Guide to Sittwe - Eating

We didn’t find too many places to eat in Sittwe.  There were roadside sellers of noodles/rice.  There were also food stalls in the market.  However, we were too afraid of getting sick to try eating from them. 

Shwe Pyi Daw aka Dagon Beer Station, located on the main road

The menu says Shwe Pyi Daw, but the only English signage on the awning says Dagon Beer Station.  It’s located across from the Kiss guesthouse/internet cafe (which is listed in the Lonely Planet).  The people who run this place look like they’re ethnic Chinese, and some of their foods reflect this.  For example, they had Chinese-style roast pork hanging in a display case at the front.  The staff speak some English and they do have an English menu.  We ordered the fried noodle for 1200 kyats, which came with soup.  We ate a lot of fried noodles on the trip, and this dish was tasty, but pretty standard.  Also ordered a chicken curry for 2500 kyats (rice is an extra 300 kyats).  I would describe the chicken curry as Chinese-style versus Myanmar-style.  Very mild, and the taste was reminiscent of a curry I’d get at a Chinese restaurant.  Locals come here to drink and snack.  We didn’t observe anyone eating full meals like us, just drinking lots of beer or whisky.  

Mya Tea Garden (listed in the Lonely Planet)

Located 1 block off the main road, Mya Tea Garden has a nice leafy, shady, garden setting.  Apparently there’s an attached guest house, but we didn’t poke around enough to take a look.  Very minimal English is spoken here.  We tried to enquire about food options (ie. mohinga or noodles), but failed.  Did manage to order sweet tea, and was brought the typical snacks along with it – samosas, egg rolls, and sweet coconut rice.  The samosas and egg rolls were tasty, but the sweet coconut rice was not my cup of tea.  I think because it tasted both sweet and savoury, I couldn’t grow to like it.  The prices were standard Myanmar teahouse prices - 300 kyats for tea, 300 kyats per plate of snacks.  Of positive note, they clean their tea cups by ‘boiling’ them in a hot water bath.  I observed other teahouses just doing a cold water rinse, so this seems to be more hygienic. 

River Valley Seafood Restaurant, located on the main road

A different location of this restaurant is listed in the Lonely Planet.  However, that location is a bit of a jaunt out of town.  This location is more central.  The restaurant itself is huge; there’s tons of seating and tons of staff.  There is an attached cafe located next door, however, it looked closed while we were there.  The menu is extensive.  Prices are more expensive with a fried noodle being 2500 kyats, and a can of pop 1000 kyats.  They also have fruit juices, which we saw locals drinking, but we were too afraid of food borne illnesses to try them.  On the plus side, they have decent toilets with soap and water.

Guide to Sittwe - Sights

Sittwe is a place that travellers usually skip over or use as a transit point on their way to Mrauk U.  I’m not surprised that this is the case, as there is not much to do there.  We spent almost 24 hours in Sittwe, which was more than enough.  In that time, we went to the market twice, did souvenir shopping, walked the length of the ‘shopping district’ of main road multiple times, rested, slept, and ate.  Apart from a couple of UN vehicles, we saw only a single foreigner while we were there.  

The two main roads in Sittwe, Strand road and Main road, have surprisingly good quality pavement.  This may seem like an odd comment, but after travelling down the poor quality roads of Mrauk U, these smooth roads were a surprise.  The main ‘central business district’ of Sittwe is quite small, but there are a variety of shops to buy random stuff from.  While there were not too many actual restaurants present, there were many roadside stalls to choose from.  However, we were too afraid to try their food, although it looked quite delicious.  

Armed guards do limit the streets you can walk down.  We found if we got more than a block inland from the main road, there would be checkpoints and armed guards (military?) would turn us back.  As they spoke no English, and we did not want any trouble, we did not investigate further.  

Sights

Central Market and Fish Market

Fish for sale in the market

Boats unloading their catch at the pier

Go early, around 7 or 8am, and observe the wide variety of seafood for sale.  I lost count of the different varieties of fish for sale.  Head over to the pier and watch as fish are unloaded off the boats and auctioned off to the highest bidder.  It’s pretty bizarre – people dumping baskets of fish onto the asphalt and men with wads of kyats yelling. Also for sale was the usual fruits and vegetables.  Most sellers seemed to know English numbers, and that was enough to do business with them.  We believe that prices were fair and that we weren’t getting the ‘tourist surcharge’ added to our purchases. 

In addition to edibles, there’s also an entire section dedicated to household goods and other items.  Since we had the time, we did some browsing for souvenirs here.  Also figured that if we were going to spend money, it was a good idea to spend it in impoverished Rakhine state.  I bought a lovely Rakhine-style longyi for 7000 kyats.  

