This entry is geared for travelers currently planning on visiting Myanmar. There isn't much story telling here, just information that we gathered though our experiences that wasn't in any guide book.
Now that it's open to tourism, Myanmar is changing rapidly. Almost everything you read in the guide books is out of date. Heck, this post is probably already out of date but was current as of December 2013. That's both good and bad. The bad is that everything costs more than what you've been told. Not that much more in the grand scheme of things, but more none-the-less. It's good because it's easy to get around and ATMs are now plentiful. How plentiful you might ask? There are two staring at you as you wait in line at customs in the airport, almost all large banks have them (some small ones too), and there are even some at the Shwedagon Pagoda.
Kyat is now king. We got brand-spanking-new 5,000 kyat notes out of the ATM in the airport and used them almost exclusively except for when we were required to use US dollars (government run services) – train ticket, ferry ticket, and the Bagan archeological area. The maximum withdrawal was 300,000 kyat at a time plus a 5,000 kyat ATM fee. So get kyat and spend kyat, leave most of your dollars at home. What was even more surprising is that on more than one occasion in rural areas the locals asked us to exchange $1 or $5 notes into kyat for them – they all knew the current exchange rate, too.
A taxi from the airport in Yangon to our hotel in the old city center cost 9,000 kyat (supposedly 2,000 more because it was night). A taxi from the Yangon bus station to the same place should cost 8,000 kyat or 4,000 kyat per person – verify the price and threaten to take bus 43 to the city center (400 kyat) if needed. We stayed at The White House which cost $27 per night (very small rooms but clean, a great buffet breakfast, and an awesome free map of Yangon) – many places still list prices in USD but accept kyat.
Our train from Yangon to Bagan was going to cost $40 per person, but it was unexpectedly cancelled. They tried to refund the money with an old $100 bill (1981 series A) – I didn't like the feel of it (literally the feel of the bill) so I insisted on different notes, $75 and 5,000 kyat was what we settled on.
Our bus from Yangon to Bagan should have cost 13,000 kyat each – I won't get into how much we really paid due to extenuating circumstances as at the time (i.e. the cancelled train). Overnight busses are air conditioned and cold, bring a sweater or blanket, I don't care that you're used to the cold. Of note, one of our overnight busses did provide a pillow, blanket, and water. And the bus will probably break down somehow/somewhere but rest assured there's an unofficial pit-crew sitting amongst you – there were very few tourists on the busses we took.
Our horse cart ride from the bus station in Bagan (technically Nyaung-U) to our hotel in Nyaung-U at 6am cost 4,000 kyat. Their going rate for a full day tour was 20,000 kyat so we overpaid by lots but we were tired and were uncertain as to where our bus had dropped us off. Our hotel cost $25 per night for a spacious room with private bath and breakfast – we had to make this reservation the old fashioned way, by phone.
In Bagan, ride a bike to the temples. Get lost. Watch a sunrise and a sunset from the top of a secluded temple. You'll love every minute of it. But bring a headlamp, not just for you but to alert oncoming/passing traffic in the dark.
We took the slow, local ferry from Bagan to Mandalay. We loved it! It cost $15/each, took two full days, and we slept on the deck of the boat. There was plenty of inexpensive food for sale from the ladies cooking at the back of the boat. We read and were told that we would pull into a village for the night and could find a hotel, but that information was inaccurate.
In Mandalay, the Mandalay Archeological Zone fee was 10,000 kyat. There was a "Notice for all Foreigners" stating that the only currency they would accept is kyat. Our hotel here cost us $30/night with breakfast included.
Our bus from Mandalay to Yangon cost 11,500 kyat – I think.
Something very helpful that we did was we made change at a bank. We got a bundle of 100 and 1,000 kyat bills when we started, often people/places wouldn't have enough change available to break the 5,000 bills that we got from the ATMs. The staff was very friendly but it took a bit of explaining that we didn't want to exchange currencies, just denominations.
Be cautious of accepting ANY US dollar from ANYWHERE. The couple behind us in the airport changed a stack of kyat back to US dollars and got some counterfeit bills from the official exchange office in return. I exchanged our kyat at an office near our gate, after customs, their rate was a bit better than the offices near the airline counters.
Another thing that helped us out on multiple occasions was that on our first day in Myanmar we learned the Burmese numerals for 0-9. The majority of signs in Myanmar don't use Arabic numerals – the symbols that most of the developed world uses – and by learning them we could then determine bus numbers and marked prices.
