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Myanmar/Burma
The Land of Gold & Smiles. Exceptionally warm and inviting people. Golden Pagodas reach to the sky along every horizon. Myanmar is slowly opening up to more & more travelers. Crammed full of amazing Temples, Unspoiled beaches, beautiful lakes, great Trekking and some of the friendliest people if you will find. The last remaining country in South East Asia not awash with tourists. Its doors are open, and more and more people are discovering this amazing country for themselves.
Seat 61 A Derailed Train, Blocking the road
Seat61 is An Unbeatable guide to the somewhat limited rail transport around this wonderful country. Rail Itinerary ideas, and more! Prepare yourself for possible delays as the trains derail fairly often!
if you are travelling by public transport, be warned that arriving trains and connecting buses and the like, very often do not line up nicely at all. You may end up roaming the streets in the early hours, awaiting an awkwardly timed bus 8 hrs later. Getting around
By far the best and easiest way to get around this amazing country is to hire a car+driver, and if there are a few of you,
it can be quite cheap too. We had gone with the intention of getting buses and trains and so on. Meeting the locals, getting more involved with the workings of the country. But we also wanted to see as much as possible and with only a 28 day visa, I cannot recommend this more. WHERE DO I FIND THESE DRIVERS?! As soon as you go to collect your bags in the airport. You will be approached by taxi men, tour guides, and so on. The price will depend on how long and what type of car/van, air conditioning and so on. A non AC 30 year old car will be around 50-70 dollars a day. Including driver and petrol or gasoline if you are a yank. A larger AC van will be around $80+, but a van can be roomy and it gets damn hot here. So having AC is good. We were cheap and took the worn out car with no ac! Our Driver / Guide was amazing and took care of all of us all day everyday! What to see Schwedagon Pagoda, Yangon
BAGAN
BAGAN
A mind boggling array of outstanding temples as far as the eye can see. The image at the top of the page is taken here. Most of the temples were built around the 11th century and contain very impressive intricate paintings and carvings. This is the cultural epicenter of Myanmar, with many local people coming from all over the country to see and worship. Travelling days at a time for this once in a lifetime experience. You can rent bike's and cycle around but it can get extremely hot, so a taxi is a good idea. There is a small town with plenty of restaurants and guesthouses available. Give yourself a few days to appreciate this amazing place. MANDALAY
Temple Ruin at Mingun, just outside Mandalay
MANDALAY
Home of the royal palace, and is the country's 2nd biggest city. Use here as a hub for day trips to, Amarapura, Mingun and Sagaing to see the longest Teak bridge in the world, Temples, and an Impressively large bell! 2nd biggest in the world and more!! |
Myanmar WikiFor up to date, detailed info on all things Myanmar, check here out
FOOD!!
Burmese food is really quite tasty and very interesting! In a typical Burmese restaurant when you order your main meal dont be surprised when hundreds of little accompanying side dishes pop out. These are just put on your table and whatever you eat you pay for. Dangerous for the likes of me as i cant resist and want to try everything! Burmese food is really tasty and generally a lot milder with its currys and food than its neighbours countries. Dont be afraid to eat the local food, for me eating the authentic food of the country i am in is a huge part of my travelling. You learn and experience more. Dont fear getting ill, you can get ill from many things. Your own hands, a dirty glass, the plate your french fries are on. In the future you will remember the good times, and eating french fries abroad will not be one of them. Possibly play it safe before a long over night train though!
Dont want your ass exploding in transit |
Interesting snippet of info
Inle Lake
INLE LAKE
A very large shallow lake, perfect for beautiful boat trips, visit floating villages inhabited by the Intha people. I recommend you stay in the village Nyaungshwe instead of the hotels on the lake. There are lots of places to stay in the town and many little restaurants too. Renting a bike and cycling around the nearby villages is a good idea. The lake can be a bit of a tourist trap at times, everyone wants to bring you to handicraft shops, umbrella factories, silver smiths etc, but it really is a beautiful place and a must on your trip around Myanmar. Expect to pay 15,000ky upwards for a boat trip on the lake
A very large shallow lake, perfect for beautiful boat trips, visit floating villages inhabited by the Intha people. I recommend you stay in the village Nyaungshwe instead of the hotels on the lake. There are lots of places to stay in the town and many little restaurants too. Renting a bike and cycling around the nearby villages is a good idea. The lake can be a bit of a tourist trap at times, everyone wants to bring you to handicraft shops, umbrella factories, silver smiths etc, but it really is a beautiful place and a must on your trip around Myanmar. Expect to pay 15,000ky upwards for a boat trip on the lake
Odd Stuff
Over taking the morning commuters!
