Rangoon Travel Forum

Hi! Are there any VT members just back from myanmar recently? If do, kindly enlighten me. thanks.
a) is it safe to travel around myanmar?
b) how's the current situation is like in myanmar?
c) Is it possible to get Myanmar visa done in the airport? How's the procedure is like? complicated? how long? how much?
d) is June a best time to travel to myanmar ?
e) I plan to visit Yangon, Pagan and Mandalay, are there any interesting places to visit beside these 3. I plan to visit some local tribes, any interesting villages that I can go/ visit?
f) How can I travel from Mandalay to Inle Lake? is it possible to do it in a day? is there any day trip guided tour to Inle Lake from Mandalay? how much?
e) How's the train condition is like? good?

Hi there
Well, I was in Myanmar in January. A really wonderful country! I will definately go back and visit again.
a) back in Janaury it was very very safe, so no worries.
b) I think the situation right now is still very calm
c)Visa, I applied for the visa back home, but a friend of mine, applied for it in Vietnam. It took 3 days. I don't know if you can apply at the airport. Sorry. But just call the Myanmar Embassy in your country and ask.
d) Weather will be wet, humid! Monsoon from May to October!
e) Our agenda was: Yangon, Bago, Kalaw, Inle Lake, Mandalay and Bagan.
Most of the travelling we did by bus. The only boat trip we took was from Mandalay to Bagan, it was beautiful. Don't know about trains, I prefered to take bus rides.
f) Just get a bus from Mandalay to Inle Lake, on the way you even can stop in Kalaw. Very nice for trekking and visiting tribes (you can get a trekking guide right in Kalaw at the Hotel/hostel). But I don't know about guided trips. I did all the travelling by myself.
Have fun

Hi!
I am not a tourist but live in Myanmar and always travelling so that some of my advices might help you.
( a ) It is safe to travel in Myanmar. People are very friendly to tourists.
( b ) Current situation is calm and quiet. On 10th of May, we have referendum about new constitution and people wait what is result and next.......
( c ) To obtain Myanmar visa at the airport, you must pre-arrange with a local travel agency and it will take about three weeks. You need to give particulars and photo by email and agency will arrange through different government offices. It is not cheap and can cost between around 50 USD more or less.
( d ) June is not the best time nor the worst time to visit in Myanmar. It has some advantages as low tourists, green landscapes as it is rainning, cheaper accommodation. But some dis-advantages are rainning may be, some flights and boat services cancelled due to low tourists and cloudy days.
( e ) Visiting Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Lake Inle are called classic tour and must see for the first time travellers. There are plenty of places to visit around as the country is quite big. You can have many advices in forums from people.
there are many places to see colourful tribe people. ie.. Kalaw, lake Inle, Kakku, Pindaya, Kengtung, Hsipaw, Namhsan, Mrauk-U, Chin hill, Myitkyina and more as we have more than 135 tribe people all around the country. The most easiest and cheapest place is near Kalaw.
( f ) You can travel from Mandalay to Lake Inle quite easily by flight, taxi or by mini bus. It takes 7 hrs by taxi. but trekking is not possible between this two places. Train service is not very comfortable and takes more time. Need to get up early and arrive midnight mostly.
So I think this info can be helpful. Have a great travel. People from Myanmar welcome you.

just to add to the above: most of the tribes living in authentic conditions in Myanmar are not easily accessible for tourists. As the other poster mentioned, there are over 125 tribes in Myanmar.

I am not recently back, I was there a couple of years ago before the recent unrest, so you must treat my answers in this way.

When I was there I found travel very safe, in fact probably the safest country I have been to in the world. The Government, whatever your views on them, do not want to hurt tourists because they are trying very hard to encourage tourismand it is bad for business.

I cannot answer your question about a visa as you do not tell me what passport you travel on, but I think nearly everybody must get a visa before travelling. I did not see any "visa on arrival" facility at Rangoon airport.

