Travel Tips For Myanmar - 2013 Updates

[SeaVisionBurma]

LP has published some updated general travel information for Myanmar.

Link is here: The Essential Guide to Travelling to Myanmar/Burma

Contains some relevant and useful information which will be helpful to new travellers (and to those who haven't been there in a while)

One error I can see however - can anyone spot it?

Hope this is of some use

[craigt3365]

Seems I missed the window for cheap accommodations!!!!

[SeaVisionBurma]

Seems I missed the window for cheap accommodations!!!!

Heading into the less-busy season now, so the pressure on rooms eases somewhat.

Whether accommodation prices drop off this year remains to be seen.

[Mahseer]

Looking at first trip as tourist and want to include a visit to Chin state to see the tattoed ladies. I have seen the same in Arunachal Pradesh and curious to see those in Burma. Not clued up to lay of the land so 2 questions please;

Is this possible during rainy season.

Will the recent strife effect any plans to Chin state.

Thanks

[Halfaboy]

Looking at first trip as tourist and want to include a visit to Chin state to see the tattoed ladies. I have seen the same in Arunachal Pradesh and curious to see those in Burma. Not clued up to lay of the land so 2 questions please;

Is this possible during rainy season.

Will the recent strife effect any plans to Chin state.

Thanks

Was hoping for some more reactions. Well, maybe they will come....

[SeaVisionBurma]

Actually it might be better for Mahseer to start a new topic as it is a specific question about a specific region, and their query might not be seen as much in this particular thread - will send a PM.

[IsaanUSA]

One error I can see however - can anyone spot it?

I was only there once for a short time, but I felt all the information was correct. What is the error?

[SeaVisionBurma]

One error I can see however - can anyone spot it?

I was only there once for a short time, but I felt all the information was correct. What is the error?

I might have been just being a bit pedantic when I first read it. The author writes about 'National Democratic League' posters - yet Aung San Suu Kyi's party is the National League for Democracy. Small difference perhaps, but a Lonely Planet writer should probably make the effort.

[IsaanUSA]

Ahhhh, ok. I was looking for something blatantly wrong.

[Rain dancer]

Thanks a lot for this posting. I'm new to this site and it's a marvelous source of information.

Keep up the good work !

[DagonKhan]

Seems I missed the window for cheap accommodations!!!!

Heading into the less-busy season now, so the pressure on rooms eases somewhat.

Whether accommodation prices drop off this year remains to be seen.

Heard the other night that Summit Parkview has now started charging monsoon rates. I was told that they've dropped their prices to US$50-60/night.

[kurnell]

Are the Burmese still anal about US$ notes. My wife is going today with notes that have all been stabled and stamped with "true" as in this pic

[SeaVisionBurma]

Are the Burmese still anal about US$ notes. My wife is going today with notes that have all been stabled and stamped with "true" as in this picImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect Thailand1369788050.364430.jpg

They are still anal about it, but its gradually improving.

If you are unable to get this changed to clean unblemished notes by the time your wife goes today, then she may have to shop around to get them exchanged - or accept a slightly lower exchange rate (5-10 kyats per $).

Best to try and get clean ones today - but it won't be the end of the world if she can't.

Sorry I can't be clearer than that - its a finicky thing...

[Tomtomtom69]

SeaVisionBurma, on 29 May 2013 - 07:40, said:

kurnell, on 29 May 2013 - 07:33, said:

Are the Burmese still anal about US$ notes. My wife is going today with notes that have all been stabled and stamped with "true" as in this picImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect Thailand1369788050.364430.jpg

They are still anal about it, but its gradually improving.

If you are unable to get this changed to clean unblemished notes by the time your wife goes today, then she may have to shop around to get them exchanged - or accept a slightly lower exchange rate (5-10 kyats per $).

Best to try and get clean ones today - but it won't be the end of the world if she can't.

Sorry I can't be clearer than that - its a finicky thing...

All my US$ notes that I brought into Myanmar on my last trip in April had this stamp on them, nothing you can do. However, you can also do what I did, which is to bring the bulk of your cash in Euros (or alternatively, Singapore Dollars). In fact, I brought 90% of my cash in Euros and only 10% in US dollars just to pay for air tickets. Why? Because for some reason, the Burmese are less fickle when it comes to the condition of Euro notes. Sure, they shouldn't be in a state of disintegration, but as long as they're reasonably clean, they'll pass. On the other hand, they make a big deal about US$ but nobody gave a crap about this stamp. The other reason to wean yourself off US$ is because now with the advent of ATMs in Myanmar and credit card acceptance slowly rising (mostly at hotels) you can increasingly fund your trip mostly in Kyat and pay for the more expensive hotels by credit card or alternatively, book them online and pay using a credit card - I also found the only places that required dollars (from everyone, including local Burmese) was for air tickets and visas for foreign countries. Everything else I was able to pay for in Kyat - no need even to ask, just say you're paying in Kyat and they'll convert the US$ rate for you.

[kurnell]

Cheers. I don't think she has a choice as it is too late, so we will see how it goes.

[Halfaboy]

Believe me or not, before I go I usually iron the notes from which I am unsure if they will be accepted. This improves the condition slghtly. On the other hand, when changing to US$ at the Bangkok Bank they know the problem and usually give you brand new notes.