Is it true when they say that when the travel bug hits you, it is hard to stop? I wanted to continue my Southeast Asia Journey by finishing ASEAN-10 (there were 10 at the time of planning and by the time I was ready to leave for this trip, East Timor joined in).
I booked a promo flight to Bangkok via Philippine Airlines. The travel would cover 15 days. Since I had been to Thailand and wanted to explore more of the country I decided that this leg shall include Chiang Mai, Sukhothai and Bangkok. My travel dates would include participating in the Thai New Year Celebration (Songkran). Then time and budget would only allow me to travel to Vientiane. Then spend a little more time in Myanmar since I wanted to see Bagan.
I arrived early at the airport. Paid my travel tax at the counter then proceeded to PAL Check-in counter. Check-in was quick there were no lines since I am too early. When I got to the immigration I gave my passport, my itinerary and travel authorization to the Immigration Officer. She looked at me and asked “Is Myanmar okay now?” I told her “yes, otherwise I will not go there” and she stamped my passport.
Off we go to our new adventure!
CHIANG MAI & SUKHOTHAI, THAILAND
I arrived in Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok late in the night and went straight to Don Mueang International Airport for my flight to Chiang Mai using the airport’s free shuttle (which saved me a lot of money). My flight was not until 6:30 in the morning next day so I slept at the airport.
I got a promo flight via Nok Airlines to Chiang Mai and we arrived an hour and a half later then took a bolt motorcycle to get to my hostel (Nonoteru Chiangmai). It was still very early and check-in is not until 2 pm. I left my bag at the hostel and stroll around the area to find somewhere to eat, I saw a sausage stand and bought one (MISTAKE #1 Too spicy). I then found a small noodle shop and had some noodle soup, which tasted amazing.
I continued walking around to visit some sights. Honestly, I don’t actually know where I should go, I looked at my google maps and find some tourist spots within the area. That’s what I usually do if I don’t have a planned itinerary and have time. I visited Tha Phae Gate, Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Phra Singh, and other temples that I failed to catch the name. I just walked…
I went back to the hostel to check-in and slept until late in the afternoon. In the evening, I went to the canals to have dinner.
I visited an elephant sanctuary called the Chiang Mai Kerchor Eco Park booked via klook. They have a number of elephants in their care and the tour starts with a short seminar. They also provided light lunch for the group. We went back to the hostel after the tour. I explored the stores nearby, the local bookshop and ate at the local restaurant and cafe.
The next day, I took a not so early bus from Chiang Mai bus terminal to Sukhothai. The travel time is around 5 1/2 hours. I arrived in the hotel (Toon Guesthouse Sukhothai) mid-afternoon and checked in immediately before having a late lunch. The reception was nice and helpful. He assisted me in renting a bike and even included me in the free breakfast. The hotel was literally in front of the Sukhothai Historical Park! After I rented my bike I strolled around the town and visited the local market to find local cuisine and have coffee. The market was so clean and there were tons of food to choose from – and it’s pretty cheap!!
I waited until 6 pm to go inside the park. Why? Because according to sources it’s free because of the night market – AND IT REALLY IS FREE. So I took my bike, biked around the park and took some pictures – it was amazing (even better than Ayutthaya? Maybe. Both are different, both beautiful). After this mini self guided tour, I stopped by the Sukhothai Night Market for a few minutes for some drinks.
I rode my rented bike early the next morning. It was a magical experience, being in this town, riding my bike and going to this place I never thought I would be. I got back to the hotel by 6:30 am for breakfast (it was delicious). I went to the other side of the park complex after breakfast and finished my exploration at around 8:30 am. I love Sukhothai, it’s very chill, calm and peaceful. There’s not a lot of tourist when I went there, the food is also amazing!