There you have it. Now check out our actual story posts in our Destinations page.
Now that it's open to tourism, Myanmar is changing rapidly. Almost everything you read in the guide books is out of date. Heck, this post is probably already out of date but was current as of December 2013. That's both good and bad. The bad is that everything costs more than what you've been told. Not that much more in the grand scheme of things, but more none-the-less. It's good because it's easy to get around and ATMs are now plentiful. How plentiful you might ask? There are two staring at you as you wait in line at customs in the airport, almost all large banks have them (some small ones too), and there are even some at the Shwedagon Pagoda.
Kyat is now king. We got brand-spanking-new 5,000 kyat notes out of the ATM in the airport and used them almost exclusively except for when we were required to use US dollars (government run services) – train ticket, ferry ticket, and the Bagan archeological area. The maximum withdrawal was 300,000 kyat at a time plus a 5,000 kyat ATM fee. So get kyat and spend kyat, leave most of your dollars at home. What was even more surprising is that on more than one occasion in rural areas the locals asked us to exchange $1 or $5 notes into kyat for them – they all knew the current exchange rate, too.
A taxi from the airport in Yangon to our hotel in the old city center cost 9,000 kyat (supposedly 2,000 more because it was night). A taxi from the Yangon bus station to the same place should cost 8,000 kyat or 4,000 kyat per person – verify the price and threaten to take bus 43 to the city center (400 kyat) if needed. We stayed at The White House which cost $27 per night (very small rooms but clean, a great buffet breakfast, and an awesome free map of Yangon) – many places still list prices in USD but accept kyat.
Our train from Yangon to Bagan was going to cost $40 per person, but it was unexpectedly cancelled. They tried to refund the money with an old $100 bill (1981 series A) – I didn't like the feel of it (literally the feel of the bill) so I insisted on different notes, $75 and 5,000 kyat was what we settled on.
Our bus from Yangon to Bagan should have cost 13,000 kyat each – I won't get into how much we really paid due to extenuating circumstances as at the time (i.e. the cancelled train). Overnight busses are air conditioned and cold, bring a sweater or blanket, I don't care that you're used to the cold. Of note, one of our overnight busses did provide a pillow, blanket, and water. And the bus will probably break down somehow/somewhere but rest assured there's an unofficial pit-crew sitting amongst you – there were very few tourists on the busses we took.
Our horse cart ride from the bus station in Bagan (technically Nyaung-U) to our hotel in Nyaung-U at 6am cost 4,000 kyat. Their going rate for a full day tour was 20,000 kyat so we overpaid by lots but we were tired and were uncertain as to where our bus had dropped us off. Our hotel cost $25 per night for a spacious room with private bath and breakfast – we had to make this reservation the old fashioned way, by phone.
In Bagan, ride a bike to the temples. Get lost. Watch a sunrise and a sunset from the top of a secluded temple. You'll love every minute of it. But bring a headlamp, not just for you but to alert oncoming/passing traffic in the dark.
We took the slow, local ferry from Bagan to Mandalay. We loved it! It cost $15/each, took two full days, and we slept on the deck of the boat. There was plenty of inexpensive food for sale from the ladies cooking at the back of the boat. We read and were told that we would pull into a village for the night and could find a hotel, but that information was inaccurate.
In Mandalay, the Mandalay Archeological Zone fee was 10,000 kyat. There was a "Notice for all Foreigners" stating that the only currency they would accept is kyat. Our hotel here cost us $30/night with breakfast included.
Our bus from Mandalay to Yangon cost 11,500 kyat – I think.
Something very helpful that we did was we made change at a bank. We got a bundle of 100 and 1,000 kyat bills when we started, often people/places wouldn't have enough change available to break the 5,000 bills that we got from the ATMs. The staff was very friendly but it took a bit of explaining that we didn't want to exchange currencies, just denominations.
Be cautious of accepting ANY US dollar from ANYWHERE. The couple behind us in the airport changed a stack of kyat back to US dollars and got some counterfeit bills from the official exchange office in return. I exchanged our kyat at an office near our gate, after customs, their rate was a bit better than the offices near the airline counters.
Another thing that helped us out on multiple occasions was that on our first day in Myanmar we learned the Burmese numerals for 0-9. The majority of signs in Myanmar don't use Arabic numerals – the symbols that most of the developed world uses – and by learning them we could then determine bus numbers and marked prices.
There you have it. Now check out our actual story posts in our Destinations page.
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