I'm looking to travel to Myanmar in January 2017.
I haven't been there before and rather than read guidebooks, has anyone got any first hand experience they are willing to share?
I'll be travelling mid - range for accommodation and looking to take buses around the country.
looking to spend roughly 2 and a half weeks.
Thanks
Tap water yes (although I still brush my teeth with it), but don't neglect the street food! Just go to places that seem relatively busy if you're concerned. Asian street food is some of the best I've had :) I think you also gain a tolerance to local bugs/germs in the food after a while.
I've been to all countries in the region multiple times, except Myanmar. But with a few of the rest, I carry some bribe money to get out of tight spots with cops (that really doesn't happen often - Mostly when driving illegally/without a license on a motorbike).
And never trust the locals is simply wrong. I've made awesome local friends in many countries around the area, that have shown me and taken me to places you'd never go as a tourist! Use your own judgement. Many on the street are out to make some money off you, and possibly rip you off, but don't let that tarnish the hundreds of millions of great people in the area :)
If you have someone on a tuk tuk wanting to show you around for free, he's not really trying to be your friend. Same as people selling stuff, wanting to show you places/restaurants and you don't know them, etc. Just use your Asian street smarts to decide who to trust.
I've been to Thailand close to a dozen times and have traveled most regions.
I've never had to bribe any cops.
I spent 3 months back packing Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos about 3 years ago.
I've been back to Cambodia multiple times since.
street food is delicious. I have a rule not to eat out of bain-maries though.
I am skeptical about anyone when i first met them or they give me the incorrect vibe but on general i trust the locals; majority of the time i have had no problems.
Street food is major part of the Asian experience!
You mean always eat the street food that's been cooked in front of you.
Amazing country, i visited two years ago. If you have traveled other S.E Asian nations you will be fine following the same advice for those.
Bagan was the highlight for me.
Thanks! Bagan will go on my list. I'm assuming it is a city.
The only thing i know about Myanmar so far is Yangon is the capital!
Naypyidaw is actually the captial of Myanmar now, But yes Bagan is an ancient city with hundreds of temples, if you want an funny adventure take the train from Yangon to Bagan.
thanks shows you how much i know of the country!
Hi davohatcher, funny adventure? care to share? Myanmar seems to be beckoning lotsa westerners these days, so I'm curious! cheers
I visited three years ago, travelled there for two weeks. Here's a few notes from memory, some of this info may be outdated:
Country name - Myanmar or Burma
The old colonial name of Burma was changed by the country to Myanmar, however most countries around the world refuse to recognise the new name due to the political/military regime. You'll occasionally read about some politician apologising for publically calling it Myanmar. As a traveller you can interchange between both but when talking to officials you're better off referring to it as Myanmar.
Same thing applies to the name of their capital Rangoon (old name) and Yangon (new name).
Visa
You'll most likely need to apply and pay for a visa at the Myanmar consulate. I applied for mine in London so I'm not familiar with where or how long it'll take to process when applying in Australia.
Currency
You'll only find ATMs in hotels and at banks in Yangon, don't expect to see them in the countryside. I never withdrew from an ATM, I bought a week's worth of Myanmar Kyat in Singapore and changed US Dollars when I was low on Kyat. Note when you leave the country try not to take out too much Kyat, most banks/currency exchanges outside of Myanmar are happy to sell you Kyat but refuse to buy it off you even in SE Asia. Best to change any leftover currency at Yangon airport before you depart.
International flights
There aren't many airlines that fly to Myanmar so plan and book your flights early. I flew from Singapore to Yangon which gets overbooked quickly by business travellers looking to expand into an emerging market. It was so overbooked I had a ridiculously generous offer from Singapore Airlines if I volunteered to get bumped to a weekend flight but I already had pre-booked accommodation which would get cancelled from a no-show.
Accommodation
There's business hotels (eg. Hilton), resort-style hotels and then there's backpacker hotels. There doesn't seem to be much in-between business and backpacker accommodation, IMO it's worth paying extra where you can as smaller towns won't give you that option. I stayed at the Pan Pacific in Yangon, worth every penny when coming back from the countryside.
