Report: May 2012

[Rogie]

A recent short side-trip to Burma (Myanmar) didn't throw up any major surprises. Here is a rundown of the current situation as I found it.

 

Getting there: I used Myanmar Airways International (MAI) to fly Bkk to Rangoon, cost 8,200 baht rtn, travelling out on a Wednesday, returning the following Sunday.

 

Non-stop flights: 8 per day, 1h 18m duration

Airlines: Thai, AirAsia, Bangkok Airways, MAI

−Schedule of non-stop flights

Valid through 31 May

07:15 → 08:00 BKK-RGN M T W T F S S AirAsia 3770

07:55 → 08:50 BKK-RGN M T W T F S S Thai 303

09:15 → 10:05 BKK-RGN M T W T F S S Bangkok Airways 701

11:50 → 12:35 BKK-RGN M T W T F S S MAI 336

15:00 → 15:50 BKK-RGN M T W T F S S Bangkok Airways 703

16:50 → 17:35 BKK-RGN M T W T F S S AirAsia 3772

17:50 → 18:45 BKK-RGN M T W T F S S Thai 305

19:15 → 20:00 BKK-RGN M T W T F S S MAI 332

 

Visas: Burma have introduced visa on arrival at Rangoon airport in the past and just as suddenly withdrawn it. Currently you have to do it the traditional way. Which I declined to do. The visa was obtained from Siammar travel agent, Soi Pan, Bangkok and cost me 2,500 baht. This is far in excess of what you would pay by patiently queuing early one morning at the Myanmar Embassy, handing in your completed application form, your passport and two passport-size photos and being told to come back in the afternoon 3 days hence for the visa. I have done this myself in the past and can no longer be bothered to do it in such archaic fashion, albeit a lot cheaper. I have seen posts on bulletin boards such as this one: "I showed up at 8am (the Embassy opens at 9) to find already 40 people ahead of me in the Q". The visa takes up a full page in your passport and it now incorporates a small photocopy of the photo you supplied them with.

 

The Bangkok Post carried an item on Monday to say citizens of any of the ASEAN countries will be eligible for a tourist visa on arrival as from 1st June. Business visas will be available for all nationalities.

 

Immigration: I sailed through, the airport is clean and spacious and a big improvement on a few years ago.

 

Exchange rate: Not so good just now. The black market rate has been around 1,000 kyats to the US$ for many years. The best rate I was offered on my visit was 850 (by a street urchin using a hand-held calculator), with 830 perhaps being a more realistic top rate somewhere reputable.

 

Costs: Carefully work out your projected budget well beforehand and bring it into the country as US Dollars. Notes must be post-2006 issue, unfolded and with no tears or writing on them. (Such paranoia is perhaps laughable in view of one of the Burmese generals' pals North Korea producing what is recognised as near-perfect forgeries. If you ask me, the older, the more tatty the note, the better!). There are ATM's but they do not accept foreign cards. Credit cards are accepted at a few top-end hotels I believe, otherwise forget it. Travellers cheques are hard to change. Inflation in Burma is of the order of 30% per annum. That's a lot higher than inflation affecting the purchasing power of the US$ worldwide I would imagine. Simply put, that means that if you pay in $US you are probably getting round that problem. Some travel sites recommend paying for your hotel and travel in advance and there is a lot to be said for doing that.

 

Tea: Lonely Planet used to use the cost of a cup of tea in a typical Burmese teahouse as a good yardstick. In their 1996 edition tea cost approx 8 kyats. I did not visit a teahouse on my recent visit but according to the 2011 edition tea will now set you back 250 kyats. I leave the mathematicians amongst us to work out if that ties in with the already stated inflation of approx 30% per annum.

 

Beer: half litre draught beer 600 kyats, bottle 'Myanmar' brand (630 cc size) 2,000 kyats. Bottle of water in restaurant 300 - 400 kyats.

 

Food: Portion of rice 500 kyats. Cooked snack eg. steamed vegetables 1,500 kyats. Typical main course meal eg curry, sweet and sour chicken, 3,000 kyats. Whole steamed fish 6,000 kyats.