DRIVING
As there was a ban on importing new cars, until last year. 90% of the vehicles on the road are very very old mostly Japanese cars. The strange thing here is, in Myanmar they drive on the right hand side of the road(strange anyway) but drive in a right hand side car! As in Asia the driving style is typical chaos, added to this you are sitting on the wrong side of the car. So when you are sitting in the passenger seat, overtaking a truck is an all to dubious affair...
Some buses are fun too as the exit opens onto the middle of the road!
Indicators.
Yes for telling people you are turning..nope not really so. Prior to having a head on collision, if you are the smaller vehicle you can show which way you will avoid them/death by using the indicators. As in i'll go the left side of you.. or right side, and so on
if you wish to be over taken, just then drive along indicating right for as long as you want.
MONEY
UPDATE!!
More and More Atms are a now popping up around big cities for use with foreign cards :)
There are no ATM's for foreigners! This might change very soon, but due to economic sanctions international banking isn't happening here! So no atm's no credit cards etc.
A couple of expensive hotels in Yangon can process a credit card but at a very extortionate rate! so emergency only!!
You must bring extremely mint condition US dollar bills with you. No folds, crease's, tears or you will get a much lower rate or sometimes they will not be changed for you. As you will not be able to access money while you are there, you will have to bring all you need with you!
Currency
Kyat - Pronounced: CHAT
While i was there, the Government exchange rate was $1=8Kyat
However the real exchange rate should be around $1=800Kyat
So to exchange dollars to Kyat and get the real rates, you must avoid the 'Official' money changers and go backstage at some hotels and shops. There is a black market too, offering real rates too, but will often swindle you out of money so avoid these!
This process should be changing now too, as more and more economic sanctions are being lifted against Myanmar.
As there was a ban on importing new cars, until last year. 90% of the vehicles on the road are very very old mostly Japanese cars. The strange thing here is, in Myanmar they drive on the right hand side of the road(strange anyway) but drive in a right hand side car! As in Asia the driving style is typical chaos, added to this you are sitting on the wrong side of the car. So when you are sitting in the passenger seat, overtaking a truck is an all to dubious affair...
Some buses are fun too as the exit opens onto the middle of the road!
Indicators.
Yes for telling people you are turning..nope not really so. Prior to having a head on collision, if you are the smaller vehicle you can show which way you will avoid them/death by using the indicators. As in i'll go the left side of you.. or right side, and so on
if you wish to be over taken, just then drive along indicating right for as long as you want.
MONEY
UPDATE!!
More and More Atms are a now popping up around big cities for use with foreign cards :)
There are no ATM's for foreigners! This might change very soon, but due to economic sanctions international banking isn't happening here! So no atm's no credit cards etc.
A couple of expensive hotels in Yangon can process a credit card but at a very extortionate rate! so emergency only!!
You must bring extremely mint condition US dollar bills with you. No folds, crease's, tears or you will get a much lower rate or sometimes they will not be changed for you. As you will not be able to access money while you are there, you will have to bring all you need with you!
Currency
Kyat - Pronounced: CHAT
While i was there, the Government exchange rate was $1=8Kyat
However the real exchange rate should be around $1=800Kyat
So to exchange dollars to Kyat and get the real rates, you must avoid the 'Official' money changers and go backstage at some hotels and shops. There is a black market too, offering real rates too, but will often swindle you out of money so avoid these!
This process should be changing now too, as more and more economic sanctions are being lifted against Myanmar.