My bus to Khon Kaen doesn’t arrive until the evening, so I decided to relax and find another place of accommodation near the bus station. I don’t really want to stay in the town center because of the Songkran Celebration, it definitely was a happy one but I didn’t want to get my stuff wet since I still have more than a week of travel. I booked a bed in an 8-Bed, air-conditioned, mixed- dorm room at Rueang Sri Guesthouse which cost me about 262 pesos thru Agoda – it was better than waiting outside for 7 hours.
In the evening, I took the bus to Khon Kaen.
VIENTIANE, LAOS
I travelled by train from Khon Kaen to Khamsavath Railway Station. The station was huge, clean and modern. I filled up my arrival card and proceeded to the immigration booth. All traveller’s were told to prepare 20 baht and give it to the officer in the booth. What it is for? I don’t know, we don’t know. The Thai who were in line with us was as confused as I was.
I took a bus from the station to the city center. There were not much people around, I later found out that they were also celebrating Songkran and it was a very long weekend.
The goal for this leg was to see Vientiane, according to some vlogs I saw there are not a lot to see in Vientiane so I wasn’t really expecting much. I saw a lot of construction for transportation infrastructure when I was walking around the city, I’m sure few years from now the city will be more accessible in terms of transportation. I walked to my hotel since I was afraid that tuktuks will charge me more, it was just 1.5 kilometers and it’s a way to see the city. I was staying here for just overnight and I’ve set a budget ceiling of 300,000 Kips (around 850 pesos) for this trip.
I visited Patouxay and Wat Sisaket (which was free at that time because of the holiday) the next day. Never have I imagined that I will be spending this amount of money on a trip abroad – I spent around 794 pesos including accommodation and food.
I stayed in Man Cave Hostel for 304.00 – the air-conditioning was good, the bed was clean and the staff were helpful. They booked me a ride back to the bus station and I took the bus to the train station. You have to check the schedule of the buses because if you miss it you’ll have to book a special ride and I didn’t have that budget.
There’s not much food option at the train station but it’s alright I ate before going there. Again, during immigration they asked us another 20 baht..again we didn’t know what it was for.
I took the train back to Khon Kaen hoping to get a ride back to Bangkok with no secured tickets. The holiday meant that the train was fully booked and even the buses. I tried my luck at the bus station in Khon Kaen and asked around. I was lucky enough to find a ticket lady who helped me secure a ticket to Bangkok. I was initially put in a lounge on the first level of the bus but was transferred after a few kilometers in the upper deck. I was nervous when I got inside the bus but everything went fine and I got to Bangkok safely.
BAGAN & YANGON, MYANMAR
Prior to this travel, a big earthquake happened in Myanmar that affected a lot of cities and its neighboring country, Thailand. It was a big factor in planning my itinerary. I thought a lot if I wanted to continue my trip there, nevermind I already paid 6,000+ pesos for my flights – it’s about safety. But I told myself, it seems like everything is fine and they are recovering, it’s just a matter of research which city not to go. I contacted the hotels to check that they are safe and operating, both my hotel in Yangon and Bagan were not affected. So I continued my travel.
I spent 4 nights in Myanmar, 2 Yangon and 2 in Bagan. I took an early flight to Yangon via Airasia, surprisingly the flight was almost full – didn’t think a lot of people travel there. Arrival and immigration went smoothly. I brought a certain amount of Myanmar Kyat from a friend so I did not exchange money at the airport. I bought a SIM Card at the airport (Atom Sim about 600 pesos – forgot how much data it has but it was probably around 20 GB) which I think was a better deal than the stores in the airport they mentioned in the internet and there were no available e-sims for Myanmar online.
I took a grab car (yes GRAB works in Yangon) to the hostel. When I got there I registered and inquired where I can exchange money. I walked around and haggle for a good exchange rate for my euros. I walked around town and had a late brunch. Here are the places I visited in Yangon:
- Sule Pagoda (I did not go in, you need to pay 10,000 kyats for entrance)
- Maha Bandula Park (it’s free and you can take great pictures of colonial buildings)
- Shwedagon Pagoda (entrance for foreigners was 25,000 kyats). I spent a lot of time there just people watching and waiting for the sun to set, it was magical.