 

Clothing: T-shirt from stall in the Scott Market 2,500 kyats. 100% cotton, made in Myanmar. NB. If you under-pack for hot weather like I did lightweight clothing is cheap.

 

Bus: You would have to be pretty desperate to use one of the local buses, but long-distance buses are fine. The fares, like other costs in Burma, have been greatly affected by inflation - payment in kyats.

 

Taxi: Short hop within inner Rangoon 1,000 kyats. Taxi from airport US$7, although drivers waiting outside the airport will ask for $10 or even $15. There are no meter taxis. Air conditioning? Yes, if you call driving with all the windows open that is. Most taxis are hardly more than scrap metal on wheels. Although the Burmese drive on the right, most vehicles are RHD. Confused? Well, the story seems to be that many years ago some mad superstitious general decided to change from driving on the left to driving on the right. Only the newest cars on the road have LHD.

 

Hotels: I stayed at the Three Seasons Hotel, 52nd Street, Rangoon. e-mail: phyuaung@mptmail.net.mm. Tel: 95-1-9010066. This is a small family-owned and run place, with a guesthouse atmosphere. It has only 9 rooms. Twin room $25, includes an excellent breakfast. Hotel was more or less full which is not bad going considering the April heat. Most guests only stay a night or two and are either just arrived in Rangoon or stopping there en route to up-country. Hotel management are most helpful and can help with planning visits to other parts of the country. Money can be changed at the reception desk. My visit they were offering 800 kyats to the US$.

 

General atmosphere: Unchanged. Despite the mood of optimism amongst many tourists, I didn't see any difference amongst the Burmese themselves. Years of stoical forbearance, allied to a general friendliness towards foreigners (similar to Thailand), would explain that I think.

 

Gay life in Rangoon: Unexplored on this trip. I was there to meet up with a friend. Previous visits have drawn a blank despite finding a bar staffed with delightful young men! If you are determined and exercise discretion and patience you will probably make some headway. One big problem as I see it is where to go after meeting your new friend. My understanding is it will be awkward to take him to your room. Day visits would probably be ok but overnight visitors would be another matter altogether. That's just my hunch, I have no experience myself. I believe you may be ok at some of the upmarket hotels, for example I seem to recall when researching the topic a few years ago the Pansea Hotel was mentioned as accepting overnight guests, but it was far outside my price bracket! I have just run a Google search and see that hotel was sold in 2006.

 

Other ways of travelling to Burma directly from Thailand: There is a twice-weekly flight between Rangoon and Chiang Mai. I haven't checked this so have no details. There may well be flights between other cities that I am unaware of. There are several land borders. The one at Mae Sot was closed some while back and may be open again. I haven't checked. You cross into Myawadi in Burma but must be back in Thailand before the immigration post closes in the evening, so you are limited to what you can do in just a few hours. I've been there once, but unless you have never been to Burma and are just curious, there's little to recommend it. As far as I am aware the crossing at Three Pagodas Pass is similar. I've never used this crossing, neither have I the border at Mae Sai. You can travel by boat from Ranong in Thailand to Kawthoung (Victoria Point) in Burma. I haven't researched the overland travel restrictions for this option, although I understand if you want to explore the so-called Mergui (or Myeik) Archipelago you have to either arrange a package deal with a certain hotel chain, sail on a cruise ship, or sign up for a live-aboard scuba diving outfit.

 

Summary: Burma is a delightful country, best visited in November to February; rather like in Thailand it is their 'cool season'. That means more tourists of course. Would I recommend visiting in April or May so as to avoid the crowds? No, I wouldn't. There will still be plenty of tourists then, especially if the new 'openess' continues, and the weather is hellish. Rangoon is an absolute cauldron. I would be very surprised if other parts of the country were much different. One place in particular, Bagan, would be absolutely dreadful in April or May I would imagine. It's a bit like visiting the Mayan temples in the Yukutan in Mexico, everything is very exposed. Except it would be even worse in Bagan as the site is so huge. I would consider Burma still cheap, but inflation is a big problem and if I had to guess it will no longer be a very cheap country to visit a few years from now.

[Guest fountainhall]

I have been wanting to visit Myanmar for some time and Rogie's excellent report has spurred me to consider one later in the year. I am sure he is correct in his assessment that tourism will start to mushroom if the present reforms continue and do not lead to any crackdown as in the past. I only hope the infrastructure for tourists will keep up.