Waterfront

 So much trash in the water - locals just throw their garbage over the wall

There is a nice seawall pathway that runs parallel to Strand road, near the market.  A lovely sea breeze can be felt here, which is especially nice when the temperatures hit the mid 30s.  Some shady trees and makeshift benches can also be found, but are likely to be occupied by tired trishaw drivers and the like.  As with many less developed countries, expect to find mounds of trash strewn about.  Don’t look down from the seawall – the amount of trash in the water is astounding.  It’s even worse at low tide.  However, if you can get over the trash, it is a nice place to sit, relax, and stare out into what looks like the sea, but is really the wide mouth of the Kaladan river.  (The Bay of Bengal is actually located on the other side of the point).  

Fruit Bat Trees

 Fruit bat hanging from a wire

The fruit bat trees are a mildly interesting attraction that are worth seeing only if you’re stuck in Sittwe anyways.  During the day, the fruit bats roost in a couple of very large trees next to the main road.  I had never seen fruit bats before, and I was struck by how large they were.  Kind of like cats with wings!  Apparently you can see watch them fly off into the night at sunset, but I didn’t bother waiting for that. 

Guide to Sittwe - Accomodations

There are many guesthouses located along the main road.  If you have time, you could probably go comparison shop.  Lonely Planet only lists about 4-5 guesthouses, while in reality there are many more.  I don’t know if the others are open to foreigners, but I figure if there’s English signage there’s a possibility that they might be.  

Motel Shwe Myint Mho $25USD double/fan | $40USD double/AC, located on the main road

View from the door

Motel Shwe Myint Mho is located on the main road in Sittwe, a couple of doors down from Shwe Thazin Hotel.  It is close walking distance to the market, various shops, and various restaurants.  Let’s face it – the main area of Sittwe is quite small, and basically any guest house located on the main stretch is within walking distance to everything.  Of note, the fruit bat trees (which are mentioned in the Lonely Planet) are located right across the road.  

 View from the bathroom door

Fan rooms are on the first floor and are decidedly more grungy than the AC rooms, which are located on the second floor.  The room we had did have windows with bars across it, so we felt comfortable opening our windows for increased airflow.  Yes, there is mold on the walls and dust on the floors.  However, it was not so bad that we wouldn’t stay there.  That being said, if we were to stay here (or anywhere in Sittwe again) we would choose an AC room as it was just too darn muggy.  Our double room was among the smallest we stayed in during our trip to Myanmar.  Both beds touched the walls and there was just enough space to walk between them.  Bathroom was also small.  If you were excessively tall, you might have problems sitting on the toilet as your knees might touch the wall.  One final note, this guest house offered nice white fluffy towels – the largest towels we saw on our trip.  Strange, but very welcomed!

Thoughts on Taipei

Taipei is a city.  From the outset, it looks like any other big city, with wide busy roads and lots of traffic.  However, navigating is a lil different.  While there are big roads, there are also tons of alley ways, which are actually access points for many buildings.  Many of these alley ways are really quite narrow and would be quite creepy to walk down if it weren't for the good lighting that they have here. 
I haven't quite figured out how they list addresses here.  It took me almost an hour walking around with my 10kg backpack last night, trying to find my hostel.  Finally found it after remembering that I have google maps and that there are wifi hotspots everywhere.  In fact, theres a citywide wifi network called TPE-free.  I guess it's a little like ShawOpen, except you don't need to be a customer.  I don't know if it's specifically for visitors or not, but I did have to produce my passport to sign up for it. 
Anyhow, things that I like about Taipei:
1. city wide wifi.  That, coupled with google maps (especially location services!!!) have saved me so many times today!!!
2. Excellent signage in the metro system.  Maps everywhere.  Maps not only of the stations (which are huge), but of the system and the surrounding areas.  Signage is in both English and Chinese. 
3. Clean washrooms everywhere in the metro stations.  Seriously, not having to worry about finding a bathroom is awesome.  Means I can chug bubble tea constantly!  (aside: I drank too much tea today and got a bad case of the shakes/palpitations...)
4. Cheap shopping so far.  I bought a sweater for NT 75 and a dress for NT 75.  That's like $2.75 each.  Thank goodness I'm 'asian-sized'.  One of my roommates is a 6' tall Aussie and I seriously doubt if she can buy many clothes. 
5. Awesome hostels.  To be honest, I've only stayed in one hostel in my life before, and that was in Niagara falls.  From what I remember it was dirty and gross.  Both hostels that I've stayed in here have been very clean and modern, with lockers and keyfob security.  This second hostel that I'm in has free coffee/tea, and cleans their mugs in an autoclave-like machine.  It's pretty fascinating lol. 

Anyhow, I've got a lot of planning to do as I don't really know what I'm doing tomorrow or the next day.  Til next time!

Hello Taipei!

Hello Taipei!  I've now embarked on the solo leg of my journey. Not gonna lie, a tear or two was shed after hugging K goodbye. I've never actually travelled alone before. There was that one time I flew from Cancun to Denver to Seattle to Honolulu solo, but I knew I was meeting a friend on the other side.  So it's a whole new world for me!!!

