Walking tour in Pathein, a small town with parasols

So, it's just 2015 (happy new year!) and I'm starting my series of articles about this trip to Southern Burma!

And I start with Pathein, a small town west of Yangon where we had just arrived before taking a bus straight away. In the end, because our program was a bit busy compared to the time available, we didn't have time to see much there. The main interest of Pathein was to visit a factory of these traditional parasols, the local specialty, and the paradox is that we didn't even do that...

Bus ride Yangon – Pathein

From the airport it is almost 20 km to Dagon Ayar bus station, the one for destinations west of Yangon, including Pathein but also Chaung Tha and Ngwe Saung beaches if you want to go there directly.

count 8 kyat for taxi to the station. The bus was 7 kyat per person to travel to Pathein (which takes 4 hours). It is possible to find cheaper with another company.

Hotel selection and first steps

When we landed in Pathein, as usual, there was a scrum of taxis rushing around us, asking where we were going. The problem was that we didn't know yet...

Looking at the LP guide, we decide on one of the recommended ones, the Day To Day guesthouse.

A taxi took us there for 4 kyats.. Described as “high standard”… well there was air conditioning and wifi, does that count? No, seriously, the hotel was very good, it is recent, well located and reasonably priced, 17 kyats (around €000).

The only downside was the poor welcome, the customers, mostly Indian, were a bit noisy (there is also a Sikh temple just opposite, a temple that looks like a large house, dating from 1938).

Not far away is Pathein Prison on one side, the bus to Chaung Tha, our next destination, was not too far across the street.

Umbrellas, a temple and telephone shops…

We soon came across umbrellas in one of the streets, the merchants' street (you couldn't make it up...). As we were heading towards the city's main temple, Shwemokhtaw Pagoda, we can indeed admire alignments of these umbrellas, specific to the region.

The appearance is gold, but the main stupa is also made of pure silver and bronze layer, and is said to be encrusted with rubies, diamonds and other precious stones.

Well, if we recognize the Burmese style here, I am not all that impressed, perhaps by dint of traveling in Asia, I end up having a bit of an overdose of Buddhist temples...

To compensate, there is also a cathedral as well as a mosque in Pathein, if you are interested.

For my part, I noticed the first obvious changes since our previous visit to Burma, 6 years ago. In addition to more modern taxis and even traffic jams in Yangon, already overwhelmed by a large number of cars, the opening of the country, 2-3 years ago, has allowed the introduction of many new things for the Burmese.

Among them are mobile phones. Smartphones have become commonplace and shops are springing up in the streets. I wanted to get a SIM card so that I could benefit from the Internet.

I would be entitled to a funny scene on how to make myself understood since no one speaks English... it will take a good half hour to get the SIM with a recharge, total cost, 13 Baht, except that the credit is used by the hour and not by MB... it's gone quickly... forget the SIM, make do with the Wifi, still quite present even if far from easy to connect to.

Chinlon session, Burma's national sport

As we walked aimlessly towards the river, we came across a small restaurant/tea room, with a net in front and a sort of covered courtyard behind, from which we could hear shouts coming from.

A game of Chinlon was in progress. Curious, we went into the hangar and observed these athletes in action.

Chinlon is a sport played with a wicker ball. It is played only with the feet and is particularly acrobatic. The rules are special. There is no opposing team, everyone plays together, no net, no "goal" other than not dropping the ball.

Under the watchful eye of the coach, the players struggle, clearly some are specialized in a particular type of shot. By the way (thanks wikipedia) the point counting system is done in particular by judging the quality and precision of the shot (certain surfaces of the foot being prohibited!).

We stayed there for a good half hour before continuing on our way.

Riverside and walk in Pathein

The rest of the day was spent walking along the river, turning left after the temple and then left again when arriving at the city clock, enthroned on its roundabout.

We walk along the quay for almost 500 m, observing the daily life of this rather "ordinary" town. Clearly many businesses depend on the river in this area (normal, you might say).

This is also where the docks are located to catch ferries to the region or simply to cross.

Then it was time to find a restaurant, our first meal in Burma (it was then 17:40 p.m., it was time to eat a little!)

After passing the mosque, passing a few monks and kids playing ball in an alley, I finally found the Myo Restaurant, a small "bar" restaurant typical of the local area. Don't be fooled by its slightly dark and austere appearance, it was honestly quite good!

Generally speaking, be aware that Burmese food is very oily, you'll have to get used to it!

We ended this day with a digestive stroll, the time to return calmly to our hotel, walking along the prison. The next day, a new destination was already waiting for us, Chaung Tha, a sacred program in perspective!

Map: Routes and points of interest in Pathein

To complete the article, here is a map showing the program for the day, some stopping points, with supporting photos, are also indicated (red dots)

Have you been to Pathein? If so, were you able to visit umbrella manufacturing workshops? If not, does it make you want to go?