 

There's one point he makes which always infuriates me - about a Myanmar visa taking up a full passport page. I have an EU passport. It's about the same size as a US passport and has the maximum 48 pages. Unlike US passports, though, it can not be added to when it is full. You have to cough up more than Bt. 8,000 for a new one. Since I travel quite a lot, a 10-year passport has been lasting just 3 - 4 years. The pages are gobbled up not only by full page visas issued by countries like Myanmar, Nepal, Cambodia, China, Russia (on my trip last year, I needed two full page visas) etc. but also by transferring the Thai retirement visas at each passport renewal (that's 2 1/2 pages 'gone'!).

 

Why, I wonder, does a visa require a full page? And why can Immigration officers not be trained to put their chops as close to the edge of a page as possible? In my current passport issued just 3 years ago, I have just 10 pages left. I have 14 chops from South American countries taking up most of 4 pages, but there are just 4 on each page when 8 would have been easily possible

[KhorTose]

Great report Rogie. Ten years ago I went to Yangoon, Bagin, Mandalay and Mt. Popa and loved the trip, and have been eager to return for some time. Suggest best exchange rate for kyats may be at your local Chinese merchant. Of course, my information is ten years old

One other thing, the government does post an offical rate exchange rate and an unoffical rate that is offered at national parks etc. Then the black market rate was ten to 15 percent higher the the unoffical offical rate or 1000 kyats per dollar then. I am surprised that this has not gone up with inflation. Again great report, keep it coming.

[Rogie]

Thanks for the kind comments KhorTose and FH.

 

Internet: As a supplementary to the report, Myanmar has has internet connection for several years and on my visit internet cafes were numerous. Speeds are acceptable and the cost is very cheap, certainly no more than 500 kyats for an hour's use. I just used it for email, I have no idea whether there is any kind of surveillance. I assume certain sites are banned, but without trying a few sample sites I have no idea how widespread censorship is.

 

Wi-Fi: I didn't take my laptop as I was only there a few days and can live without it for that length of time. As far as I could tell from an on-line search before I left Thailand, just a few high end hotels in Rangoon had wi-fi.

[Rogie]

I only hope the infrastructure for tourists will keep up.

 

That's a most interesting comment, a real concern I would share. I am indebted to Baht Stop for the following link to Newsweek.

 

The Global Heritage Fund has identified 10 Asian sites that are threatened by economic expansion.

 

1. Ayutthaya in Thailand, a former Siamese capital known as the “Venice of the East.”

 

2. Fort Santiago in the Philippines.

 

3. Kashgar, one of the last preserved Silk Road cities in China.

 

4. Mahasthangarh, one of South Asia’s earliest archeological sites in Bangladesh.

 

5. Mes Aynak, an Afghan Buddhist monastery complex on the Silk Road.

 

6. Myauk-U, capital of the first Arakenese kingdom in Myanmar.

 

7. Plain of Jars, a mysterious megalithic site in Laos.

 

8. Preah Vihear, a Khmer architectural masterpiece in Cambodia.

 

9. Rakhigari, one of the biggest, ancient Indus sites in India.

 

10. Taxila, an ancient economic crossroads in Pakistan.

 

The architectural gems from Asia’s ancient and sophisticated cultures are struggling in the face of economic expansion, sudden floods of tourists, poor technical resources, and areas blighted by looting and conflict—in other words, the pressures of rapidly modernizing Asia.

 

http://newsweekpakis...om/culture/1115

 

Wow, a Buddhist monastery in Afghanistan! (# 5 on that list). How on earth did that survive the Taliban? I'm reading the Bookseller of Kabul and been reminded of the total destruction of the 2,000 year old Bamiyan Buddhas (dynamited) and the sacking of Kabul Museum.

[Guest]

I only hope the infrastructure for tourists will keep up.

The infrastructure issue is putting me off going at the moment. I keep reading of a massive increase in tourist numbers, without the hotel spaces & all the rest of it keeping up.

