Road trips can be fun and tiring at the same time.  While on our recent travel in Inle Lake, Myanmar, we found ourselves on a 1.5 hour road trip from our hotel to the airport.  We were traveling from Heho Airport to Yangon on a morning flight.  As a result, we had to leave the airport early in the morning.  Our boys were roused from their comfortable hotel beds early in the morning and bundled into the hotel car which would be our transport to the airport.  Needless to say, it took a mere five minutes on the road before they found comfortable positions and were fast asleep.  The air-conditioning in the Toyota Alphard was blowing hard and it was a little too dusty outside for us to turn off the air-conditioning and wind the windows down.  Instead I pulled out my trusty Turkish towel and placed it over my sleeping boys as a blanket.  My boys continued to enjoy their slumber during our 1.5 hour ride to Heho Airport.  

We continued on our travel from Yangon to Inle Lake.  Nile Lake is the second largest lake in Myanmar and located in the township of Taunggyi District of Shan state.  We stayed at the Novotel Hotel which is located right on the lake.  When we arrived at Inle Lake, it was clouded over with a temperature of 14C. I was forewarned that it would be rather chilly at Inle Lake especially when the boat races across the water.  Our Turkish towels came in handy as we started to wrap our necks with our towels to keep ourselves warm and cosy.  As Turkish towels are made of 100% cotton, they were comfortable and soft and great as neck warmers.  The makeshift neck warmers helped to protect us from the biting wind and we were comfortable enough to truly enjoy the ride as our boat man took us to Indein Pagoda (must see!) and various villages thriving on the lake.  The sun emerged during the day and our towels were used as sarong wraps to cover up certain areas of our bodies as we visited the pagodas and monasteries.  We decided to stay out on the lake to experience a sunset that Inle Lake is well renowned for.  We were not disappointed but rewarded with a gorgeous sunset over the Inle Lake.  As soon as the sun went down, the temperature dropped and it started feeling like it was 15C.  Lucky for us, we had our Turkish towels and we pulled them out to use as blankets and neck warmers.  We had such a fun time at Inle Lake.

We arrived in wet rainy Bagan, Myanmar.  Undeterred by the wet weather, we decided to spend a day exploring the pagodas that Bagan is famous for.  We hired e-bikes and enlisted the services of a local guide who took us around the area.  It was the first time we used e-bikes and realized what fun these vehicles provided.  When we returned to the hotel after a great day of e-biking about, we were drenched from the rain and the random splashes sustained on our e-bike adventures... we desperately needed to get out of our wet clothes and take a shower.  The first member of our family that was lucky enough to snag the shower emerged only to realize that the bath towels had not been replaced by housekeeping!  Luckily each of us travel with our lightweight Turkish towel and were therefore able to pull them out and use them as bath towels.  Our next challenge was to pack these wet towels as we were departing early the next morning.  Lucky for us, Turkish towels dry quickly even in very humid wet weather and we were therefore able to pack our towels that were dry and crisp for another day's adventure. 

It was our first visit o Myanmar as a family.  The last time my husband and I visited Yangon was in 1998.  What a different city Yangon is now!  I was offered a few tips for packing for our trip from friends who had visited previously.  One of the best tips I received is that we should definitely bring along a sarong to enter the pagodas as there were strict regulations for not exposing knees or arms when entering the pagodas.  This is where our Turkish towels came in really handy.  Each member of our family selected their favorite Turkish towel and packed them in our carry-ons and in my case, my tote bag - yes, they are that lightweight!!  The towels emerged as soon as we got onto our Singapore Airlines flight to Yangon.  They were used as blankets while we enjoyed the inflight entertainment on our 2.5 hour flight to Yangon.  Upon arrival at Yangon, we checked into our hotel and were eager to visit the Shwedagon Pagoda.  We arrived at the entrance to the Shwedagon Pagoda and the attendant pointed to my son's exposed knees. He was wearing a pair of shorts that did not cover his knees.  Out came his Turkish towel which he promptly wrapped around his torso.  That saved the day and our family was admitted into the Pagoda.  We enjoyed our visit and our first day of adventure in Myanmar.