Myanmar Burma

MYANMAR DIY

27 days alone.

27 days of magic, improvisation, 27 days of meetings, openness to the world.

27 days of guesthouses found on the way, any kind of public transportation, vip buses and wrecks, free lifts in pick ups, silent traditional wooden pirogues, roaring motor boats.

Tribal markets, some authentic, some others a little bit less, mud trails, placid villages on stilts, timeless pagodas. A smiling, meek, gentle population, with high hopes for the future. My journey takes place three months before the historic elections that will lead the Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy to victory

Interesting faces for my camera

Before telling all the story, some practical information.

CHANGE (updated July 2015)

The Myanmar currency is the Kyat (MMK)
1 MMK = 0.00076 Euro 1 Euro = 1273.77 MMK

As for the US dollars, it is absolutely necessary to use euro notes in perfect conditions, like the brand new ones delivered by the ATMs. It’s better to place them in a wallet that can contain them in a lying position. They are sold wherever, at stalls. 1 USD for a plastic one, with Chinese decors, 2 USD for a very cute one lined in bamboo (at Sagaing)

EXPENSES

I was really afraid to ruin myself financially, before departure. However my fears were too pessimistic, and I managed to contain costs. It’s nevertheless true that it is the country with the worst quality / price ratio in the Southeast Asia, especially for accommodation.

I spent, in all, 736050 MMK (Kyat).
113000 MMK for food and water. Minimum 300 MMK for street food taken in Yangon, 700 a soup of noodles in the street at Hsipaw, max 4900 in an Indian restaurant. I paid bottled water a minimum of 180 MMK in a supermarket in Hpa An, and max 500 during the Hsipaw trek

Hotels, 384350 MMK spent. Minimum 8 USD for a room with fan and shared bathroom in the Lily The Home Hsipaw (which I strongly recommend), max 25 USD. I indicate prices in US dollars, but I always paid in MMK, multiplying by 1150 or 1200, according to different tax exchange rate.

Transports : 238700 MMK, all included, bus, taxi, boat, bycicles, entrances, surcharge for camera fee to enter in Bagan and Inle, etc. etc.

Total in Euro: 560 (20.74 per day). 

Total with flight: Euro 1233 (27 days) 

FLIGHTS

Qatar Airways – 559 Euro, bought well in advance, to combine low price and fast connections.

07/16/15 Malpensa 16.05 – Doha 22.55 / QR120
07/17/15 01:10 Doha – Bangkok 12.05 / QR828
08/15/15 20:05 Bangkok – Doha 22.55 / QR829
08/16/15 00:45 Doha – Milan 10.06 / QR123

Air Asia

19/07/15 10:50 Bangkok – Mandalay 12.15 / FD244 – 46 Euro
08/14/15 08:30 Yangon – Bangkok 10.15 / FD252 – 68 Euro

Much cheaper flying to Bangkok and then use Air Asia rather than go directly to Myanmar from Milan

Qatar Airways prides itself on being the world’s best economy airline, but honestly I prefer Emirates regarding services on board.
The Doha airport radiates luxury from every pore.

INLAND TRANSPORT

BUS

The lines connecting the most important tourist towns (Bagan, Inle Lake) to Yangon and Mandalay offer a wide selection of vehicles and prices. It is possible to move very comfortably with night vip buses with large reclining seats, on direct routes.
Elsewhere in the country you will be traveling on very colourful buses. Medium quality, meager prices. The air conditioning goes on fortune. Usually they leave in the early hours of the day, at the latest at 6.30. Better to buy tickets without intermediaries. The “offices” are as follows:

As an alternative, quite uncomfortable wrecks

TRAINS

I used them only on the Kalaw-Nyaung Shwe route, in first class. Comfortable, but slow. As I understand from my experience, the only way to get tickets is show up an hour before the arrival of the convoy. Very high commissions if you turn to online agencies

TAXI

Very much used by backpackers to visit places not reachable by public transport, like Kakku. Prices are not low, but it is quite easy to find fellow travelers to share expenses. In the travelogue you will find all the details

BOATS

Many cities (eg. Bagan-Mandalay, Mawlamyine Hpa-An) are connected by river, besides land, but the transfers are slow, so I only used boats on Inle Lake. The cost of a typical excursion touching “5 days market” is 15 USD, more distant locations such Inthein or Samkar are a different matter.

