didn’t hear of anyone getting sick from eating on the street. It’s obvious the crowds flocking to the stalls keep the food turning over fast.

YGN Bus Cafe. The interior had been changed to be the makings of a cafe. \240(The bonus was it was air conditioned)

The fried chicken beetroot burger was delicious. The bun was died with beetroot juice hence the name.

Also known as the Royal Lake, is an artificial lake built by the British as a reservoir.

Karaweik Palace, is a large concrete structure designed to look like 2 enormous golden birds a design that was based of the Royal floating barge. \240

The Karaweik Palace is used as a large restaurant, buffet, conference hall and theatre.

Below is a picture showing the boardwalk that runs mainly along the southern and western sides of the lake. The locals seem unphased by the condition of the boardwalk but I’ll be honest there was times when I was concerned for where to step.

Shwedagon Paya. Shwe=gold Dagon=city of Yangon

The Shwedagon Paya is Yangon's awe inspiring monument. This impressive structure dominates Yangons skyline and is visible from almost anywhere in the city. It's the one sight on your visit you cannot miss!

The 325ft tall zedi (stupa) is adorned with 27 metric tons of gold leaf. At the top in the section called the hti which tops the stupa with thousands of diamond and other gems. Around the base is 64 smaller Pagoda and 12 planetary posts where pilgrims worship their day of birth. This winking wonder is believed to enshrine 8 hairs of The Gautama Buddha.

Take time to enjoy this location as the grounds around the main stupa are filled with sights to see. Take a moment to Watch the locals, sit and talk with the monks and even give yourself a moment to reflect on the awe of this incredible structure.

A perfect time to visit is in the cooler hours of the afternoon where the crowds thin and you can sit and watch as the sun sets and the lights illuminate the incredible detail of the zedi.

View at the top

Horse and cart ride followed by sunset boat rip with beers and nuts.

A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.

Ending a perfect day by gazing up at black night sky. Watching the fireflies playfully dancing to the backdrop of darkness.

As the village lights were switched off the stars pierced through the blackness, ?

Just when I thought the magic of today couldn't have got any better a shooting star raced across the sky.

View across the Ayeyarawaddy (Irrawaddy) \240river from temple??

Zeygo Markets

1 hr boat trip out to Mingu. Cruising along the river through the water towns

Buffet lunch (All you can eat) for 4000K

Mandalay Hill for sunset

The temple topped Mandalay Hill .....

Drive to amarpura - Myanmar's penultimate royal capital to stop and walk along the worlds longest Teak footbridge, U-Bein Bridge

If your on a tight time schedule the one day trek covers around 15kms over and around the hills. Be sure to hire a local guide as you could easily get lost among the many turns.

Wayne our local guide took us through the village of Myin Ka north of Kalaw stopping along the way to discuss farming techniques and show us the types of produce being farmed. (Local guides can be easily hired for around k8000 per person for a day trek)

If ur planning a trek where good walking shoes or hiking boots and be sure to Cary enough water.Even in the rainy season we were walking in 30degree heat along open pathways between fields with sun beaming down on us. After a few hours of walking we came to the town of Pane Ne Pin where we had lunch cooked for us and got a chance to chat to the locals. It was a well needed rest. Afrer sampling a local lunch and being shown how the women in the town hand serve scarves and longyi (ofcourse there available for purchase) we walked the 2 hrs back to Kalaw which was mostly up some very steep terrain. Across the day easily clicked 20km worth of walking according to my fitness tracker.

As you travaerse the lakes in motorised longboats you will see variations of fishing.

$10 USD entry to the Hot Springs. We had the whole place to our selves. The venue is in very well maintained condition. You will receive a bottle of water A towel and locker key on arrival. There is sun loungers and a pool side bar (minimal options but your standard beers, wine and soft drinks). \240The photo below is the mixed area, where men and women are allowed to bathe together. This is however the tourist designed hot spring.

If you are looking for the true authentic experience then the local hot spring along the drive/ ride is very different. . It is family run and very simple in design. Concrete pools in the open) the pool on the right is the men’s pool and on the \240left is the women’s.