Chin state.

[Mahseer]

Hi folks, just started looking into Chin state visit, which will not happen until October due to expected rains, but aside from the tattoed ladies and the nose flute players and Mt Victoria what else should I be looking into?

This will be a hired jeep sort of trip and this will be part of a month stay so plenty of time for detours. Point of origin will be Bagan. Anyone know of any cool places in Chin?

Thanks

[Halfaboy]

Are you sure that you can enter this area ? At least in the southern part were 'some problems' not too long ago.

[Mahseer]

As of yesterday sure as spoke to the guide I'm going with. Every chance I'll need permission but this is apparently a formality but it does take 30 days to approve.

[Mahseer]

Just received a quote for a 4 day/3 night trip for 2 to Chin State. Point of origin is Bagan and price includes; jeep /driver /guide/ lodging/ food /permits. Cost for 2: US$2,690.

I did a similar trip to Arunachal Pradesh, India 2 years back which was 18 days and cost US$3,400.

We all know about hotel prices in Burma but was not expecting such a high price for such a short tour. Agency is Exotissimo and is not the one I plan on travelling with but wanted a second quote for comparison. Still waiting on preferred agency quote.

[mingalaba]

Just received a quote for a 4 day/3 night trip for 2 to Chin State. Point of origin is Bagan and price includes; jeep /driver /guide/ lodging/ food /permits. Cost for 2: US$2,690.

I did a similar trip to Arunachal Pradesh, India 2 years back which was 18 days and cost US$3,400.

We all know about hotel prices in Burma but was not expecting such a high price for such a short tour. Agency is Exotissimo and is not the one I plan on travelling with but wanted a second quote for comparison. Still waiting on preferred agency quote.

2690 USD for a 4 days/3 nights trip to Chin state for 2???

Is this an serious offer? Maybe it´s 269 USD and they just made a typing mistake?

I know a guy who has been to Chin-State since some of the travel restrictions have been lifted...Maybe you should look into that instead of doing an expensive guided tour.

Edited July 16, 2013 by mingalaba

[Halfaboy]

I was also wondering about the price when I read it. Four days car (with driver / annex guide) should be around 240 US$ and three nights hotel is (around) 60 US$. Plus some minor costs.

Wondering what the other 2.300 US$ will cover.

[Mahseer]

Hi folks, whenever I look into a guided tour, which is extremely infrequently, I have learnt to check more than one price and it really is scary some of the numbers that are being thrown out. That price is written correctly and truly is $2,690 frnom the wonders that are Exotissimo. I had never heard of them but the lad sitting across from me on the plane recommended them so I contacted them and asked for a quote.

I am still waiting on approval from those that rule but have a 15 day trip lined up for similar amount quoted starting in Sittwe and ending in Bagan.

Safe travels.

[SeaVisionBurma]

The price does sound steep, but Exotissimo has a reputation for higher end fully guided small group tours

I have heard some good reports about them as a travel company, but I haven't used them myself.

Sure it can be done cheaper if you have the time to do all the research and planning and apply for permits yourself, but as a friend of mine told me recently he is dollar rich but time poor - he prefers to spend the money on a tailored package and simply arrive (he is a grumpy busy oil and gas engineer so I kind of see his point)

Good luck - let us know how you get on

SVB

[Tomtomtom69]

As of yesterday sure as spoke to the guide I'm going with. Every chance I'll need permission but this is apparently a formality but it does take 30 days to approve.

30 days to approve? How the hell do they expect you to wait in Myanmar for that long, when a tourist visa only allows you to legally stay 28 days? Can't you just pay them a facilitation payment to speed up this process?

[Mahseer]

As of yesterday sure as spoke to the guide I'm going with. Every chance I'll need permission but this is apparently a formality but it does take 30 days to approve.

30 days to approve? How the hell do they expect you to wait in Myanmar for that long, when a tourist visa only allows you to legally stay 28 days? Can't you just pay them a facilitation payment to speed up this process?

No need to be in country to apply. Just need copy of passport and intended dates of travel.