CLIMATE / RECOMMENDED CLOTHING

Humid and hot. The Lonely Planet describes as “scorching” Mandalay, but after 2 days in Bangkok, when I landed here I felt a sense of relief. I can’t deny it is hot, and the sun burns, but hat, sunscreen and water are enough. July/August is the monsoon season, and I found so much rain, in such great quantities that many Burmese were astonished themselves. The most affected area was the Rachine State, with thousands of death people, but all the South, including part of Yangon, was flooded. I was obliged to change my travel plans. The reasons for these disasters, as everywhere in the world, are the global warming, environmental degradation, deforestation, land exploitation, abusiveness on buildings, etc.
It’s preferable to wear clothes that cover shoulders and thighs, not only in the temples. Here, the socks are not permitted. Open sandals with a comfortable sole seem to me the best solution, a bit “complicated” shoes with laces.
Breathable and lightweight fabrics like linen are perfect. A plastic poncho to shelter from the rain is certainly useful, but will prevent the perspiration. The choice is up to you. In Bagan, acrobatics with umbrella and camera while riding a bicycle may be dangerous, perhaps the only thing to do is to accept to get soaked. With that temperature, it is not so unpleasant.
On the hills, Hsipaw, Kalaw, the nights can be chilly, and it is better to have a fleece or a jacket. I open a parenthesis on “the right shoes during rain season in hot humid climates.” The first thing that comes to mind are the rubber fisherman boots, so you are sure to stay dry. You buy them on the spot, use them and then give them away. But they are not comfortable for walking, and make you sweat. I took with me trail goretex shoes, that would have been perfect if I did not get stuck in the mud till the ankles, so that the water came in from above. I left home high trekking boots because I was afraid that they could be too hot for the climate, and too heavy to carry.

TREKKING DURING RAINY SEASON

Yes and no. For details refer to the sections of Hsipaw and Kalaw
Let’s say there are cons, wallowing in the mud is not the maximum of life; for sure, the grey sky altered the colors of the landscape, but not relationships with people, who are the dearest thing I have left. I am still glad I did

FOR SINGLES WHO WANT TO SAVE MONEY

Unfortunately it is true: in Burma some trips are expensive, and you’re forced to rely on private transport. For those traveling alone it might be hard, but do not despair. I suggest, especially in Mandalay and Nyaungshwe, to stay in hotels where there is a big turnover of guests, the managers will form groups, and merge the singles to other participants. For less requested excursions, you can try yourself to convince your neighbors room (I followed this strategy for Kakku and Inthein).
Examples: Nylon Hotel in Mandalay, NK Villa or Aquarius Inn Nyaungshwe, Lily the home or Charle’s in Hsipaw.
For hiking, you can do as mentioned above, or go in the most renowned agencies.

In Hsipaw I organized with my hotel, in Kalaw with Sam’s Family agency

HOTELS

As mentioned in the “Expenses” section, it is confirmed, as we read in many forums, the bad quality / price ratio of hotels, especially in Yangon. So, people traveling “basic”, will have to put on budget some more money. A decent room, with bathroom, starts from from 20 USD. But I noticed that in many guesthouse the shared toilets and showers are clean and modern. I spent a minimum of 8 USD for an excellent single with shared bathroom in Hsipaw (Hotel Lily the Home, which I recommendo) to a maximum of 25 in Bagan (Nyaung U, Pann Cherry Guesthouse). The Oscar of the worst goes to the Garden Guesthouse, right in front of the Sule Pagoda in Yangon (13 USD). Really crap, shocking dirty. More details and many photos in my travel diary

