Introduction
Dragonair 252 A321 Economy Class Hong Kong to Yangon
Inya Lake Hotel Yangon
Yangon Airways 917 ATR 72-212 Yangon to Bagan Nyaung-U
Hotel Umbra Bagan
Teaching in Myanmar
Yangon Airways 910 ATR 72-212 Bagan Nyaung-U to Yangon
Myanmar Life Hotel Yangon
Dragonair 251 A321 Economy Class Yangon to Hong Kong
After a morning at the Scott Market and lunch, it was time to check out the last hotel of the trip. Near the tail end of our bus ride from the other side of the city, our teacher supervisor noted us that “while the hotel isn’t nearly is nice as the other two we’ve stayed in, it does its job, and we’ll only be here for a few hours“. I think that summed it up nicely, so if you don’t feel like wasting five minutes of your time, that’s what I have to say.
We had a day room booked at the Myanmar Life Hotel, which set us back only a few hundred Hong Kong bucks. The exterior of the hotel looks cheap as expected, though it’s not one of those side-of-the-road ones that flash neon lights (though there were neon lights at night).
Myanmar Life Hotel Signage
Myanmar Life Hotel Exterior
The check-in process was quick, and we were settled and in rooms five minutes after we arrived. The lobby looks like what you get in those North Korean hotels they take pictures of (minus the propaganda), though I don’t have a particular disliking for that.
Myanmar Life Hotel Lobby
We were assigned room 118, which was right on the lobby floor. Man, sure it didn’t cost us much, but the hotel looks dated.
Myanmar Life Hotel Hallways
Our room was near the end, and quickly we were in there, Ayan wide awake and me ready for a nap (while I wasn’t tired, I had a normal day after my redeye that night, so it was up to me to keep myself going).
Myanmar Life Hotel
Check-in: Friday, November 20, 2015
Room Type: Deluxe Room
Room Number: 118
Stay duration: Day Room
Check-out: Friday, November 20, 2015
The room was of a decent size, especially at the price we paid. It featured a king bed, a TV, power ports and a balcony. (Normally, there would be two king beds, but there was a mess up in the room allocation – we were happy with the bed as Ayan wasn’t tired at all).
Myanmar Life Hotel Deluxe Room Bed
The windows were rather haunted-looking, and the view out there wasn’t much, in my opinion.
Myanmar Life Hotel Deluxe Room Windows
In the room was also a stocked minibar, though the items were rather overpriced especially for a hostel like this.
Myanmar Life Hotel Deluxe Room Minibar
The bathroom was decent, if not looking more hospital-like than the Inya Lake Hotel. It featured a sink, a toilet, and a shower/tub combo.
Myanmar Life Hotel Deluxe Room Bathroom
Myanmar Life Hotel Deluxe Room Shower
The hotel featured self-branded amenities, though they smelled obnoxiously bad. Fortunately, I had amenities packed over from the Hotel Umbra, so I used those instead.
Myanmar Life Hotel Deluxe Room Toiletries
Overall I found the room fine. It was of a slightly lower caliber than I would normally expect to stay at for a whole trip for a school CAS trip, but for this amount of time, it was basically ideal.
As far as the hotel amenities go, there’s lots of open space, including a bit at the pool (there are buildings at the pool which may have been part of the hotel as well, though I’m not sure). At night, our debriefing was there, and we had a pretty emotional debriefing this time given how much we had learnt from teaching the kids alone (this wouldn’t be our last time seeing each other, as we still go to school together, but we did have tears over missing the kids). None of us used the pool, though it looked pretty nice.
Myanmar Life Hotel Pool
Myanmar Life Hotel Pool
Myanmar Life Hotel Pool
The hotel also has outside spaces, where I spent the night self-reflecting and feeling the last of Yangon traffic. I knew I wouldn’t ever be getting a similar experience – each time, I knew, it would become less and less rewarding, and if I did keep coming I would start taking it for granted.
Bottom Line on the Myanmar Life Hotel
The Myanmar Life Hotel was a fine hotel to spend a few hours in. Ultimately I wouldn’t spend more than a day here if I had the choice, though it was really the ideal hotel being three minutes from the airport by bus. I wouldn’t return given the booking systems’ complications, but I do have high hopes for the property.