Burma Travel Forum

Hihi,..

I am traveling to Myanmar in August, plan to stay there for 28 days (the duration for a tourist visa)..

The itinerary: Yangon-Bagan-Mandalay-Hsipaw-Taungyi-Inle-Yangon-Kyaitiyo-Yangon
Does it seem too rush?

And would like to check the budget accommodation in Myanmar, can I get room with 3-4USD or lesser per day?

Also, is there public bus from Yangon airport to the town? How much does it cost and where should I alight?

Can I get a Myanmar friend to buy the bus ticket for me to avoid the double charge for foreigners? Is there any shortcoming for that.

Anyone in Myanmar would like to meetup?

Oh yea.. for overstay, I read that the penalty is USD3/day, is it still the same, and what is the maximum days that allowed?

Thanks in advance.. =)

tham

Please check your mail.

If you or anyone else is visiting this month or in August, be aware that domestic air flights have been drastically reduced because of the downturn in tourism. When I was there last week, the flight from Yangon to Bagan (or the reverse) was ONLY offered by Bagan Air (that means: no Yangon Air or Mandalay Air flights as is usually the case), and even those were not daily. So, check with your travel agent. I had to change my domestic travel plans a bit because of the odd flight schedule. I imagine it will remain this way for several months ... or until the tour groups start booking trips.

Hi there...
I usually took this kind of price per room in some places (in Bagan, Mandalay, Hsipaw etc.) while in Yangon we got cheapest rooms for 5 usd/day (but I guess if you really look harder you can find cheaper too, I just didn't bother for every kyat).
As for the tickets... if the ticket conductor see you're foreigner you'll be most probably charged more no matter you got local price with help of somebody; depends on his/hers mood. So be careful - you won't want to put your Burmese friends at risk and it's again not that expensive for you to take local bus and pay foreigner price (which in all other case you'll pay without even knowing so).
This year I've met few travelers who overstayed their visa - didn't have any problem, said is'r possible for 2 months to overstay. But again these rules can change overnight and you need to ask around.
Among places you mentioned I liked the most Hsipaw (aofr landscape and people) and Bagan (architecture) and if I would have chance to go back there I would stay longer in Hsipaw and Bagan and skip Mandalay. Take your time.

Hi bangdong, thanks for your advise. I dont plan to take any domestic flight in Myanmar, so it should be alright for me.

Hi picek, thanks for the info!

Yangon- Mandalay, some bus company charge the same.

If i were you i'd just go with what comes your way. As stated above, there are very few flight available at the moment. Buses still run normally but they will take up a fair bit of your time.

It is possible to find a few hotels for around the price you mention though not everywhere. I know a few so if we meet up before you leave Yangon i can give you the addresses of those places. And a few tips on what to eat, where to go (cause even Mandalay is fantastic if you know where to go ;-) ).

The bus companies will charge you the price for a foreigner even if a burmese buys the ticket. .

Btw, you can't go from Hsipaw to Taunggyi directly. You'll need to go over Mandalay. So you might want to skip Taunggyi and head straight for Inle Lake.

And yes, overstays are still possible. For at least a month (guaranteed since i've done it again myself...)

Hi Sandra,

Thanks for the info and advise. I have heard from some that been to Myanmar recently that it is now very hard to get Myanmar visa and the embassy only issue visa for 14 days. Do you have any idea on that? I planned to get the visa in Bangkok, if this is the case, I may have to shorten the trip..

Yangon airport to town, you have to go by taxi only. No bus services availiable.

I'm not sure about the visa thing since i always have a business visa but since i'm in bangkok tonight and at the embassy tomorrow i'll ask and get back to you on it. It used to be 28 days even right after Nargis but it was a bit more difficult (the waiting time has gone up to anywhere from 3 days to 1 week). But again, i'll ask tomorrow.

And as said before, there are no buses from the airport to downtown. In downtown Mahabandoola guesthouse (right next to Sule Pagoda) has rooms for about $3-4 but it is fairly run-down. The Garden Guesthouse on the side has slghtly better value rooms for about $6.

If you can negotiate well, you can get a taxi for about $5 downtown. I'd advice you to share with another tourist but unfortunately there aren't many... Pay in dollars and exchange your money once you are downtown. Very easy to do. Make sure you safe $10 for the departure tax at the airport.

i checked with the embassy yesterday and they say you can get a tourist visa in 2 (working) days. the length of the visaaparently depends on your nationality. but it is usually 28 days

cool.. thank you very much! :)

Hey Sandra,
Do you know if the nationality issue also affects your chances of even getting the tourist visa? After the latest "lecture" by Bush this week, I'm wondering if the Myanmar embassy might refuse issuing visas to Americans. I remember reading a letter in the Bangkok Post from an American tourist who tried to get a tourist visa from the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok and they told him that he had to get the visa in his home country! But that was back in June, shortly after the Nargis disaster, so I'm not sure what's going on at the embassy now. Any idea?

Hi,

I have been to the embassy last Thursday, an american queued in from of me get lots of questions posted by the embassy, itinerary needed, all supporting documents etc, and the person need to present themselves, so helping others to get the visa done is hard. However I did meet an American who successfully get 20days visa instead of 14.