 

There's one point he makes which always infuriates me - about a Myanmar visa taking up a full passport page. I have an EU passport. It's about the same size as a US passport and has the maximum 48 pages. Unlike US passports, though, it can not be added to when it is full. You have to cough up more than Bt. 8,000 for a new one. Since I travel quite a lot, a 10-year passport has been lasting just 3 - 4 years. The pages are gobbled up not only by full page visas issued by countries like Myanmar, Nepal, Cambodia, China, Russia (on my trip last year, I needed two full page visas) etc. but also by transferring the Thai retirement visas at each passport renewal (that's 2 1/2 pages 'gone'!).

I agree with your sentiments on visas & stamps, although at least the stamps in my passport are reasonably considerately placed.

 

Using an e-visa for Cambodia can save a page. Apply on line, receive the visa as a pdf & leave 2 loose copies in your passport. Throw them away when you leave the country.

[pong]

some addenda:

1.VISUM cost when done yourself is about 850/900 THB, and colect NEXT day afternoon, not 3d day. Som cases can pay more for speedier prcess (same day).

2. there is now (TT/on LP forum) a kind of regular bank-style exchange IN RGN airport, which gives very close to regular rate (the yearlong 6,5 KYat/$ has been scrapped-sometimes hat IMF also does good things) of about 810/820. I think-check yourself, that it is now even posted on sites like xe.

3. Taxi airpt-city can be bargained down to 5US$. Most of the cars are 2nd hand ex Japan (easy to see) and hence once made for LH drive.

4. most important to heed: many traveller reports now all warn that TOWN IS FULL and the age old system of just walk along and find something will lead to disappointment. Prices are also reported to have skyrocketed.

For daily life things expect prices to be roughly the same as in TH-if compared in a neutral currency like US$ or €.

Except for the railways, there is no real foreigner pricing. ACCESS to many of the more rural parts is still just as restricted as it always used to be.

[Rogie]

My comments added in blue.

some addenda:

1.VISUM cost when done yourself is about 850/900 THB, and colect NEXT day afternoon, not 3d day. Som cases can pay more for speedier prcess (same day).

I am sure that is so. Maybe my travel agent was not telling me that things have changed. It certainly used to be 3 working days but like many things of this nature, the process could be speeded up by speaking to the 'right' person.

2. there is now (TT/on LP forum) a kind of regular bank-style exchange IN RGN airport, which gives very close to regular rate (the yearlong 6,5 KYat/$ has been scrapped-sometimes hat IMF also does good things) of about 810/820. I think-check yourself, that it is now even posted on sites like xe.

Thanks, that looks like a big improvement. I never stopped to enquire on my recent visit.

3. Taxi airpt-city can be bargained down to 5US$. Most of the cars are 2nd hand ex Japan (easy to see) and hence once made for LH drive.

Yes, I am sure if you are determined you could get it down to US$5; however, unless you are a regular traveller you just have to go by the guidebooks (unless you happen to have chanced upon a site like this one!). Also, when I cleared customs and walked into the night air, only one taxi driver accosted me. If I had sent him away with a flea in his ear I would have been stuck - the deck is stacked against you in that situation.

4. most important to heed: many traveller reports now all warn that TOWN IS FULL and the age old system of just walk along and find something will lead to disappointment. Prices are also reported to have skyrocketed.

Thanks, useful info. My immediate reaction to that kind of concern would have been to poo-poo it, so I am a bit shocked to know such concerns have a real basis in fact.

For daily life things expect prices to be roughly the same as in TH-if compared in a neutral currency like US$ or €.

Except for the railways, there is no real foreigner pricing. ACCESS to many of the more rural parts is still just as restricted as it always used to be.

Agreed. The country is opening up but only in the sense the government seems to have opened the door marked 'Democracy' just a crack. Areas out-of-bounds to foreigners are still no-go areas. I look forward to this changing, as that would suggest that ethnic minorities have had some kind of progressive dialogue with the Burman majority.

 

[ChristianPFC]

Should I ever go to Burma, I will read your report carefully.

 

Fountainhall mentioned a few points I thougth about before, but never expressed my thoughts. I have full page Thai tourist (from UK), Lao and Thai tourist (from Vientiane) visa, which are nice souvenirs, but cost a full page in my passport!

