Greencard Golf Tour Report: Magical Myanmar Perfect Starter for Thai Title

The Road to Mandalay!

Bob Hope and Bing Crosby weren’t on this Road Trip but I bet they wish they were.   The first Greencard Golf Tour to Myanmar raised a few eyebrows when it was first mooted. Golf in Burma, is there any? Well yes of course there’s golf, the Brits were there. But sadly most has fallen into a state of disrepair. However, although the excuse for going to Myanmar was golf the real reason we were there was for another Greencard voyage of discovery to this mysterious country, hidden for decades behind a bamboo curtain. Aung Suu Kyi is now free and the Generals have promised free and fair elections and so Burma (even under a new name!) is once again open for business.

First Peek Behind the Bamboo Curtain and we find Gary Player – well his course anyway!

We landed in Yangon in mid January and the temperatures were mid 20sC. Although we only had a couple of nights at the Kandawgyi Palace it was enough to get a feel for the city. Wide avenues and large parks with many an old colonial style building gave away the British connection but the city is dominated by the enormous golden dome of the Shwedagon Pagoda.

Kandawgyi Palace Hotel, Yangon Myanmar – Our first stop!

Our main reason for being there was that we wanted to play the No 1 course in Yangon, Pun Hlaing GC, designed by Gary Player. In fact it is by far the best course in the country. Having said that we were somewhat disappointed to find that there were 11 temporary greens. Doubly disappointed that no one had thought to warn us. You could see that it would have been a good course but mainly we had to imagine it. Anne Archer led her team of Kathy Snowdon, Richard Bleakley and Tim Sheppard to victory.

The stunning Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon Myanmar

But as we were on an 8 day whistle stop tour it was time to move on. This time it was to Bagan that we were destined. This ancient town in the middle of the central plain on the banks of the Irrawaddy is famous for the thousands of temples, pagodas and stupas that literally cover the area. What we didn’t expect on arrival was rain. Bagan is after all the driest city in Burma.

Unforgettable Air Balloon Flight

But rain it did for the first evening and we were seriously worried that the hot air balloon flight scheduled for the next morning would be cancelled. After a seriously good cocktail in the monstrous red brick “Viewing Tower” we didn’t seem to care too much. However, when we awoke at 5am we were informed that the flight was on. We boarded our 1930s buses bleary eyed in the dark and trundled off to a remote field where to our great surprise we found another 12 enormous balloons being inflated. It was a magnificent sight at sunrise as one by one they rose into the air. Eventually there were 17 enormous balloons floating gently over the stupa filled plains. The flight only last an hour and we didn’t go very far due to the lack of wind but we wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Amazing views aboard a Balloon Flight over Myanmar

A glass or two of champagne when we were back on the ground rounded off a great start to the day. The weather had cheered up considerably and most rented bicycles to visit the stupas. Our hotel, the Aureum Palace, was built right in the middle of the stupas and was one of the principal reasons the area was turned down by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It was of course owned by one of the Generals but that shouldn’t detract from the fact that it is a stunning place.

The Henney’s Take Texas at Bagan!

I had warned everyone that Bagan golf course wasn’t up to the usual Greencard standard but when I arrived I was pleasantly surprised. The clubhouse had been given a lick of paint and once we had made them understand that we needed ladies tees we were off. We played a two ball Texas which was unsurprisingly won by Geoff and Sue Henney but John & Jeannie O’Keeffe ran them close.

The Myanmar Treasure Hotel – built on stilts a fantastic experience

Next day we were on the move again, this time over the mountains to Lake Inle. I was a little concerned because I knew the temperatures at night can plunge as low as 5C in January but I was also confident that people would love the hotel built on stilts over the lake only accessible by long tail boat – I was right on both counts.

 

Beautiful sunsets over Lake Inle were a highlight of the trip

It was freezing at night but the beautiful sunsets more than compensated. Everyone loved the hotel and at the dinners we had live entertainment and as usual Greencarders led from the front on the dance floor.

Cash is King – and the King Draws a Crowd!

The following day we were back in the longtails going to Aye Thar Yar golf club. This was a hilly course but in rather better shape than Bagan. As if by magic our golf clubs were laid out on the putting green having been driven over the mountains from Bagan and after the excitement of watching me pay for 40 green fees in cash we were off. I don’t think anyone had ever seen so much money so a crowd of 30 gathered round me as we counted it four times.

It was a great day and some tired but happy golfers boarded our boats once more for the hotel, none more so than Reuben Fielding, John O’Keeffe, Kathy Snowdon and Sue Hill who won the Am Am. On the Free Day many of us took to the water to visit the silk factory and a few other sites around the lake but the abiding memory was of the fisherman with their unique style of rowing with their feet.

Water Taxi to Private Charter Flight the Stylish Way to Depart Magical Myanmar

Eight nights just seemed to vanish and it was time to leave. We took to the water one last time and followed it with a short bus trip back to Heho airport for our private charter flight to Hua Hin. This was a major coup as it saved a flight to Yangon, a flight to Bangkok and a 3hr bus trip. As it was we were 3h 30 hotel to hotel.

…and so to Thailand – oh and a Golf Competition!

We arrived in the comfortable surroundings of the Centara in Hua Hin. Set in 40 acres of gardens right in the middle of town but also on the beach. It’s a perfect hotel for us as we can just walk out for shopping, restaurants and bars or stay inside the gilded cage.