While I was in Myanmar, I had WiFi, but it was terribly slow, and my computer wasn’t with me. Given how tired I was with the kids (I’ll have a post on that using mainly my friends’ photos in the report), I really didn’t have time to wait out in the hallway for the WiFi. That’s why I’ve decided to push out all my first impressions when I got back to Hong Kong, so here you go…
My school had us booked in Bagan in the Hotel Umbra, a hotel that underwent a recent renovation, and retains its cheap rates from before. I was interested in the hotel, as I knew it would be a pretty amazing hotel, so looked forward to the stay.
And the hotel room was amazing. The room featured two extremely comfortable beds, which felt anything but cheap. There was also a flatscreen TV.
Hotel Umbra Bagan Grand Deluxe Room
Hotel Umbra Bagan Grand Deluxe Room
The toilets were also amazing, featuring a massive walk-in shower.
Hotel Umbra Bagan Grand Deluxe Room Bathroom
Hotel Umbra Bagan Grand Deluxe Room Bathroom
Hotel Umbra Bagan Grand Deluxe Room Bathroom
Even with the “judge a hotel by its amenities” principle, the amenities were amazing. If I were a betting man I’d say they were local made.
Hotel Umbra Bagan Grand Deluxe Room Bathroom Amenities
I mean, the hotel provides turndown service at night. What was my school thinking?
Hotel Umbra Bagan Grand Deluxe Room Turndown Service
I wanted to share with my mom how awesome a room I had. So I tried to connect to the WiFi – except there wasn’t any WiFi in the room.
I phoned the reception, who said that there was WiFi in the room. I tried to reconnect again. I went to the balcony. I went to the bathroom. I phoned again, and they said they came up.
A (really nice) man came up with the WiFi password, and informed me, “hallways only”.
Suffice to say I spent a lot of time in the outside hallways. On one hand I could admire the music they were playing down in the clubs while texting my parents each night, but on the other I was sick for a big chunk of the stay and curfew was at 9:30, so…
Hotel Umbra Bagan Hallways
Let’s say that in Myanmar, it’s fine to expect a bad WiFi situation. But this WiFi worked so perfectly, it was a shame the rooms didn’t have any of it. Fine, thinking back to the kids we taught, it’s really not a big issue.
Stay tuned for the full report, which will be up shortly!