UnDiplomatic Wife

  • About TDW
    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • AS SEEN ON
    • Collaborate
    • Policies
  • Diplo Picks
    • Diplo Beauty
    • Diplo Mama
    • Diplo Home
    • Diplo Tummy
    • Diplo Tips
    • Diplo Travel
    • Diplo Style
    • Diplo Baby
    • Diplo Inspiration
  • Living in
    • GENEVA
      • good to know
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • Berlin
      • Good To know
      • To Dos
      • food & drink
      • Shopping
    • MANILA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • JAKARTA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
  • TRAVEL DIARIES
    • Finland
    • France
    • Greece
    • Germany
      • BERLIN 2022 ITINERARY
      • Willkommen in Berlin
    • Indonesia
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Malaysia
    • Myanmar
    • Netherlands
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Spain
    • Singapore
    • Switzerland
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam

TRAVEL DIARIES: Flying via AirBagan

April 16, 2013

Before I write more about Bagan, I want to tell you about our flight there. We took AirBagan. We were departing to Bagan so early it was still dark out when we checked-out. We requested for breakfast to be packed for us and the hotel gave us hardboiled eggs, bread and a banana – it wasn’t much but at least we had something in our bellies. Took some pictures of the domestic terminal and the airplane from AirBagan for anyone planning to travel to Myanmar. 

Please note though that these pictures are from Feb 2012, and Myanmar is changing rapidly. When we were doing our research on Myanmar in 2012, most of the things that were out there, were crazy out of date(4-5 yrs out of date). So I just wanna add to the info that’s out there about traveling to Myanmar (late as it is).

The domestic airport is quite small, but there was a nice cafe with good coffee and pretty decent pastries. It was much better than the packed breakfast from the hotel. Lavazza coffee – YUM!

GOOD TO KNOW:

Going to Bagan, we had reserved seats. This is the funny thing that you should know if you travel there. Coming back from Bagan is a different story. THERE ARE NO RESERVED SEATS. Seriously. We made sure coming back that we sat by the boarding gate and legged it to the plane.

For boarding we were shuttled to the plane in an old bus, with the tiniest seats, I sorta felt bad for the massive caucasians that had to wedge their knees in. It was still quite dark when we started boarding the plane.

Yangon airport domestic terminal and AirBagan Plane-005Yangon airport domestic terminal and AirBagan Plane-007Yangon airport domestic terminal and AirBagan Plane-006The cabin overhead is smaller than usual. So your regular sized trolley will NOT fit up there.Yangon airport domestic terminal and AirBagan Plane-008Yangon airport domestic terminal and AirBagan Plane-009The ride was pleasant. I enjoyed learning more about Myanmar (mostly it’s gems) by reading the in-flight magazine, the pastry and fruit served was delicious (from the same cafe in the airport) and they gave out these cute (yummy) pizza candies.
Yangon airport domestic terminal and AirBagan Plane-010Yangon airport domestic terminal and AirBagan Plane-011Yangon airport domestic terminal and AirBagan Plane-012Yangon airport domestic terminal and AirBagan Plane-013Yangon airport domestic terminal and AirBagan Plane-014Yangon airport domestic terminal and AirBagan Plane-015We arrived as the sun was rising and the arid landscape of Bagan greeted us. We were already spotting temples from the air. Our guide said that Bagan has so many temples that it’s called a “Temple Forest.” Yangon airport domestic terminal and AirBagan Plane-016Yangon airport domestic terminal and AirBagan Plane-017We landed on Bagan’s domestic airport to some serious heat. You’ll notice in some of my pictures of Myanmar that some of the ladies have some white paste on their faces. That’s natural sun protection, from ground bark called Thanaka. High SPF and sunglasses are definitely needed here. In most of my pictures of Bagan, I had trouble coz my photos wers so yellow,  because of the sun!
01-bagan domestic airport02-bagan domestic airport-00103-bagan domestic airport-002

We were greeted by these girls in colorful costumes, and our tour guide. They have some souvenir shops, a money changer and even a place for renting mobile phones per day because at that time (February 2012) mobile phones weren’t very accessible yet. A SIM card at that time could cost about USD 750! That’s without the phone yet. I hear from my friend based in Yangon, that nowadays it’s more common. In fact she has mobile internet now.

04-bagan domestic airport-00305-bagan domestic airport-004

Be sure to read this!

06-bagan domestic airport-00507-bagan domestic airport-00608-bagan domestic airport-00709-bagan domestic airport-008

We had a nice spacious van waiting for us and we were off to our Bagan adventure! I really wanted to take the hot air balloon over Bagan, but when we checked the prices, they were exorbitant.  USD 300 per person?!? Holy heck! Mas mahal pa sa hot air balloon ride in Turkey! But… if I were rich and could afford it, I would definitely go for it. At this point in my life, $600 for 2 persons for a hot air balloon ride is out of the question.