 

There are six stamps per page (visa-exemption entry and departure) in my passport, eight would fit. In my passport, page 8 is still empty, whereas 9-13 have stamps or full-page visa.

 

And one last thought: you are required to have your passport with you all the time in Thailand (ask two people and you get three opinions about that), and keeping it in your room might be ok, but can you tell a Thai police officer that your passport is in the Burma embassy and you will get it back in three days? What will they do with you? I was in a remotely similar situation in Lao, my passport was at the Thai embassy overnight and hotel required my passport, I didn't even have a copy, fortunately I checked in with a Farang aquaintance into a double room and shared the cost of the room, so he signed for the room with his name for both of us.

[Guest fountainhall]

Re having your passport always with you,

 

Whenever I get my annual Thai retirement extension, I make photocopies of the extension stamp, the re-entry permit and the personal details page. These fit nicely back-to-back. So I get a couple of copies laminated. One of these is then with me at all times. I'm not sure that it would be an acceptable substitute in the event I was asked to produce a passport, but at least I feel as though I am basically trying to comply with the law.

 

As for entry/exit stamps, I do find the Thai Immigration staff to be amongst the most understanding anywhere. Most do manage to fit 8 on a page.

[Rogie]

There are six stamps per page (visa-exemption entry and departure) in my passport, eight would fit.

 

As for entry/exit stamps, I do find the Thai Immigration staff to be amongst the most understanding anywhere. Most do manage to fit 8 on a page.

 

My italics. I have several pages with Thai immigration stamps and on only one page have they squeezed 8 in. (The 8 stamps are made up of 4x entry stamps and 4x exit stamps). I have another couple of pages with 6 stamps with space at the bottom for 2 more, but it seems they prefer to start a new page rather than fill that final slot! It doesn't bother me as I have the 48 page British passport and I have only 3 more years to run before it expires with plenty of free pages left. But it would be frustrating if I only had a few spare pages.

 

And one last thought: you are required to have your passport with you all the time in Thailand (ask two people and you get three opinions about that), and keeping it in your room might be ok, but can you tell a Thai police officer that your passport is in the Burma embassy and you will get it back in three days? What will they do with you?

 

Re having your passport always with you,

 

Whenever I get my annual Thai retirement extension, I make photocopies of the extension stamp, the re-entry permit and the personal details page. These fit nicely back-to-back. So I get a couple of copies laminated. One of these is then with me at all times. I'm not sure that it would be an acceptable substitute in the event I was asked to produce a passport, but at least I feel as though I am basically trying to comply with the law.

 

Good point you raise Christian and excellent advise from FH.

 

Planning my recent trip to Burma, my travel agent is very experienced and foresaw my problem. My problem was the passport was with the Embassy for 3 days whilst I was going to Hua Hin. I wasn't simply holed-up in my hotel room all that time! He photocopied all the relevant pages of my passport including the page with the entry visa and also a copy of the immigration document that is stapled into the passport by the immigration officer. I also had a receipt from the travel agent to say the passport was with the Myanmar Embassy. As it happened I wasn't stopped by the police in any spot checks (we were driving) - that was my main worry, although I also had my British driving licence and International Driving Permit. I wasn't asked for my passport at the resort (run by a Dutchman), or the hotel, but had I been I did not envisage any problems.

[Guest fountainhall]

also a copy of the immigration document that is stapled into the passport by the immigration officer

 

A very important point which I have to date completely forgotten about.

[baobao]

Is there a member of the forum who has visited Burma since Rogie's fine post who is willing to share information or travel contacts? 

 

Info on a travel agent in Bangkok who speaks English and Thai and could help book something would be a big help. All I've ever noted was Purple Dragon. I understand they're good, but there must be others.

 

A friend that will come to Thailand with me next trip wants to strike out on his own like he did last year (he went to Cambodia for a week) and although he's doing some research on his own he's asking me for ideas. Although he's not gay himself he's gay-friendly and looking for a dependable way to get around with a guide to see some of the basic spots (He's thinking of Bangon and Yangon for a start) to see if he wants to plan a longer trip there.  If anyone can make suggestions, I'd appreciate it.  Via PM is fine with me.  Thanks!