Mount Popa was the first of my many destinations in a whirlwind trip....
Due to limited internet issues, I wasn't able to post yesterday and also will not be able to post many photos or videos.
What I might do is when I head back to the capital Yangon, I will try and retro post. This will happen during the Thingyan days (12th to 18th)
Well back to the trip at hand....
I went to Nay Pyi Taw (current capital kinda like Canberra) on the 25th eve and stayed at Uncle's house.....Gotta say it was a bit packed and
The beauty of Mount Popa is evident in the pictures below and the view at sunset is sensational. I took photos and videos but the videos will be uploaded retrospectively.
It is often overshadowed by its illustrious cousins at Bagan but trust me this is a must visit on the list if you are going to visit Myanmar.
You can read about all its history on wikipedia so i won't bore you with the stories of the Nats and the legends that surrounds it but let me say the 777 steps that leads to the top of the Mountain are real...
And the monkeys are real too...I actually saw them taking a bread from a closed bag from a fellow travelling bus...so trust me guys you do not want to feed them even if the locals badger you..... :)
By the way the Mount popa that you will climb is called Mount Kalat....But it gets confused with Mount Popa all the time...Popa is the volcano that was named and led to the start of the mountain but records are sketchy at best so I won't pretend to be an expert.
The downside is that there is only one resort you can stay if you want to enjoy all that Mount Popa has to offer.....so you can now see how the price will be gouging and foreigners will pay up to 160 USD per night for the sunset villa....
So my suggestion to you is maybe visit the place, stay for sunset by going to the lobby area of the hotel but dont check in....and then leave after 6PM or so and get to Bagan by say 8 or 9 PM....
So I urge you to book a room in Bagan in advance....they are easily accessible via agoda and similar sites...
Times to watch out are Christmas holidays and from early March to late May (school holidays). Other times are okay and should have rooms aplenty.
Anyway, this is all he wrote folks for now for the Popa day...I will come back a little later with the Bagan day 1....(day 2 of the trip)
Tinkyaw out.....
Cheerios...