You must remember that the transport infrastructure is not so good in Burma, so I would suggest a day trip to Inle from Mandalay is not really feasible. You would not have enough time.

Trains in Burma are what you would expect in a poor country like this. I only travelled once on the train, as they are Government run but I wanted to see some specific things. Even first class is pretty rough by Western standards but it is certainly a travel experience you will not forget, it is quite incredible. So, forget the hard seats, rough ride and cramped conditions, just enjoy the what you are doing. Just look out the window and thank whatever God you believe in (if any) that you have been given the opportunity to travel like this. A tip for train travel in Burme for you. The train will stop at certain places for a while (45 minutes to an hour). You will know because everybody gets off. At this point, go and get something to eat, that is why the train stops. The food will be good and not expensive and you will be glad of it later on. Also a good time to pick up water if you need to resupply and snacks for the journey.

If you want to VT mail me, please do , or look at my pages. I hope you have a really good trip, Burma is such a wonderful country to travel in.

What Kyaw.tropico said is right.
Visa on Arrival can be arranged through travel agency.It need about 3 to 4 weeks. Usually charged about USD 40~50 , including visa fees of USD 20/-. The agency staff will receive you at airport and arrange for you . There is no special counter or signage for " Arrival Visa" in Airport.

When Myanmar Tour Agency, the Govt agency was near the Sule Pagoda, i used to be able to get my visa on arrival in about three to five days ( done it about ten times). What all I paid my friends were 5 usd for the taxi expesnes, and then at the airport paid 20 usd in visa fees. But my friends did that as a favour for me, they do charge the tourists 25 to 30 usd for the service. Now it has become more difficult since they may have to go to the new capital. I really wish they had a visa on arrival like Cambodia and even if they charged more, it would be convenient for travellers who decide at the last moment to come and visit Myanmar.In Paris,I have received the tourist visas within two days. Vietnam has visa on arrival (easily arranged through travel agents, on very short notice), Laos has visa on arrival as does Cambodia. Most foreign tourists do not need visa for Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, Philippines of the South East Asian Countries.

I can't really ad a lot to the above mentioned but me too i live in Yangon and have traveled extensively around as well and i can say it is the safets country i have ever traveled in (as a traveler and as a woman alone).

Don't bet on the visa on arrival make sure you have it either before you leave or get it in Bangkok (takes a couple of days).

You need at least a full day to enjoy a little bit of Inle lake. Travel in Burma will take time unless you fly everywhere but that takes away a lot of the charm of getting around (not that it is a lot of charm when you have to do it on a more regular basis though....)

Anything i can help with, let me know. And browse the VT-pages. Many people have good tips on what to visit

I'll attempt to add to the useful advice already given.
Yes, Myanmar is very, very safe. That said, no one know what may happen after the May referendum/election. Hopefully, calm will prevail. Other than that uncertainty, you should encounter no problems during your travels. The people in Myanmar are very kind, helpful and generous. Keep in mind that the cost of living has increased quite a bit in the past year (much like as it has all over the world) and the poorer locals find it harder to get by. Anything can do to help them (buying their products or services) will be very appreciated.
June, as others have noted, will be hot, humid, and possibly rainy. Most towns and cities have limited electricity service during the day, so expect frequent power cuts. Some places will have generators to run electric, but others may not. Be patient.
There are many, many interesting places to visit, both in and around the 3 cities you already mentioned, and in other areas. For ethnic villages, for example, the Kengtung area of Shan State has many options.
Other interesting towns include Mawlamyine (you can take the train there, for example), Pyin U Lwin (not far from Mandalay), Hsipaw, Bago, and Kyaiktiyo (home of the famous Golden Rock). Around Mandalay, in addition to the popular trio of Amarapura, Sagaing and Inwa, there is Mingun and Paleik.
Take your time and budget as many days as you can. You can easily spend a month in Myanmar and have plenty to see and do.