10-bagan domestic airport-009

We did do a lot of things in Bagan and I enjoyed our stay there especially at our hotel. Hope to have time to post more pictures!

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH ME ON

FACEBOOK / TWITTER / BLOGLOVIN’ / PINTEREST / INSTAGRAM

1 Comment · Myanmar, TRAVEL DIARIES

Trackbacks

  1. Myanmar Travel Guide says:
    June 9, 2015 at 11:02 AM

    […] traveled within Myanmar with Mandalay Airlines (the best option), Bagan Airlines (not bad) and KBZ (not so good).You can not make the booking by yourself, but you can have an idea […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

READ MORE
 

LET’S GET SOCIAL

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

TRAVEL DIARIES: Fischer’s Fritz Zürich

Summer hack: Portable Neck Fan

Summer hack: Leguano Barefoot Wet/Dry Shoes

Excellent Chinese Food at Le Tsé Fung in La Réserve

AirPod Anti-lost Accessories Philippines

DISCLOSURE

I am an Amazon affiliate, but all opinions are my own. The content of all my blog and social media posts are products and experiences that I truly enjoy and I only work with brands that fit my life and style.

GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNDIPLOMATICWIFE

HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport? We are very lucky th HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport?

We are very lucky that the Geneva Airport is very near because it is located 4 km northwest of the city centre. It takes us less than 15mins by car & is easier to get to than airports outside the city.

BUT also means that many of the Geneva residents suffer from AIRCRAFT NOISE POLLUTION. 

In some parts of Geneva, like Vernier, Meyrin, Bellevue, Versoix, etc will have the airplane pass on top of you or very near you. This is something to consider when you are MOVING TO GENEVA & looking for a home.

When we were in @bioparcgeneve recently, it felt like airplane after airplane was going overhead every few mins. The poor animals were screaming each time.

A  report by the European Environment Agency(EEA) in 2017 said that 12% or 73,500 Geneva residents have their hearing disturbed by aircraft noise. Probably the figures have risen with the natural increase population & travel?

“The EEA describes noise as a pervasive pollutant that directly affects the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. Populations exposed to high noise levels can exhibit stress reactions, sleep-stage changes, and clinical symptoms like hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. All of these can contribute to premature mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) reckons that humans exposed to noise levels above 40 decibels at night experience adverse health effects.

Across Europe it is estimated that noise contributed to at least 900,000 additional cases of hypertension in 2011.” - @le_news_ch 

DID YOU KNOW that owners of homes affected by the noise can request for soundproofing to be paid for by GVA? 

Check if your home meets the conditions for FREE SOUNDPROOFING c/o Genève Aéroport here:

https://www.gva.ch/en/Site/Geneve-Aeroport/Questions-Reponses-FAQ/Bruit#

SAVE or SHARE this now with someone you know who might be moving to Geneva or is already suffering from aircraft #noisepollution. 

#UDWinGeneva #UDWgenevagoodtoknow #expatingeneva #diplofamily #expatlife #genevaswitzerland #expatingeneva #filipinoingeneva #pinoyingeneva #movingtogeneva #movingtoswitzerland #movingtogeneva #genevaexpats #switzerlandexpatlife #geneva #genevaswitzerland
MERCADONA HAUL Whenever we go to Spain, we love t MERCADONA HAUL

Whenever we go to Spain, we love to go to @mercadona. It might be small but has a good affordable selection. It’s my thrifty Spanish MIL’s favorite.

We were so lucky that we had a @mercadona right beside our hotel Marina Badalona. Very convenient.
Our favorite things to bring home are:

☕️ frozen porras (bigger than churros)

🐑 baby lamb chops (the only lamb I eat coz it’s not malangsa & all you need to do is fry till crispy in olive oil with S&P) it’s called Chuletas Cabrito but TD calls it lechal 

🐽 chicharon or crispy pork rinds

🥔 Homemade potato chips. The best potato chips for me are from Spain. I don’t know how it’s so much yummier! The olive oil???

🎣 canned Sardines & tuna for me and Yaya B

TIPS:

🧊 For frozen items, we usually ask the hotel before we buy if they can put it in their freezer until we fly.

✍️ I usually bring different sizes ZIPLOCK BAGS, MASKING TAPE & MARKER when we travel so we can put everything in, label with our name and room number.

📸 then I take a photo so we can just show it to the staff and they can easily find it in their freezer.

