Myanmar: Getting there
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Leaving Australia
Departing Sydney at 2100hrs arriving Kuala Lumpur (KL) at 0400, flying flew both legs, SYD - KUL then KUL-RGN with Malaysian Airlines. I'm glad to see that most of their fleet now offer in seat USB to charge devices now. Their A330 and B737 that we have both had them with the standard inflight fit out entertainment wise.
Transiting
Anyone who has been to Malaysia's KLIA knows that's it's a pleasant airport to spend time in, as airports go. Free wifi, air conditioned and these cool chairs that you can sleep in.
Since our longest leg of 8 hours was overnight, the traditional sleeping times it did make the longer legs more bearable.
Arriving in Yangon
Initial impressions of Yangon reminded me of a cross between Bali's Denpasar Airport (DPS, before their new renovation) and Bangkok's newly renovated DMK. Our B737 was the only plane that had an aerobridge attached. Air Bagan and Air KBZ (formerly Air Mandalay) both had ATR's sitting on the aprons ( sorry that's plane nerd stuff - basically they are flying very safe and new aircraft that are similar to the ones that Virgin Australia are now flying the Sydney - Canberra route along with the regional areas- the ones with the propellers).Air Bagan and Air KBZ mostly offer internal domestic flights.
Customs and entry requirements were easy to clear, as we had a pre-approved visa ( issued by the embassy in Australia) prior to arriving. The usual stack of forms - customs declarations, quarantine, arrivals cards etc were all in English and easy to follow.
Frankie's parents also met us at the airport so the process was pretty stress free. No taxi arguments. Bags were collected and off we went.
The quick 30 min drive through the city to Frankie's parent's home looked like most developing countries (I say developing, actually it's exploding with development at the moment). Myanmar is wrestling with itself - maintaining it's cultural heritage and expanding to maintain need. Frankie pointed out a large plot of land that used to be a large cemetery that now happily had buildings on it. Like any city the past needs to be balanced with the future.