COMMUNICATIONS

Just landed in Mandalay, I discovered that many forums and reports are no longer updated on this subject.
The Italian (and other EU countries) mobiles now work in Burma.
There are three local operators, Telenor, MPT and Oredoo, receptivity is discontinuous and depends on the area. Oredoo worked in Mandalay, Hsipaw, Bagan, and in the south. In Kalaw I was completely isolated. In Nyaungshwe strangely, it did not work at all, but I only had to move a few kilometers, on land or on the lake, to get reachable again.
Everywhere there are kiosks selling sim cards, priced at 5 USD. To this amout you must add the top up charge

FOOD

Half a disappointment. The famous Burmese curry is heavy, slightly perfumed and anointed compared to the Indian or Thai one. Especially if mixed vegetables, it gives more the impression of an Italian “caponata”, rather than real curry

SHOPPING

A fairy tale.

Rather than Aung San Market in Yangon, I recommend to shop here:

– Stalls Sagaing / Mingun (jewelry and hair clips made of watermelon seeds, very cheap and original, I have not seen them anywhere else, many varieties of bamboo slippers)
– Stalls to Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, in the middle of Inle Lake
– The market stalls behind the above Pagoda, on certain days (ethnic jewelry, shirts, Shan style sarongs and trousers)
– Stalls Shwezigon Paya in Nyaung U
– Street vendors in Bagan area for truly beautiful batik, in natural colors, which then I did not find anywhere else

Relatively to the Aung Sang Market: at least half is dedicated to precious stones, hundreds of cubbyholes that sell the same things, very few customers, mostly interested in cheap jade trinkets. All the released invoices, strangely, report on the cover the same company name, Shwepynann. A bit disappointing. Excluding jewelry, many items can be found as well at Chatuchak Market, Bangkok.
The beautiful ethnic jewelry that was sold anywhere around Inle Lake here does not exist, same is for silk blouses and other textile items, bamboo slippers are rare.

IS IT WORTH GOING?

Absolutely yes. Extraordinary. A truly enchantment

Riding in the plain of Bagan, even under the rain, is priceless. Same for the top view from the temples. It must be really wonderful with a barely decent weather

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Canoe excursion to Maing Thauk on Lake Inle, same as above

Kakku is awesome

Inthein, same…

Fantastic landscapes in Hpa An

Half delusion : the Golden Rock. Same for Shwedagon Paya di Yangon. Maybe it is because it was the end of the trip, and I have already saw so many pagodas .. 🙁 

RIP OFF  / CRIME

Nothing special. One unlucky incident to report in Kyaikto, where a motorcycle taxi followed me, even though I told him to fuck off several times, till my guesthouse, to ask for a commission.

HEALTH

Be careful where you eat. I’m that kind of person who eats on the streets, but time in Bagan I caught a serious belly disease, and I had to take the Normix

STRAY DOGS, CATS AND OTHER ANIMALS

The dogs in Myanmar truly have hard life. There are countless, but they are not aggressive. At least that is my experience. If you find yourself face to face with a dog in an isolated place, most likely it will run away as soon as it sees you. People chase them with bad manners, as soon as they try to “settle down” at some courtyard, or shelter, or porch. They are not used to be pampered. Very sad. Only consolation: here at least they do not eat them ..
Cats seem to be well tolerated and quietly snore not only in the most unlikely places, like the saddles of parked motorbikes, but also in private homes, in shops, in restaurants, guesthouses and in the temples of each order and degree, for the delight of all lovers of these creatures 🙂

Apart from some geko and cockroach in the room, I have seen around other animals, even monkeys. I expected to find them on Mount Zwegabin in Hpa An, but fortunately they did not show up.

 

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2 thoughts on “Myanmar Burma

  1. Thanks so much for your post. I’m headed to Myanmar in 2 weeks so this was helpful as a guide and an idea of how much things are going to cost – a lot more than I expected actually! Love the photos of the friendly faces!

  2. Lovely pictures and thanks for very useful information! I would love to visit Myanmar one day, but its not gonna be this year 🙂 Glad to hear u had a great experience!
    Hugs, Nana

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