| Burma -- Traveler Advice -- General Information |
-------------------------------------------------- [Mon 5 Feb, 14:20] I am going to Myanmar for 7 to 10 days. Yes, i know it's short. I fly into Yangoon. The 2 places i want to see most are Bagan and Inle Lake. Any suggestions on how I should organize my trip? Should I take an over night bus from Yangoon to Inle Lake and then another bus to Bagan, Mandalay, etc. before heading back to Yangoon to fly out. Does anyone know much about Burmese Nats? is it possible to see a small festival? [Mon 5 Feb, 19:42] If you haev not more time - I recomend to go by plane : RGN -> Heho -> Bagan -> RGN [Mon 5 Feb, 22:26] Sorry I dont know much at all about the Nats other than they go to a lot of trouble with their dress and make up. They are often employed to bring good luck to or for whatever,ask around the locals and you will surely find where they are performing. Good luck. [Tue 6 Feb, 04:16] We only had 8 days when we went to Myanmar (this was 5 years ago...)but we managed to do the same thing you're trying to. [Tue 6 Feb, 05:08] First, for a short stay, I think that Mandalay is missable, considering how much time it will take. Second, try to take the train through the Shan Hills. For example, you could take the bus from Yangon to Inle Lake (the train from Yangon to Thazi is at night, a bit boring, and not worth the money). The train from Shweyaung (near Inle Lake) west to Thazi was one of my favorite journeys in SEA; the sights in the villages, and the opportunity to share food and conversation with Myanmar travelers on the train was really enjoyable. I vaguely remember that the train was dirty and overcrowded, but still worth it. From Thazi there are buses heading west to Bagan, undoubtedly the highlight of the trip, then by bus back to Yangon. BTW, this isn't the route that I took, so I can't advise on times, just modes that I thought were useful or not, and remarks from other travelers there who took other transport (like the Yangon-Inle bus). [Tue 6 Feb, 15:02] The overnite bus from Yangon to Inle Lake area [end of line is Taungyi] departs from the north bus station [not too far from the airport] at 1pm. Both Daddy's Home and the Whitehouse Guesthouse on Konzedan St. [~5 blocks west of Sule Paya in Yangon] will book and sell you seats for 2000kyats=~U$5. The MTT office directly across from Sule Paya [Circle] charges U$8. Recommend requesting an isle seat so that you can stretch out your legs on this very long busride--around 17 hours. We arrived in Kalaw [about 1.5-2 hours west of Shwenyaung, the junction where you hop off to catch a pickup down to Yaungshwe for Inle Lake], stopping in front of the Winner Hotel at 4am in the morning. I think when you arrive in Shwenyaung the sun will be rising above the hills of Taungyi. Another person asked a similar question for a similar trip about a week ago. I recommend doing a search under Myanmar and reading the 'Myanmar--8 Days' post. You can fly from Heho to Bagan and also to Yangon [or vice versa] if you're running short on time. ------------------------------------------------ [Fri 19 Jan, 19:15] Does anyone know of any Hill Stations to stay at in Burma/Myanmar? Thanks for the help. [Fri 19 Jan, 22:11] Loikaw, Tiddim, Falam, Tama, Hsipaw, Myitkyina, Bhamo, Lashio, Loilem, Pyin Oo Lwin (for precision), Kalaw, Pyindaya. Guess which 4 you can't get to. [Fri 19 Jan, 22:21] Kalaw, which is one the way to Inle, has become a popular place from which to do day/s hikes. It's not very large but has a quaintness to it. About 1.5 hours northeast of Kalaw by car the area around Pindaya is well worth a visit. While the major attraction is the cave with all the Buddhas enshrined within the most appealing aspect to Pindaya are all the ethnic minorities that live in this area. You'll see more ethnic minorities in this area than you will on a trek in Kalaw. The stretch just north of Aungban [.5 hours east of Kalaw, on the way to Inle] to Pindaya is the most scenic farmed countryside of Myanmar I saw in two trips. While there are organized tourbuses which go to Pindaya it doesn't seem that many tourist stay there. Pyin Oo Lyin [Maymyo] is another popular hill station 2 hours northeast of Mandalay [faster and much more comfortable by shared taxi--same rendezous point to catch public pickups in Mandalay--but costs 4,000kyats for the Toyota Corolla station wagon, seats 4 comfortably and these cars fly up and down the hill] and is also very laid back but larger than Kalaw. Renting a bike and riding around the area exploring the beautiful homes [some once British] is a favorite pasttime. The Dahlia which is a little ways out of town offers free pickup from town and the train station. I don't think Hsipaw is considered a hill station but it has also become a very popular town to visit. Spent nearly a week just chilling and enjoying the countryside and local people. Mr. Charles' Guesthouse seems to have enamored the majority of travellers visiting Hsipaw. Mr Charles conducts daily morning walks [sometimes spanning into the early afternoon] around the countryside and this free walking tour is also very popular. His partner [I'm embarassed to have forgotten his name] conducts afternoon walks/tours. Don't miss the Shan Palace and meeting Mr. Donald and his wife, Fern. [Sat 20 Jan, 04:53] If you're