Short Holiday In Myanma From Phuket

[riley76]

Hello all travellers i live on phuket and dream of going into central burma

is there a travel agent, has anyone been on a short tour ? advised or not .

I would love to meet Aung sung sukyi [not being stupid anything is possible]

i see there are Myanma planes going from phuket air port , any one done a tour

i have been along and inside the borders but would love to go into towns etc I am sure Jenny on 90.5 phuket fm said there were tours now and guest houses but , dont want to back pack, would love to drive but

thanks for any real help riley 76

[jaykayem]

Hi,

Short answer, yes to flts and tours -- use google or go to magootravel.com, or do a search on "myanmar visa on arrival". Magoo will show up there. You can ask for Miss Aye if you like. If you find the magoo.com web page you can probably still get phone numbers there.

You can backpack in Yangon if you like, but since it has a population in the millions (6, I think)you could feel a wee bit out of place. :>)

You might start with this google search page:

http://www.thailandtraveltips.com/fly-air-bagan-phuket-yangon

I tried to compose and send a much more informative reply, but gave up on the 4th or 5th try after being shunted off by the TV site. I said eff this for a bad joke!!!

If you want more info just email me at "[email protected]" and I can send you some more relevant info.

I've lost count of the number of times I've gone to Myanmar.

Your main immediate problem may be getting a visa in Phuket!

jaykayem

[markg]

I went to Burma for 2 weeks just after Aung San Su Kyi was released.

At the time, finding current information about visas was a nightmare and sounded very shady - having to call travel agents in Bkk etc. Even air asia in Phuket didn't know anything about getting a visa. Useless.

I wanted to fly from Phuket, but as i couldn't get decent information about the visa, I decided to fly out of Bkk and sort my own visa out.

Back then, there was hardly anyone in the Burmese consulate in Bkk and i managed to get my visa in one day by paying the 'express fee'. A small bribe of about 500 baht.

That situation may have changed now that Burma is more popular.

I did the usual, well trodden path of Rangoon, Bagan, Inle lake and Mandalay.

I took internal flights between most of them as Burmese busses and roads are terrible.

For example, one bus trip costing 20 dollars took 18 hours, whilst the flight cost 80 dollars and took an hour. No brainer for me as i'm not on such a tight budget as some backpackers.

It sure is a great country with some very lovely people in it and i'm glad i went before commercialism over runs it.

Some things i noted in comparison with thailand (where i've lived for 7 years)

Burmese chicks are not that hot or approachable.

Burma isn't really a 'drinking country'. You sure can get nice beer, but there are not many bars as such, and the few that there are tend to close early.

Burmese people are very friendly - making eye contact and smiling at you. That will change when they get sick of tourists of course!

Burmese food in general sucks in my view. How a country that is between India and Thailand can have terrible food is beyond me, but that's what i found.

The roads are terrible as are most of the vehicles upon them.

I never stayed in an inadequate hotel. The one at Bagan had a beautiful pool.

My advice is to not try to pack too much in in too short a time. Travel between places takes longer than you think. The pace of life in Burma is still slow. Adapt and go with the flow !

[Everyready]

Hey Markg.

Pretty good summary,

Recently returned from Burma myself,agree with you,glad i saw it before it gets spoilt.

Hopefuly it won't end up like the more seedy side Thailand,