[Mahseer]

As of yesterday sure as spoke to the guide I'm going with. Every chance I'll need permission but this is apparently a formality but it does take 30 days to approve.

30 days to approve? How the hell do they expect you to wait in Myanmar for that long, when a tourist visa only allows you to legally stay 28 days? Can't you just pay them a facilitation payment to speed up this process?

No need to be in country to apply. Just need copy of passport and intended dates of travel.

[SeaVisionBurma]

As of yesterday sure as spoke to the guide I'm going with. Every chance I'll need permission but this is apparently a formality but it does take 30 days to approve.

30 days to approve? How the hell do they expect you to wait in Myanmar for that long, when a tourist visa only allows you to legally stay 28 days? Can't you just pay them a facilitation payment to speed up this process?

Where does it say in the OP that that they will be arriving first before they apply for the permits? Seems perfectly logical that you would start this process long before you arrive in the country.

[Tomtomtom69]

As of yesterday sure as spoke to the guide I'm going with. Every chance I'll need permission but this is apparently a formality but it does take 30 days to approve.

30 days to approve? How the hell do they expect you to wait in Myanmar for that long, when a tourist visa only allows you to legally stay 28 days? Can't you just pay them a facilitation payment to speed up this process?

Where does it say in the OP that that they will be arriving first before they apply for the permits? Seems perfectly logical that you would start this process long before you arrive in the country.

Good to know, but it has never been clear to me how to go about organizing permits for restricted areas. Myanmar is one of those countries where you have to show up in person to get things done (as if we were still living in the 1930's but Myanmar is still kinda like that); I have personally dealt with MT&T, which is an absolutely hopeless and useless agency - yet they are supposedly the ones who "organize" permits. I emailed them in January regarding the Hpa-an to Myawaddy road - no replies whatsoever, even after I kept re-sending my original email. After showing up in person on my first day in Yangon, one lady I spoke to wasn't even sure if Hpa-an was open (seems she was living in a time warp, and besides I didn't go there to discuss Hpa-an, which has been open for years) and laughed a little when I asked her about what I wanted to do in the then restricted area between Thamenyar and Myawaddy. In any case, I knew permission was required at the time but the only answer she had was to email her head office in Naypyidaw, the same one I had emailed from the beginning. I also asked about driving a car from Thailand into the area and she mentioned that they only had experience with "motorcycle tours". It also took her about 10 minutes to give me the price of one of these tours, though I wasn't really interested but it just showed their level of incompetence. Also, they don't even have one computer in their office, it really was like stepping back in time.

I even asked about organizing a car with driver, but they weren't able to do that either. As I was looking to leave immediately that afternoon, I gave up any hope of dealing with them and simply told them I would go to Kayin State myself that afternoon. They didn't even bat an eyelid and within 30 minutes, I found a driver on the street with the help of a friendly guide and we were on our way. This was after I found the quote for a car with driver from a nearby travel agency to be too high.

I always thought permits were "impossible" to organize from abroad, especially when most travel agencies I have contacted are extremely hopeless when it comes to emails. Of the 3-4 agencies I emailed back in January about the Mandalay-Muse road (which is now open, so by the time I traveled through in April no more permits were required) one of them replied but didn't have the answer I was looking for. A follow-up email by me and they went silent - the other three didn't even bother to reply; if they don't want people's business then they should stop advertising their services online.

So if anyone could tell me who to contact about permits and how that would be much appreciated. And forget about calling them - I feel that companies should be able to be emailed first not to mention that calling Myanmar costs like $2 or even more a minute and I am not going to recharge my Thai SIM card for 1000 Baht only to be able to have a 5-minute conversation - email is much clearer because it's in writing. Or perhaps going through a Thai travel agency would be more reliable? A recent Bangkok Post article about driving into Myanmar from Thailand mentioned contacting one of two Thai travel agencies that specializes in such tours. I can't begin to imagine the nightmares of trying to deal with a Myanmar agency directly for a trip like that.

The good news is that most of the restricted areas that I planned on visiting or have visited have now opened up or are in the process of opening up, hence there won't be any further need to deal with local travel agencies or MT&T anymore.