interested, I have several pictures and blurbs about some of the above spots (especially Hsipaw, Lashio, Pindaya) on my never-will-it-be-finished travel site, www.virtualtourist.com/suerivet . [Tue 23 Jan, 15:26] We were in Maymyo aka Pyin U Lwin about two weeks ago and loved it. There isn't a heck of a lot to do but if you are looking for a sleepy place to veg out and watch the world go by this is it. [Sat 27 Jan, 11:29] The drive to Pyin U Lwin was okay, but the town itself wasn't that interesting. Candacraig is a bit bizarre - the staff are really friendly, but they served me the most appalling attempt at roast beef and vegetables I've ever tasted. ------------------------------------------- [Thu 25 Jan, 11:42] We are planning a trip to Myanmar the end of March and Beginning of April (unfortunately the only time we can get away). We have read that it is very hot this time of year. What exactly is hot? Will we be able to explore the outdoors without too much pain? Desperate for your comments. Thanks [Thu 25 Jan, 13:38] We were there in early March and it was really hot (high 90's/low 100's F). It was also incredibly dusty which, all things considered, might have been the worst part. Bagan was the same although the beauty of the place made the heat more tolerable. I'd suggest a hotel w/a pool for the hottest part of the day. We stayed at a hotel in central Bagan that had a miniature pool on the roof that did the trick. (I don't remember the name except that it was Chinese and very central- we paid about $30 USD/night.) There is also one (just one) store in Mandalay with a really good selection of quality jade. I think all the taxi drivers know it - just ask for the store with best jade selection. Jade is still expensive even in Burma but cheap compared to Hong Kong - and it makes a great remembrance. Hope this helps. [Thu 25 Jan, 13:42] April - May are the hottest months of the year in Burma - central area (Mandalay - Pagan areas) some days probably well over 100F, except up in the hills (Pyin U Lwin, Inle, etc. where it will be quite a bit cooler.) Right now (January) is considered the "cool season" and todays temperatures (Jan. 17th)in Burma are mostly 95F and UP. Usually starts really warming up in February. What many people do is find a nice cool, air-conditioned spot and stay inside during the heat of the day, from about 1 to 4 pm. [Fri 26 Jan, 03:54] In my earlier post, I said "central Bagan" when I meant "central Mandalay". Sorry. (Although we did stay at a place in Mandalay with a pool and that was a pretty good idea too.) Overall, I'd say the weather is manageable albeit hot (and dusty!!) If you try to do things up to about noon or so and then from about 3:30 on, it won't be bad. But even in the hottest part, you can be outside - you'll just be sweating. But it's not like it's 120F where you'll get heat stroke. Make sure you bring a hat. --------------------------------------------- [Fri 26 Jan, 16:58] I am in the preplanning stages of a trip to Myanmar and am looking for recommendations on how to best spend a very limited amount of time there. A male friend and I will be travelling together and have one week. We would like to see Bagan, but are open to any suggestions. Thanks in advance. [Fri 26 Jan, 17:18] Bagan is a place you should not miss...esp the beautiful sunset at the historical place...i've taken quite a lot of pictures there...You shld not miss Shwedagon Pagoda, Inye Lake and the Golden Rock... [Fri 26 Jan, 21:44] I did the same trip this time last year, and had only a week.Stayed first night in Yangon and went to Shwedagon Paya early next morning,arranged overnight bus to Mandalay at Aung San stadium and spent the rest of the day touring by taxi.Bogyoke market and Strand hotel were particularly interesting. Long overnight trip to Mandalay, though quite comfortable, stopped for meals twice. Spent two days in Mandalay ,climbed Mandalay hill, saw the moustache brothers[fantastic evening]also went to Mingun on day trip up the river which was really nice. Took an overnight bus to Bagan ,spent the whole of the next day touring by pony and trap,DO NOT MISS BAGAN. Next day our guide arranged taxi to mount Popa with a couple of stops along the way, back to Bagan for overnight bus to Yangon and airport. Would had loved to spend more time in Mandalay to see Amapura and Sagaing. Also would have liked to get to Inle but time and budget made this impossible. You could definately see more if you choose to fly between these places but I found using ground transport part of the attraction meeting other travellers and some locals. I would suggest that you do not try to squeeze too much into your itinery to savour the places you do choose. Also get up as early as you can to maximise your daylight time, there's not a great deal to do after about 10pm anyway. Have a great trip. [Sat 27 Jan, 03:30] Bagan is a must. Before you start touring, visit the museum. It has some excellent & helpful displays as to what you'll see. [Sat 27 Jan, 04:04] What are your resources like? Will you be taking flights or will you be "doing" the backpacker's thing? If you can afford flights you can cover a lot of ground and visit 1d Yangon--2d Bagan--2d Mandalay--2d Inle--last day in Yangon for shopping. Would be a bit of a whirlwind and you'd have to line-up all your flights