If you are looking to book business/resort hotels, book early due to the sheer number of business travellers that will book everything out in advance.
If you're happy to go with backpacker-quality hotels then there's a lesser onus to book early, you can even turn up on the day and they'll have something available. Works best for smaller countryside towns.
Electricity and Power Grid
The country's infrastructure is very basic compared to even their neighbouring SE Asia countries. Power brownouts and blackouts are common, most restaurants and good hotels will have backup generators so you may not notice it often. Don't expect much street lighting in the capital, there's even less in countryside towns.
Internet
I recall there's a 3G network but don't count on it as it's terribly slow. Wi-fi is hard to come by so only expect it at western locales (eg. restaurants, hotels), even then don't expect to be able to watch Netflix, think email and basic web browsing.
Shopping
Myanmar produces a huge amount of gemstones (eg. ruby, jade, sapphire, etc). I didn't buy much and I can't comment on how competitive their prices are compared to other countries but my travel partner did buy alot. Like let's-visit-the-market-every-single-day alot.
Domestic bus travel
Bus travel in Myanmar is in my top 3 most 'memorable' bus trips ever taken (Guatemala and Bolivia the other two, but those are separate stories). I did get a chuckle from this website, a bit exaggerated but you'll get the idea - http://www.legalnomads.com/2010/06/my-5-worst-bus-rides-in-b…
Don't use Australian standards when calculating travel times and distances. There's paved roads in and around the capital but outside of it you'll most likely be driving on dirt roads where buses will only run around 30km/h so a rule-of-thumb is to double expected travel times. For example, I remember the bus from Yangon to Inle Lake (600km distance) took around 14hrs (including the wait for two transfers).
Bring warm clothes as night travel gets cold - there's no pressurisation so outside bus temperature will be the inside bus temperature.
There'll be frequent toilet/food stops but best to bring some food with you in case the local delicacies don't excite you (my travel partner was put off by the number of flies hovering around the food at a few stops).
What to bring
- As per guidebook advice, definitely bring a good torch for walking at night - there's plenty of potholes along the pedestrian footpaths you don't want to fall in to. Plenty of homeless families live in the bushes next to the footpaths in Yangon, they're mostly harmless but if you/your travel companions feel unsafe (my travel partner constantly feared she was about to get assaulted from the rustling noises in the bushes) then flashing your torch close to them may help alleviate fears.
- Bring a travel-sized first aid kit (eg band-aids, bandages, transparent dressings), fingers crossed you don't need it but there aren't that many pharmacies around if/when you do need it.
- Bring standard travel medicines - paracetamol (eg. Panadol, Lemsip) and loperamide (eg. Imodium). I've only had food poisoning once throughout SE Asia (and I've backpacked through most countries) and it was in Myanmar.
I think I've written enough for now, others can probably give you more info on travel destinations. I did Yangon, Inle Lake, Bagan, Bago and Kyaiktiyo Pagoda (the Golden Rock), can elaborate further if you'd like more info.
thanks for spending your time replying.
no need to elaborate you've given me plenty to start with.
I don't tend to look up tourist attractions before i actually go there these days as sometimes i feel biased towards what i have seen or heard on the internet. Generally like to see the site first hand upfront when i can help it.
I think a lot has changed within three years in terms of internal flights etc but i could be wrong!
Cheers again.
It seems cheaper to get the visa by mail (or much better in person if a Canberrite).
eVisa is $50 USD ($66 AUD) (don't know what it involves - all embassies suck at explaining processes).
Embassy visa by mail is $35 plus (at cheapest option) 2 registered mail envelopes ($6.50 each for the larger 500g ones = $13) plus 2 home-made passport photos (may need to go to Kmart to print) plus the printed document is ~$50 AUD and maybe 60-90 minutes of your time.
On the flip side, that's assuming you send cash in the mail. A money order is $5.95 more or $10 for a bank cheque. Plus you have to visit the post office once if not twice. So the savings may not be that much. I think I've almost talked myself out of the mail option…
Travel advice for most of Asia - Don't drink tap water, don't eat street food, Don't rely much on police when something bad happens. Never trust the locals (this is true for whole world).