Burma Travel Forum

If I count out, hotels, flights, trains etc. what do I need to use pr. day in Myamnar. How much is breakfast, lunch, dinner? Not the cheapest places and not in a fancy hotel.

Thanks.

We travelled in Nov. 07. Do not know about breakfast because it was always included in the hotel rate. We averaged about 5-6 USD per meal per person which included a Myanmar beer. We did not eat at cheapest places nor hotel restaurants.

Hotel .. USD 15~30

Breakfast .. Breakfast are include in Hotel

Flight .. Yangon - Mandalay.87 USD
Mandalay- Heho ( Inle)37 USD
Heho - Bagan 54 USD
Bagan- Yangon 82 USD
Yangon- Thandwe(Ngapali Beach) . 62 USD

Car Hire .. USD 50~60 per day (2 to 4 pax depend on type of car)

Bus ticket - Yangon- Mandalay .. USD 10
Yangon- Taunggyi ( Inle Lake) .. USD 10
Yangon- Golden Rock .. less than USD 10

Others place do not recomment for travel with bus because roads and car conditions are bad.

These price may change according to fuel price.

Meals .. As mention above USD 5~6 per person per meal .

The bus tickets are a bit more expensive than mentioned. Almost double nowadays for foreigners at least. Flight tickets i'll check since i promised to do so anyway (and prices have changed again of late), i can check on the bus prices at the same time. Have to be downtown anyway tomorrow morning.

Breakfast is usually included no matter if you stay in a hotel or guesthouse. In a guesthouse you can ask for a burmese breakfast if you want to. Most of the gueshouses will happily get you that instead of the usual 'western' breakfast.
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As said before, a lunch or dinner (including a beer) will be around $5-6 in an average restaurant. There are may good places to eat so it is very easy to forgo on the hotel restaurant (assuming you'll intend to stay at a place like that).

Some of the bus company charges more to foreigners and some don't. This price is from the company who do not charge more to foreigners.With present exchange rate , it may a bit more or less.

Can you give me the name of the bus company (companies) that don't charge a double price for a foreigner. Since i have never found one of those. So am obviously quite interested.

When Peisia requested me to book a bus tickets for her in February 2008, I called to numbers of bus company and some, yes they charge more, some even do not want to carry foreigners due to their drivers can't speak english and some charge the same. I don't remember others but I book for Peisia with 9700 kyats for Mandalay with this bus company. "Shwe Mandalar" Their tel. 01-701615,706071. They have a branch in Aung San Stadium and tel: 01-704158 and you can board transfer bus from there with 1200 kyats to Aung Mingalar High Way station. So, it is quite convenience for who stay in downtown.

By the way, this company was recommended to me by Mother Land Inn II and according to Piesia, it was her best car trip in Myanmar and it is aircond.You can checked their full address in advertisement of The Yangon Directory 2008 , page 591, Buses(Highway) column.

Thanks, i'll try this company next time i 'll go to mandalay.

Btw, i've never stayed at Mother Land 2, they don't accept burmese guests and so we've always stayed somewhere else whenever we had to stay someplace (and it is not a problem anymore since we have our own apartment now)

If you cut out accommodation, transportation. I think 2 $ is enough if you don't mind street food. So pretty cheap to live in Myanmar.

I don't think you can eat with $2 a day anymore. $ 2 a day, you will get poor quality. Now,we have to pay one lunch or dinner at rice shop cost us 1800 kyats per meal per person. Fried Rice cost at least 1500 kyats. The exchange rate is around 1110 at present.

Nah, $2 will not be enough anymore. Even if one would only eat street food. And since a beer is easily 1500 ks already..

Do not recommend eating out of the stalls of the streets. tea shops are different. repeatedly oil fried foods. best to eat at restaurants and there are so many of them and where good food is served at reasonable prices. Burmese food is cooked in the morning usually and is freshest around the lunch time. that is why most evening food is some sort of chinese combination. I have eaten very well, including some good burmese tucket at places like Green Elephant which are mainly for the tourists but still good quality.
will fly and have not taken a bus anywhere north, did take once to chaungtha, long trip indeed. if you are two or three or travelling with burmese friends, as is my case, always rent a car, comfortable, convenient, can eat where you want, ( like the restaurant in Bago which is a little way off the road), and especially going down south, visit places normally touristed.
Like Cuba, almost every one who visits Burma, falls in love with the country, it has to do with the gentleness of the people and the readiness with which they share. In couple fo months, a Book of travel tales, with love from Burma would be published out of Bangkok with stories written by real travellers. (two of my narratives would be included). Enjoy the golden land..

I'm a big fan of eating meals at teashops, especially for breakfast. After all those free guesthouse/hotel breakfasts of the same mediocre/bad eggs and toast and sometimes fruit, I discovered the teashops and their excellent noodle dishes. Very cheap and I love the tea too. Besides noodles, the teashops have rice dishes and sometimes bread such as paratha and nan (with beans), or those good and greasy samosas. Try it out!
The local Burmese (Bama) and Shan restaurants can be very good and inexpensive also. Avoid the greasier curry dishes and you'll be fine.

Well, it started with living expences, and now I have got so many very good info.

Thanks to you all friends on LP.

:( Sorry VT :)

Eating streetfood is ok as long as you don't do it every day (indeed a lot of it is fried but in the mornign there are also stalls that sell Mohinga, Mishi and Mondhi aka noodle salads). And of course make sure you eat somewhere where you see more people eating (basic travel rule of streetfood ;-)). Especially at the evening market in the chinese quarter you can get good food for good prices.....

Anyways, drop me a line when you come to Yangon. I'm always in for a VT-meet ;-)