in advance. If you're on a tighter budget and am travelling by overnite buses then you'd have to drop Inle OR Mandalay area for sure. Nite bus from Yangon to Mandalay departs at 5pm at the northbus station not too far from the airport. You'd arrive around 8am in Mandalay and there will be guesthouse/hotel touts there to 'sell' you on their places with a free ride. From Mandalay you can take the 6am Bagan Express ferry [slower government ferry on Wednesdays and Sundays] to Bagan and you'd arrive around 3:30pm in Old Bagan. A couple hours before arriving in Old Bagan, once again some hotel touts will board the ferry to 'sell' their places [much fewer touts Dec. 2K than Dec. '99]. Touts will also be at Old Bagan when the ferry arrives with a free ride to their place. The ferry while somewhat expensive, 16fec's, is a relaxing way to get to Bagan and the first half is interesting because you pass by the old royal areas of Sagaing and Inwa south of Mandalay around sunrise. Plus you get to see life along the Irriwaddy/Ayerwaddy River. If you are going during the really dry season, this trip will take longer. There is an overnite train from Mandalay to Bagan departing around 10:30pm. There are also buses and minibuses from Mandalay to Bagan but I've forgotten their departure times. The overnight bus from Bagan back to Yangon [via Pyay/Promei] departs from Nyaung U around 2pm [I think, I'll have to check my notes] and you arrive in Yangon around 5:30am. Don't worry about getting a taxi into central Yangon; there will be plenty of them. Some BTWs or FYIs: Since the entry fee to the various temples in Mandalay charge a steep 5fec, be selective about which temples are worth visiting. Have a great trip; the Burmese people are extremely friendly. -------------------------------------------------- [Thu 8 Mar, 10:24] I'm planning to go to Myanmar from Thailand. Can anyone give me advice on: a)Is travel alone in Myanmar advisable? Thanks for any help as I'm a bit apprehensive! [Thu 8 Mar, 12:58] a. if you can travel alone in thai or so, you can do it [Thu 8 Mar, 13:20] No problem with traveling alone in Myanmar - I do it all time myself and have never had any problems of any sort. Ample transportation available between sites, or you can hire your own private car and driver for several days/weeks for a low cost, usually about $30 - $50 day. You can get by easily with just English unless you get way off the beaten path. Just about everyone associated with tourist will speak some English. It is nice if you do learn a few words in Burmese - it really impresses the people that you have taken the time to learn a few words. Lonely Planets publishes a small Burmese phrase book. There are at least four flights daily from Bangkok to Rangoon - not so often from ChiangMai. The FEC exchange is now $200 and you can use them for entrance fees, hotels, airlines, trains, etc., although I understand that presently you do not get a full "dollars worth" with them. Finding accomodations will be no problem at all - plenty of empty hotel rooms and plenty of "touts" to steer you to some of them. Rangoon/Mandalay/Pagan have overbuilt considerably in hotels and guest houses. Rooms available in all price ranges from under $5 to over $400. Really nice places about $20 and up. During off season (now until about October) many of the more expensive hotels offer pretty good discounts. No need to be apprehensive - you will find it very easy to get around in Myanmar - the Burmese people are extremely helpful and friendly. [Fri 9 Mar, 13:51] you can fly chiang mai to mandalay. last june this flight ran only once a week, as it was low season. probably it goes more often in high season. Check out Air Mandalay. They might have a schedule on the web. If you have the time you can find a travel agent in Bangkok who can arrange this flight. Try Blue&White off Khao San by susie bar. Chiang mai agents can probably do it as well, but they take longer lunches. as of last june you could avoid changing to FEC this way, but since the idea is all over the web, the generals may have dealt with this by now. it's still worth a try, though, since going to burma makes more sense if you work to spend wisely to limit the money that goes directly to the govt (though taxes will scoop up much of it anyway). If you do avoid changing USD to FEC, though, you will need to cover your cash needs by arriving with a stack of various size USD notes. If you're on Khao San the nearby second floor of Siam Commercial Bank across from New World Dept Store can usually handle setting you up. it's also worth flying this route just because you'd be flying from Chiang Mai to Mandalay. You could start with a bowl of Khao Soy at the Electronic Plaza in Chiang Mai for breakfast and for dinner have some eggplant curry across the street from some puppet restaurant. There's one act where a boy there dances like a puppet. It's very hard. But that's another story. --------------------------------------------------- [Wed 7 Mar, 00:37] Hi All, I am going to Burma later this month and I was hoping some of you lovely people can tell me about trekking opportunaties over there. I do not wish to take a guide, not because it's cheaper, but because I have trekked alone in many other countries with out any problems, I like my freedom instead of working to a routine. I