I stayed in Hood Hostel in Yangon, I was informed upon check-in that electricity in Yangon has rotating brown-outs, sometimes they can’t really determine when the power outage happens. The hostel was a refurbished colonial building. The rooms, I’m sure, once had its glory but at the time of stay the beddings were stained. The room was big though and the air-conditioner quite cold (when there’s electricity). I guess, it’s understandable? I did not see many visitors in the hotel, I did not even see a lot of tourist where I went. But the staff? the people? they were super nice and accommodating, at least those I encountered. The hostel staff helped me booked my bus ticket to Yangon for the next day.
I took another grab ride going to Aung Mingalar Bus Station to take the 7 am bus to Bagan. The journey takes about 10-12 hours, including toilet and snack breaks and checkpoints (and there were a few). We arrived in Bagan at around 5:30 pm and I took a tuktuk to the hotel, A Little Bit of Bagan. It was a quaint hotel, very clean and very nice staff (maybe he is the owner, not sure). The reception told me that there is also a rotating brown-out in Bagan but they have a generator. I also arranged my tour and ticket back to Yangon with them – which they kindly assist me. The next day they gave a breakfast feast (which was an absolute plus for this hotel). Great thing before starting my tour.
BAGAN IS MAGICAL. I’m glad I pushed through this travel and did not back down. Can’t even find the words to describe it, and it was sad to go.
I had to leave early the next day to be able to reach Yangon early. There were a lot more checkpoints going back to Yangon than leaving it. We arrived at around 8:00 pm, I was planning on sleeping in the airport but when I got there I was told by security that the airport closes at around 8:30pm and was told that I cannot stay there. I have enough Myanmar Kyats to take a grab taxi, so I took another grab taxi to a hotel I saw when we were going to the airport. There were no available rooms in the hotel but they pointed me to another hotel nearby. I was a bit scared at this point. When I got there, there were also no available rooms in the hotel and that’s really bad. I asked the reception that if I find this available online if it can be booked and she said yes. It was available in agoda and another site. I booked via agoda but they couldn’t see my booking. I waited more than an hour and they still didn’t see it. Then I tried in another site and they were able to see it. I was somehow relieved even if it’s already late in the night.
I took the free early shuttle bus to the airport the next day for my 7 am flight. They only open the check in counter an hour before the time of the flight (the hotel reception already told me that I could take the 6 am shuttle to the airport but I said I wanted to be there early).
I was glad that I finished this leg of this journey, there were so many experiences even in such a short span of time. I felt relieved when I got back in Bangkok.
BANGKOK, THAILAND
I stayed in a different area of Bangkok for this leg, in Pratunam – apparently the shopping area of Bangkok where you can find wholesale and retail fashion items. I stayed in a cozy, budget friendly accommodation in Pratunam called Movylodge Hostel for 2 nights with free breakfast. I explored the markets and the shopping malls within the area which I was not able to see during my first trip. Did some cafe hopping, souvenir shopping and visited the murals in Talat Noi.
…and that was 15 days, in a blink…
REFLECTIONS
Travel taught me a lot of things and open my mind to different cultures, society and people.
In Thailand, there is so much that is to be seen and discovered. Will definitely come back next time.
In Laos, I’ll be back! there is still so much to see and I have seen so little.
In Myanmar, I felt sad that there is internal conflict in Myanmar and tourism? – people wanted to live, and make a living. Tourism is one of their living, but there were not a lot of tourists especially after the earthquake. I hope that our brothers and sisters from the ASEAN countries visit this beautiful country. But first, I hope for peace and stability.
ASEAN is beautiful and a lot of times magical. Please visit! We will not only help our ASEAN brothers and sisters but it will also open our eyes into their culture, society and history.
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