A Glimpse Into Myanmar

[SeaVisionBurma]

Another showcase video for Myanmar has been spotted doing the rounds.

Some fantastic footage to be seen in this particular clip.

Enjoy, and feel free to comment below on your thoughts!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNkls3J9NI4

[Damaz6052]

I liked the editing and the photography wasn't very sharp. Overall I enjoyed watching the clip. Cheers

[recycler]

It still is a land of smiles and friendly people, I hope they do manage to keep it like this!

[phuketrichard]

very nice short glimpse into a kingdom on the verge of entering the 21st century.

[onthemoon]

It shows a country that is mysterious to us Westerners (the music helps to create that impression), and one that is undeveloped and behind the moon. Low-tech with oxen carts and paddle boats (did I see a long-tail boat?) as the extent of technology used. Long-neck hill-tribe women weaving...

This may attract tourists that like the "third-world flavour" so they can feel superior. And the children at the end are "sooo cute", confirming the target group of this video.

What I like about Myanmar (but I have only been to Yangon) is the effort they show to live up to the world as it is now, rather than trying to be trapped in previous centuries. They really put energy into catching up, and this is not shown in the video. Only scenes are shown of people and situations that have not caught up, doing injustice to those who want to bring Myanmar into the 21st century.

gd&r

[flyingdoc]

And they make more effort to learn English, which is another plus point. The hotel situation is being remedied, and as more are built, then there may be more competition and prices become more comparable with those in Thailand.

[phuketrichard]

my first visit to Burma ( Yangoon and Mandalay) was in 1988 back than u had 7 days, had to change $200, only stay at government approved hotels, travel on government approved transport, currency exchange very strict,

visit last week to Myanmar; Mandalay/Bagan/ Hsipaw/Namhsan/Mogok

30 day visa, travel open in many areas but still restricted in some ( mostly up norht an don the western border region) but u can stay anywhere you please,/travel anyway you like

Mandalay has not really changed that much except a bit more traffic and stores.

BUT speaking to locals and seeing the construction they are moving forward at a fast pace, in 5 years it will all be changed so if you have the chance go now

hundreds of miles of pristine coastline, mtns, temples, history.

It was a very nice change from Thailand Cambodia an Laos,

[metaben]

The main thing that struck me was the absence of litter, plastic bags and Styrofoam.

[Halfaboy]

The main thing that struck me was the absence of litter, plastic bags and Styrofoam.

I would say 'have a better look'. I travelled by boat from Bagan to Mandalay and noticed that everywhere lots of garbage form villages (including plastics etc) was just dumped into the river (Irrawaddy). Also at other places it starts looking like Thailand. It's a huge problem already.

[phuketrichard]

i just traveled by boat FROM Mandalay to Bagan an than Train back

alongside the train tracks, what seemed like miles from any where there were piles of trash,plastic bags etc.

although the cities i visited along the way ( and also on my 700 kms motorcycle trip) saw very little litter alongside the roads.

http://phuket.zenfolio.com/f125862719

[SeaVisionBurma]

i just traveled by boat FROM Mandalay to Bagan an than Train back

alongside the train tracks, what seemed like miles from any where there were piles of trash,plastic bags etc.

although the cities i visited along the way ( and also on my 700 kms motorcycle trip) saw very little litter alongside the roads.

http://phuket.zenfolio.com/f125862719

Some fantastic photos there, really enjoyed seeing these and appreciate you posting them.

So - how did you rate your trip overall and would you recommend the same route to others?

Please feel free to start a new topic dedicated to your trip if you want, your experiences would be most welcome!

ps - I was especially taken with the Gokteik Viaduct shots, I had read about this unusual bridge (in an old Paul Theroux book) many years before I first moved to Myanmar for work, and it has fascinated me ever since.

[GLOPglopMAmaTONG]

my first visit to Burma ( Yangoon and Mandalay) was in 1988 back than u had 7 days, had to change $200, only stay at government approved hotels, travel on government approved transport, currency exchange very strict,

visit last week to Myanmar; Mandalay/Bagan/ Hsipaw/Namhsan/Mogok

30 day visa, travel open in many areas but still restricted in some ( mostly up norht an don the western border region) but u can stay anywhere you please,/travel anyway you like

Mandalay has not really changed that much except a bit more traffic and stores.

BUT speaking to locals and seeing the construction they are moving forward at a fast pace, in 5 years it will all be changed so if you have the chance go now

hundreds of miles of pristine coastline, mtns, temples, history.

It was a very nice change from Thailand Cambodia an Laos,

Thank you for this observation.

As you know, we sometimes feel that the unspoiled parts of Asia have passed us by before we really had a chance to see them.

It sounds as if you find Myanmar still retains much of what you saw, even over 25 years ago! WHich is incredible, almost! So this means I am now very motivated to go before the place begins to take off and develop just like the Japanese cities did in 1965, or the Asian 5 Tigers did a few years after that.

[phuketrichard]

Thanks :-)

rated the trip excellent an suggest everyone do the same if they can

the express boat down to Bagan was good and the train back was better. 2 days in Bagan was plenty BUT i for one think Angkor Wat is much more spectacular.

I preferred Mandalay to Bagan and loved that in 26 years it had not changed that much an i seriously doubt it ever will become like the cities in Laos, Cambodia an Thailand for a very long time, i saw no western owned shops, restaurants, gh at all, unlike the other 3 countries .

the best part of the trip was renting the bikes and heading out.

