Articles by Doug Nienhuis
I am a Canadian, and I am currently traveling through Asia with a touring bicycle. These are stories and pictures from my trip.
Yangon River Crossing – Big Boats and Little Boats in Myanmar (Burma)
It was another hot day, but I took to the streets to walk down to the Yangon River. I didn’t know what was down there, and I wanted to find out. Was it an industrial wasteland? Was the shoreline dotted with fishing villages and fishing boats? Could I even reach the river? Could I then cross it? What is on the other side?
A lot of …
Near Heat Stroke at Stunning Shwedagon Pagoda (Yangon, Myanmar)
Heat stroke might be overstating things a bit, but perhaps not. The heat was intense on my trip to the beautiful Shwedagon Pagoda, and the sunlight bouncing off the white stone tiles was so bright that it was difficult to even keep my eyes open at times. The stone was raised to such a temperature that it burned my feet, and it was difficult …
Myanmar Water Festival | Thingyan 2019 | Burmese New Year Day 3: Happiness Level Extreme!
On Day 3 of the Water Festival, I knew a bit more what to expect. Thinking back, I probably should have gone to a different part of Yangon, but I didn’t know where else to go. So I stayed in my own neighborhood near City Hall and Sule Pagoda. I was glad I did.
The pandals (water stations) were still in full swing, and, as I …
Myanmar’s Thingyan Water Festival 2019 – Day 2: Happiness Level Higher!
Once again, I had no idea what to expect on Day 2 of the Thingyan water festival in Yangon. Would things change? Would they just pick up the festive air and the music and the water wars from where they left off on Day 1?
If anything, things got more intense. The happiness level went from high to higher. And I got the opportunity to ride …
Thingyan Water Festival 2019 – Day 1: Happiness Level High!
I knew about Thingyan. I knew it was Myanmar’s biggest annual festival. I knew it celebrated the arrival of the new year. AND I knew it was a water festival. (That’s one of the reasons I bought a waterproof GoPro and brought it with me.) But, honestly, I had no idea what it was really like. The level of happiness and the amount of water …
Sule Pagoda – Beauty at the Heart of Yangon
The Sule Pagoda is over two and a half thousand years old, and it marks the center of Yangon. Right from when I arrived at the airport, its name came up because the final stop of the airport bus was Sule Plaza, and my hostel was located just a couple of blocks from there. It made for a very convenient landmark for getting oriented. I …
Breakfast, a Comfy Shoebox Room, and Mystery Stairs
It was a pleasant surprise to learn that the Lil Yangon Hostel provided breakfast in the morning for its guests. I started my first day in Yangon enjoying that breakfast, and then I settled in for a very long wait as my single room was prepared. I wasn’t able to move out of the temporary double room they gave me until the current resident of …
Goodbye, Kuala Lumpur (for now); Hello, Yangon
When I booked my flight from Kuala Lumpur to Yangon (Myanmar), I had to choose between flying out early in the morning or late at night. Since I’m a morning person, I chose the early flight at 6:45 a.m. But, perhaps, I should have done the math on that. Once you take into account getting to the airport 2 hours early and the trip to …