I'm currently on the bus into Taipei city from the airport. Stuck in a massive traffic jam. I hope we get there soon!!!

I couldn't tell what stop to get off at. But a nice lady from Nanjing, who spoke minimal English, pointed me in the right direction to the gigantic taipei main station. Inside there are tons and tons of maps posted, so navigation was no problem once inside. I was able to easily sign up for the youth travel card and the free city wifi. The adventure began when trying to find my hostel. Addresses in Taipei are strange. I basically got very lost and walked for nearly an hour with my 10kg bag. Thank goodness for the nice cool weather!!!  Some locals tried to help me but actually pointed me in the wrong direction. I think they read my address (which was in English) wrong. Eventually made it, dumped my bags, and went to find food! First meal in Taipei? Substandard beef noodle soup. Tomorrow will be better!!!

The way to Dawei

K and I are finishing up our Myanmar adventure on a beach in Southern Myanmar.  There's no wifi here, so I'm just typing this post up from under my mosquito net :)

We flew into Dawei and took a motor rickshaw north to Maungmakan beach, which is a loonnng sandy beach. The southern end has this dirty garbagey fishing village, the middle has many many huts where you can buy delicious seafood, and the northern end, which is completely empty. Actually, if you walk ~7mins north of the main entrance, you can get get to an empty stretch of beach. 

The locals here swim fully clothed.  The first day k and I tried that, but it's really awkward/not used to it. So now k and I try to find an empty stretch of beach so we can swim in our bikinis and not attract stares. The Lonely Planet says it's okay to wear bikinis, but we don't want to offend anyone with our pasty paleness!!!  After wearing long sleeves and long pants for over 2 weeks, I've got this funny version of a farmers tan. 

We have only a few more days left in Myanmar! By the time this gets posted, we'll be on our final night in Yangon. From there, K is heading back home, while I get to experience some solo travel in Taiwan. Looking forwards to eating my way through Taipei!!!

Quick update

We are back from visiting Mrauk U and Sittwe in Rakhine state. Barely rained so it was quite muggy!  Lots of police/military presence in Sittwe.

Off to Southern Myanmar now, and hoping a relaxing couple of days on the beach!! 

Malaria?

So K and I have been taking doxycycline for malaria prophylaxis. One of the side effects is sun sensitivity.  This is what happened today. Whoops!

First full day in Nyaungshwe

Woke up bright and early this morning ready to explore. Actually, the roosters start crowing around 0445. For the first time in a couple of days I'm not feeling nauseated!  Success! Must be the cooler weather. With all the hot weather K and I haven't been eating much. We still eat 3 meals a day, but share entrees, which are not large. Not snacking either. It's been really good for our food budget lol.

A Myanmar set menu comes with rice, curry, soup, a variety of side dishes, and salad. The cost is around 2000-3500 kyat.  Other popular foods are noodles in soup, and fried noodles, which cost 500-2000kyat.  Cans/bottles of pop run around 500-800kyat. 

Anyhow... About today's adventure!  We did the cycle 'loop' around Inle lake. It's not a true loop, rather you bike up one side, then take a boat across and bike back. I think we didnt even go 1/4 the length of the lake. We left the guesthouse around 0730. Weather was warm, but pleasant. The road is a little single lane rd that is shared by everyone. It's also not the smoothest, but not bad. It was quite pleasant biking by the fields and villages. By 0830 it was already quite hot. We were more prepared this time and each had 1L of water with us. Biking is a nice way to see a place. Its faster than walking, but slow enough that you don't miss anything. 

By the time we made it to the crossover point it was very hot and sunny. Not as hot as Bagan, but still hot nonetheless. Favourite part of the journey was crossing Inle lake by boat. The lake is a marshy lake with villages on stilts lining the shoreline. It was fascinating seeing the houses, gardens, and 'garages'.  The ride back was during the midday sun and was kind of brutal. But that 1L of water made all the difference!! 

Now we're resting and waiting for the sky to break and cool things off. It's going to happen soon, as the winds are picking up.  It'll be much more pleasant soon. 

Nyaungshwe and Inle lake

Made it to nyaung shwe today! The cool weather is absolutely delightful!  It's probably in the low 20s. Took an 8 hr air con bus ride from Bagan. This bus ride cost 11000 kyat, and included both pickup and drop off from our guesthouse, making it an absolute steal!!!  In comparison, when we arrived in Bagan (at 4am) the taxi charged us 10000 kyat to get from the bus station to the guesthouse!!!

 The road was pretty windy and I got a lil nauseated. Thank goodness for gravol!!!

As you drive out from Bagan, the scenery becomes very lush and green. Drove past many many mixed fields. They don't seem to do monoculture here. 

Tomorrow we will explore the area more.