For our last breakfast in Bangkok we headed to our favourite smoothie spot next to the bridge. I had pork pad thai while Kyle knocked back thai sweet basil chicken, both accompanied by a banana smoothie. We then picked up some more pastries to take with us to the airport.
At around noon we ordered a Grab from the hostel to the airport. Little did we know what we were in for…
Firstly the driver asked if he could drive quickly because “my mother died”. This resulted in driving along the shoulder of the highway to overtake traffic and having to pay double for the toll road as he went off the road to skip some traffic before going back on again.
Then when we got to the airport, the driver asked for 1000 baht ($50) for the trip, whilst the Grab app stated the trip cost as 395 baht ($20). We gave him the amount stated on the Grab app plus 50 baht, the toll road cost he gave us at the start of the trip, grabbed our bags and got the hell out of there. He initially didn’t open the boot so Kyle got out while I stayed half in the car so he couldn’t drive off.
Once in the airport, we stopped to work out where we were going, only to find the angry little man driver had followed us in. He was arguing we didn’t pay him enough for the toll roads, as the cost was actually 60 baht, not 50, and because he accessed it twice we should have paid him 120 baht. After a short attempt at explaining why we paid a different amount, we figured it was easiest just to pay the difference and get away from the guy. Even that proved difficult as he kept trying to take extra money from Kyle’s hand. What a mission, and the last time we accepted a 4.5 / 5 rated Grab driver!
Once through immigration, we parked up and caught up on some blogging. I also got changed into pants and a t shirt so I was ready to arrive in the more conservative Myanmar. The pastries were a highlight after we observed the overpriced airport food and went down an absolute treat.
Once in Yangon, Kyle grabbed a Sim card and threw on some long pants. We got money out at the ATM and then tried our chances again with a Grab. Hallelujah, we ended up with a honest, friendly Burmese bloke. The driving was extremely jerky which was even more noticeable because we didn’t have seatbelts, however, it was hard to complain at the cheap price of only 7700 kyat ($7.70) for close to an hour’s drive.
On arrival at the hostel (She Yo Vintage Host) we discovered we were on the top (3rd) floor. There was a surprisingly large number of steps to get up there, as the ceilings on each level we’re so high! We were the only room on the 3rd floor so effectively we had a private entry, and the penthouse room was huge! Using the Chromecast it was also the first place we could get Netflix, so we were pretty stoked.
For dinner we headed out to Shan Kitchen. Was a bit of a walk but was worth it. Yangon is a pretty busy city but is nothing compared to Bangkok. The locals are all very friendly and predominantly dressed in traditional Burmese longyis.
For entree we had a traditional Burmese tea leaf salad. It was delicious! For mains I had a Shan Noodle dish whilst Kyle had the mala curry, and we had a soft pork dish (sour pork in Shan style) to share.
After a long day we were stoked when it was time to sleep! Unfortunately for Kyle not much sleeping was ahead, due to a mouse / rat infestation in the roof. Oh my Buddha they make a lot of noise! We could hear them over earplugs and Kyle had spotted something in the room scurrying away when we first arrived… He didn’t tell me until the morning.
For all the trip photos head to https://photos.app.goo.gl/NBdm1qbmoH2ZaoPe7
Kyley on Tour 