Travelstone Guide

Burma has recently started to reopen to tourism, so my advise is to prepare your trip in advance or it will be complicated (no room left or no domestic flight). It’s not a country where you can really plan a last minute trip except if you like adventure, but if you have kids you definitely need to plan in advance. With the recent visit of Hilary Clinton (December 2011, first USA politic to visit Myanmar since 1955) the tourism should accelerate.

Visa:

First step after getting your flight ticket is to apply for your visa, shouldn’t be too complicated except if you’re a journalist (but still it’s possible).
To apply for your visa you need: to fill in the visa application form, bring your international flight schedule, 1 color photo, 1 authorization letter from your company and 200RMB. It will take 5 working days to get your visa.
Note: there’s no consulate in Shanghai, only the embassy in Beijing and a consulate in Hong Kong. There is one official travel agency who can proceed to the demand for you: d-travel@vip.sina.com

Best period to go:

From October to February, it’s the best period, dry and not too warm. You can go between March and September,  it’s just more tropical, warm and humid.

Itinerary:

A first typical trip would be: Bagan - Mandalay - Inle lake  and finish with a few days in Ngapali to enjoy the sea and the white sand.

Tips:

• Burma isn’t an ATM country so you need to first buy your dollars and travel with all your cash, better to take more than less… Don’t ask me why, but 100$ notes are not all worth 100$. Do not take the series starting by CB (too many counterfeit on that series), they will not exchange them. Then make sure your notes are brand new, DO NOT fold them, if there’s a slight fold mark,  ink stain or whatever, they will ask you to change for another one, or the value again will not be a 100$ anymore. You can change your dollars at the airport at the AGD or KBZ bank counter (the exchange rate varies every day), since October 2011 they provide an interesting exchange rate.

Not usable Dollar

• This is the country of tips, driver, carrier, kids, you will automatically give them something. Women and children will also ask for perfume, shampoo, soap or red lipstick, so do not hesitate to bring with you some samples.

Clothes:

• Avoid to wear tank top and mini short or skirt (except on the beach), even if Burmese will not say anything you will feel their look of disapproval. So better to wear short sleeves and under knees short.

• Burmese are wearing longyis which are the local sarongs. They are mostly made in cotton which is convenient with the warmth of the country. The men can only wear plain or checkered longyis while women can chose any pattern.

Kingdom:

• Burma is a flip flop kingdom, as you have to remove your shoes to enter a temple, flip flop are definitely the best option to travel. If you have time to go to the Scott market in Yangon, you will see piles of flip flop pairs to be bought.

• Burma is also a dog kingdom. If you are afraid of dogs, well do not go, they are everywhere, puppies in temples, dogs sleeping in the middle of the road, barking on the street…but to be honest they are too busy sleeping so they will not bother you.

Sleeping dog

Dog sleeping on the road

Puppy at the entrance of a temple

Domestic Airlines:

• The easiest way to travel between cities is by plane, So far only 6 domestic airlines are flying: Air Bagan, Asian Wing, Air Mandalay, Myanma Airways (the only state owned airline), Air KBZ and Yangon Airways, so the number of seats is limited, that’s why you have to plan in advance. Note that you always have to reconfirm your flight one day in advance, hotels will help you in that matter, also do not get mad if the flight schedule changes, it often does.

Air Mandalay in Ngapali

Be prepared….Yangon is definitely the city of junk taxi of south Asia. Do not worry if the windows are always open even when it’s raining, if you can see the road under your feet, if your seat falls apart, if you can’t open the car door from inside…those are common taxis.

Hole in the taxi

Taxi in Yangon

Until recently, people would drive on the left, but one day the government decided that starting from the next day Myanmar would be right side driven, so don’t be surprised if your taxi driver is seating on the right side of his car or if the buses have an employee who is constantly on the door step, so he can tell the driver if cars are coming as from his seat he can’t see anything. So people have to get off the bus on the road….this is one of the many funny aberrations you will see.

Yangon taxi