Burma, The Rising Star...

[Jingthing]

Does any one know what it takes to get a visa to live there similar to the retirement visa in Thailand?

No such animal.

[simon43]

Here are some photos that I took a few days ago in Kawthaung Township:

Generators outside business premises

Coffee for our French friends

Local buses at the port

Spice

and ice!

[ianf]

How is this Thai related. have you ever been to Burma, A very poor Country, and has lots of goodies the west wants along with China . So yes the Sky's the Limit.

And one of the major problems is that the current situation does nothing to solve the problem of external and internal refugees who have had their land, their homes and their lives stolen from them. This Democratisation of Burma is only about one thing: Making money for huge corporations and individuals (I believe this includes Thaksin). Its not about resolving huge internal social issues. We should think about that.

[ARGUSEYE]

The country is called the Union of Myanmar, not Burma. The Burmese are the major ethnic group, but the country consists of many ethnic groups that have formed a union. Calling the country by the colonial name does not help the peace process with the other ethnic groups.

Do the Germans tell the rest of the world to call their country "Deutschland" or the Finns to call their country "Suomi"??

Germany and Finnland is easier

[phutoie2]

The military regime changed the name in 1989

after it declared martial law and brutally cracked down on pro-democratic uprisings, killing thousands in the process. It

has insisted that the country be called “Myanmar” in English ever since.

The UN endorsed the change and some usual suspects, China, Japan, France, Germany along with others all eyeing a quick buck were quick to use it too.

The US, UK, Canada and Australia refused to recognize the Military regime, and still use the name Burma.

We will have to wait and see what Aung San Suu Kyi does, maybe a referendum, something denied to them in 1989.

I know what I refer to the country as, hundreds of my countrymen are buried there from clearing out the Japanese in WW2, so the likes of 'tombkk' can visit.

[Tanaka]

One time these christian missionaries asked me to take them up the Mekong into Burma in my boat and I was all like "No way, Burma is a warzone." then they were all like "Please!" so I said Okay. Well, they later on got kidnapped by the army so me and a group of mercenaries had to go save them. At one point I got on the back of a jeep with a mounted machine gun and I turned a bunch of Burmese guys into hamburger. True Story...

Yeah, I read that book too.

[tombkk]

The country is called the Union of Myanmar, not Burma. The Burmese are the major ethnic group, but the country consists of many ethnic groups that have formed a union. Calling the country by the colonial name does not help the peace process with the other ethnic groups.

Do the Germans tell the rest of the world to call their country "Deutschland" or the Finns to call their country "Suomi"??

Germany and Finnland is easier

Sorry, Myanmar is the English-language name of the country.

[tombkk]

The military regime changed the name in 1989

after it declared martial law and brutally cracked down on pro-democratic uprisings, killing thousands in the process. It

has insisted that the country be called “Myanmar” in English ever since.

The UN endorsed the change and some usual suspects, China, Japan, France, Germany along with others all eyeing a quick buck were quick to use it too.

The US, UK, Canada and Australia refused to recognize the Military regime, and still use the name Burma.

We will have to wait and see what Aung San Suu Kyi does, maybe a referendum, something denied to them in 1989.

I know what I refer to the country as, hundreds of my countrymen are buried there from clearing out the Japanese in WW2, so the likes of 'tombkk' can visit.

The country was called Burma by the UK when it was a colony. It was legitimately changed to Myanmar because the word Burma is not ethnically inclusive. The name change has been recognized by the UN.

A Wikipedia article for some basic reading.

Australia has also recognized the country's name as Myanmar according to this article.

This has nothing to do with the atrocities of the military regime, it has to do with the name being correct.

Please explain what you mean by "the likes of tombkk". It very much sounds like you are against the opening?

[BusyB]

Tombkk, you can do VoA at Kawthaung, south Myanmar. It's a popular visa-run destination, but regardless of whether you are returning after getting your passport stamped, you are issued a 14 day VoA for $10, and allowed to travel up to 5km from the town. I think the remoteness of Kawthaung from the rest of Myanmar, coupled with the lack of ethnic problems/fighting, means that different rules apply.

Simon

Thanks for the info.

TomBKK

I've been following these Myanmar threads recently, because I'm thinking seriously of making a trip there at the New Year or thereabouts (when I'm in LOS). Decided to check on whether I can get a visa from Berlin before I leave and came up with this info from Myanmar's Berlin embassy. I'm posting it ref. your previous questions about VoA and what's valid when etc. It seems there's no chance for tourists right now.

"NEW: Visa on Arrival

It is a pleasure to announce that a limited form of Visa on Arrival is available for citizens of a limited number of countries to entry Myanmar.

Visa on Arrival will commence on 1st June 2012. The following three categories of Visa on arrival are available:

Types of Visa Visa fee [uS$] Duration of stay

1. Transit Visa 20.00 24 hours

2. Business Visa 50.00 70 days

Entry Visa for

meetings, workshops & events 40.00 28 days

The applicant shall apply for Visa On Arrival at Airport Immigration Section at Yangon International Airport obtaining the application form either from the airlines in Myanmar or the following website www.mip.gov.mm of the Ministry of Immigration and Population. You also may download the Visa on arrival forms here:

Transit Visa Form Business Visa Form Entry Visa Form

For the moment, Visa on Arrival is available for citizens of the following 26 countries:

Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, USA, and Vietnam.

Required terms and conditions, applications forms, and details of Visa on Arrival, are available here

or on the following Website: http://www.mip.gov.mm/visaonarrival/

NOTE: Visa on Arrival is NOT for tourists, for the moment!"

I note the countries this rule affects includes all the usual suspects from USA to Australia, and INCLUDING Thailand. Strikes me there's little chance of getting a VoA from BKK any time soon, but if anyone makes it I'd also like to hear about it.

Regards

BB

[crocken]

One time these christian missionaries asked me to take them up the Mekong into Burma in my boat and I was all like "No way, Burma is a warzone." then they were all like "Please!" so I said Okay. Well, they later on got kidnapped by the army so me and a group of mercenaries had to go save them. At one point I got on the back of a jeep with a mounted machine gun and I turned a bunch of Burmese guys into hamburger. True Story...

i saw that movie RAMBO......you are the man.........wow

[Tanaka]

del.double post

[nbg]

Somebody told me that Burma (Myanmar) does not have ATM's, true/false?.

Just wondering.

The last I heard from a friend who has traveled there for years is you must bring in cash and can't even pay for a good hotel with a credit card. Some ATMs but not for foreign cards. Even travelers checks -- no good. My info may be a few years old. Obviously that stuff has to improve to make a bigger tourist destination. Right now, they don't even have many hotel rooms.

I have been to Burma a few times and no ATM's however this was 4-5 years back...

[bangkokheat]

I suspect that burma will become in time more flexible with its immigration laws to help gain a good reputation