I am now in the process of getting permission to enter Mogok, Legally this time , expect t head back in late Oct/nov.

seems we need pay for permission, hire a certified guide and rent one of their 4dw

cost about 1,600 for 4 people and 4 days 3 nights in Mogok.

[Tomtomtom69]

my first visit to Burma ( Yangoon and Mandalay) was in 1988 back than u had 7 days, had to change $200, only stay at government approved hotels, travel on government approved transport, currency exchange very strict,

visit last week to Myanmar; Mandalay/Bagan/ Hsipaw/Namhsan/Mogok

30 day visa, travel open in many areas but still restricted in some ( mostly up norht an don the western border region) but u can stay anywhere you please,/travel anyway you like

Mandalay has not really changed that much except a bit more traffic and stores.

BUT speaking to locals and seeing the construction they are moving forward at a fast pace, in 5 years it will all be changed so if you have the chance go now

hundreds of miles of pristine coastline, mtns, temples, history.

It was a very nice change from Thailand Cambodia an Laos,

My parents also visited Myanmar in 1988 for the first time and remember the whiskey bottle sale to get more time on your visa.

So Mogok is open now without a tour?

BTW you can go right up to Muse on the Chinese border now. I did, last year (for business as I was accompanying a shipment of goods heading over to China). However, the border crossing with China will only open to foreigners in the next few months or so and wasn't open (without a permit at least) when I went last year. Very, very few foreigners have ever been to Muse and in fact, despite being a border town even Chinese from the other side of the border were largely prevented from going there until recently (due to security reasons). This is probably because up until 2 months before I went you needed a permit and unless you are heading onto China or coming from China, being a "dead end" and not a very attractive town doesn't make it much of a place for most foreigners to visit (even Chinese, when permitted to visit can't leave Muse - there's a checkpoint 10km from the border). But it's fascinating nonetheless and so is the scenery along the way, which is actually more of a highlight than anything in the border town, which is a far shabbier version of it's booming neighbor across the border, Ruili. Anyway all of that is about to change but we're still awaiting news of the border opening almost a year after it was first announced and just under a year since 4 Thai-Myanmar border checkpoints opened for proper overland travel.

[phuketrichard]

yep bottle johnny walker and a cartoon 555's

nope as i wrote above, Mogok is closed, you need official permission ( takes 10 days, an official guide an hire a 4wd car.)

we went in the back way, so to speak, an rode past 3 check points that happened to be open at the time ( one had a sleeping guard)

as to China your allowed to cross over IF you have Chinese visa already ( same goes for Laos) but you cant enter from China ( even if u have a visa)

I have heard Muse is a Chinese town with few Burmese living there.

[Tomtomtom69]

yep bottle johnny walker and a cartoon 555's

nope as i wrote above, Mogok is closed, you need official permission ( takes 10 days, an official guide an hire a 4wd car.)

we went in the back way, so to speak, an rode past 3 check points that happened to be open at the time ( one had a sleeping guard)

as to China your allowed to cross over IF you have Chinese visa already ( same goes for Laos) but you cant enter from China ( even if u have a visa)

I have heard Muse is a Chinese town with few Burmese living there.

Doesn't quite sound right - you can only cross in either direction if you have a permit issued by the Myanmar authorities despite being in possession of a visa. I was told something vague along the same lines by Myanmar immigration that I could perhaps cross with a Chinese visa in my passport (didn't have one at the time) but not in the other direction but from various accounts I have read that information seems to be false. You will be able to cross soon, in both directions, just with a visa but not yet.

The Laos/Myanmar border thingy is weird - the only source that suggests it might be possible to cross there (with a visa for both countries) is Rideasia.net but since nobody has ever posted a trip report I think it's unlikely. There is no official crossing there and never has been there. There will be one once the bridge opens, but that's at least another year away.

Muse in my opinion is NOT really Chinese at all. There appeared to be relatively few Chinese living in or visiting town when I was there last year and only some Burmese even speak Chinese at all - I was even surprised at the number of people who could speak at least passable English, which appeared to be more than those who could speak Chinese (BTW I can speak passable Chinese myself). Most Burmese from there or further afield are more likely to be found living and working across the border in Ruili, which is more Burmese than it is Chinese, despite being located on Chinese soil. The vast majority of laborers, prostitutes, massage workers etc. in that town are Burmese and not Chinese. The China-Myanmar border area is nothing like say northern Laos, which definitely has more Chinese residents living on the Lao side of the border near the frontier than locals with almost no Lao living on the Chinese side.

[phuketrichard]

interesting;

I am waiting ( although doubt it will happen in my lifetime) of open borders.

So many places i have been to/thru are now closed to me as a American.

[jack76]

Hello,

I liked to go Myanmar next month about 5 november .Will fly into Mandalay .

My question here : How can i get permission to visit Mogok and Namshan ? I must do with local tour operator?

And does anyone know any great tour operator with guide and car?

Thank you so much

[SeaVisionBurma]

Hello,

I liked to go Myanmar next month about 5 november .Will fly into Mandalay .

My question here : How can i get permission to visit Mogok and Namshan ? I must do with local tour operator?

And does anyone know any great tour operator with guide and car?

Thank you so much

Hi Jack,

Please start a new topic with your questions

Thank you

SVB

[phazey]

Video has gone private. Poo.