✈️ When it’s time to pack, I placed our beach towels around the frozen packages coz I know they will SWEAT & I don’t want our other things to get wet 💦 

What  grocery do you usually like to shop for when in Spain? Where do you buy them?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries #udwtraveltips #udwtraveltip #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW C FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW Calisthenics Park 

📍Chem. des Tuileries 140, 1293 Bellevue

After the lovely BIOPARC we headed across to this chill park with ample PARKING that had so many things for kids & anyone who wants to move & work out:

⚽️ The kids wanted to kick around a football so we borrowed a ball from @boxup.app (they also have pumps, 🏓, 🏐, 🏀, etc) just download the app & turn on your Bluetooth & follow instructions! Return after 3hrs.

👟 Outdoor gym - this was a huge hit with the kids

⚽️ football - this too!

🏀 basketball court

🏓 Ping-pong 

🏐 Beach volleyball court

🤸🏻 Monkey bars

🛝 small playground

Thanks for the wonderful afternoon guys @lidia_otilia_botezatu! 
How lucky are we to have these beautiful, clean open spaces. And the free rental gear is AMAZING! so convenient.

This is in Geneva, about 15mins drive from where we live.

SAVE THIS on your list of PARKS to visit!

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. It’s not as close as the bioparc but bring earplugs/earphones if you are sensitive.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
BIOPARC GENÈVE Yesterday was a holiday in Switze BIOPARC GENÈVE

Yesterday was a holiday in Switzerland (except for Geneva). It was raining & miserable so I wanted to take @diplobaby out for a few hours. Thankfully midafternoon it stopped raining.

We met with our friends @lidia_otilia_botezatu in @bioparcgeneve and had a lovely time in this volunteer run zoo.

TIPS💡

🆓 It’s free for families on your FIRST visit!

🦢 you walk inside animal enclosures so wear shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty/stepping on poop. We wore boots & happy we did

🅿️ there’s parking inside on wood chips, if it’s full there’s another pavement parking (free up to 4hrs) across the roundabout 

🦔 Do not feed or touch the animals no matter how cute they are

🗺️ There are 2 routes (purple & blue) and 1-1.5hrs #diplshould be enough 

❎ Park closes at 4pm

SAVE THIS NOW if your looking for a fun & not too you can do in well und2hrs. It’s nice that you can go inside unlike most zoos so it’s quite unique.

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. @diplobaby who is super noise sensitive did not mind as much as I thought he would because he was so entertained by the animals.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
MARINA BADALONA HOTEL At first we were going to MARINA BADALONA HOTEL 

At first we were going to stay in the heart of Barcelona, where we stayed 8 years ago (I didn’t even know that @diplobaby was already in my tummy at 2 weeks old) but the “hotel” is now expensive with no amenities & small rooms. So TD found a hotel in #badalona - a 20min taxi ride from Barcelona city center - that was so fabulous & slightly less expensive.

SAVE THIS NOW for future trips to Barcelona

WHY I LOVED marinabadalona
🤍 All white interiors was so beautiful & calming
🤍 Gorgeous view of the Marina 
🤍 Everything was so aesthetic, even where you tap your card to enter the room
🤍 Massive bed
🤍 Electric curtains
🤍 Lots of closet space & hangers
🤍 2 TVs
🤍 Refrigerator
🤍 White/cream Nespresso & kettle
🤍 Architecture & interior design is sooooo me!
🤍 Small rooftop pool with unbelievable views (need to do a separate post)
🤍 5min walk to the beach
🤍 Gorg esplanade
🤍 Yummy restos beside
🤍 Mercadona right beside - so convenient!

FEW RECOS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
✌️ Loved the textured wall paper, but it’s difficult to keep clean inside the bathroom
✌️ The bathroom surface area was a bit small & our stuff kept falling off the sink
✌️ Not a single chair in the family room so when we had room service we had to eat standing
✌️ No salt & pepper with room service so we called to ask & were told we would be charged for them taking it up. After TD clarified that there was no S&P with our meal, they said they would bring it up. The person brought a small bowl of of salt & pepper combined. The salt was for DiploBaby’s salmon, but he can’t eat pepper, I wanted both for my pesto. Had to run down in my slippers & the resto staff were very apologetic coz who serves a mixed S&P ever? They gave me individually packaged ones which I really appreciated.
✌️ Since the hotel has a pool & is by the beach, I wish there was a place to hang & dry swim suits. Our suits & watershoes did not dry in the tub.

All in all the value we got from staying in this hotel was so high compared to a more expensive hotel in Barcelona. No hotel stay is perfect.

Now, would I stay there again? YES PLEASE! Would you?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Designed by Fancy Girl Design Studio.