was thinking about the Shan state but don't really know exactly where. I was also thinking about Kalaw. Before you say it - No, I'm not interested in buying the guide book. I have managed to travel without one for over a year now with no problems. Besides the infomation I can get from other travelers is much better then any guide book. Before anyone gets all uppity about it - I'm not trying to be a hard man by not getting a guide book, or a guide, I would just like to do things my way, I just need a few answers. [Wed 7 Mar, 03:22] OK, If on one wants to help me that is absolutely fine. No problem. I'll get all the info I need once I enter Burma, just like I have done for every other country I have entered knowing nothing, I just thought I'ld try this just in case people had info for me. The reason why I am using this is because it's a way of getting information from other travellers. Information from other travellers is good, guide books aren't....is this good enough reasoning for #2. [Wed 7 Mar, 04:58] I did alot of trekking in Burma, and I liked it the best in Kalaw. I think you can get away without a guide if you speak Thai (shan is very similar). I met a couple who did this. It's very difficult to find your way to these villages though, and also to negotiate staying with them. If you make a wrong turn you could wind up in a pretty sticky area. We had to take some long routes home when trekking near Hsipaw to avoid such areas. Just make sure you are allowed to be in the area you plan to trek in-get permits, etc, from MTT- you probably won't get in much trouble, but you could get the Burmese people you come in contact with in some serious trouble if you are somewhere you're not supposed to be-good luck! [Wed 7 Mar, 05:22] #4 - thank you, I was planning on going to Kalaw. I do speak some Thai but not enough. As I said before I don't want a guide as I don't want to follow a routine, I prefer my freedom. Do you know about trekking in the Shan state ??? [Wed 7 Mar, 07:27] Hi, Kalaw is fine, it's a good area for all kinds of treks. The better ones start 20-30km from there and lead to really interesting villages. We had just a two day trek near Kalaw, but it was okay when we left the beaten path of most daytrekkers. Another option would be in the hills around Inle Lake. See my brandnew Burma Pages for photos and more. Bernie [Wed 7 Mar, 11:12] I only did a day trek into the Shan hills near Inle Lake, with a travel companion and guide, and it was quite nice. Frankly, I think that if you don't engage a guide, you will be missing out on a special opportunity. Our guide brought us around to a few caves, a couple of which were inhabited by Buddhist monks, up to a monastery at the top of a hill, down through local villages. I think we paid him $3 each, and he made us lunch (included) at the monastery. Sure, we could've quite easily gone it alone, but we had hours of chatting about this and that with him. In general, guides in Myanmar probably aren't like guides in most countries, by which I mean they don't feed you any kind of standard fare, standard loop (although popular trails are usually popular for good reason). For example, we spent a fairly long time in the caves, because my friend is a caver. In Burma, you really can have it your way! Don't miss an opportunity to make the most of your trekking there. By the way, we stayed at the Remember Inn in Nyaungshwe (Inle Lake). We hired the above guide on recommendation of Thu Thu Aung, the young manager at the guesthouse. She is a real peach, and even if you decide to go it on your own, you can ask her for tips about trekking in the area. I have a little info about her on my website, www.virtualtourist.com/suerivet. [Wed 7 Mar, 15:06] Hi! I know you said you did not want a guide but I have to agree with one of the other replys in that a guide will help you get so much more out of your time spent in Burma as well as reduce the chance of any trouble (for you or the people you come into contact with). We have been through the Shan state on bike(Mae Sai to Mongla) a couple of times and have used the same guy both times. He has made the experience exceptional!! He will help with what ever sort of trip you want to do ie. trek, bike etc and is very, very flexible. He is a local of Kengtung and speaks English,Thai, Burmese, Shan, Akha to name a few. I'm not sure if I am supposed to give his details on this site (reading below). If you are intersted reply back and we'll give it a crack!! ---------------------------------------- from VirtualTourist.com: Cultural Tips: Because of the difficulties with language I would recommend a guide. They will take you through the cultural difficulties and places of interest and look after you. They are not pushy and do not try and sell you deals. The 2 I am about to list come with my highest recommendation. In Yangon - Ronald Chan (a) U Myat Oo B.Sc. (Physics) Licensed Tour Guide. No 59, 21st Street, Latha Township, Yangon, Myanmar. Fluent English, Burmese, Chinese and Japanese Tel : 95-1-287740 In Mandalay contact Aung Naing Oo from Hin Thar thit Travel Services. Mandalay Office No 351, 81st Street, between 29th and 30th Street, Mandalay, Myanmar. Tel : 95-2-39452, 28058. Tell them Linda sent you and they will take extra special care of you. --------------------------------------------- |