Myanmar (Burma)

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As tourism in Myanmar is a bit controversial we thought we'd give a bit more background than on the blogs we've done before now. It's a bit long, but we hope you enjoy....

Myanmar Overview

Myanmar lies in a strategic location bordering some of the fastest growing economies in the world such as India, China and Thailand. It has a wealth of ancient mainly buddist history, some of the best beaches and diving in the world (although most you can't reach). Its soil is rich and the country is incredibly bio-diverse and to top it all it has huge oil reserves!!!

The British arrived in 1824 and stayed for around 60 years. The name Burma was "given" by the British as they couldn't pronounce "Bamar" which was the colloquial form of Myanmar (or Mranma in old Burmese)!! For more info try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma

The UN advise is "do not travel to Myanmar" so why go?

Myanmar is run as a strict Military dictatorship. In 1988, the people came together in an uprisng which was brutally crushed. The National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi won the elections in a landslide but since then she has been locked up in house arrest or prison, preventing her from taking office.

The logic behind the advise against travel to Myanmar is that all of the tourist dollars flow directly into the hands of the dictators. In practise if you go as an independent traveller the majority of your money goes to the private sector.

Also, as it is, the locals get very little contact with the outside world and they love chatting and finding out what's happing. In many cases they knew more than we did as they can "illegally" tune into the BBC World Service!

Things are slowly starting to change

Myanmar is a country far behind others. The trade embargo has meant that no new cars have been exported to Myanmar since 1986. Until recently freedom of information, communication and movement of people was very limited.

Travel - most locals are now allowed passports to travel to Asia (although to go any further afield means putting a $5,000 deposit down!)

Communication and Information - the internet is now available (although it's strictly monitored and a number of sites are not allowed). Newspapers are smuggled over from Thailand so that locals can get a broader view of the news. There are 3 TV channels; 1) the Government broadcast 2) Asia News 3) Movie channel. Mobile phones are used by lots of locals, although for foreigners to buy SIM cards, it costs $1,000! International phones are not widely available and are very expensive (and calls are monitored). All post entering or leaving the country is censored.

There are no ATM's in Myanmar. Local currency (Kyat) is traded with US $ only. Therefore you need to come with plenty of US dollars in pristine condition and preferably in 100 $ bills (as you get a better rate).

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Our Journey

We arrived on a flight from Bangkok to Yangon (Rangoon) and were impressed by the spanking new terminal. The domestic terminal was however an old shed in comparison. We took a taxi to the hotel and were immediately struck by the decrepid cars and trucks and the lack of anything that looked new or painted. It was like the country had been in a long and expensive war that had sapped it dry for decades.

As a foreigner you can't just stay where you like. There are probably only 20 hotels in the whole of Yangon that are licensed to host foreigners. All of these hotels charge you in US $. About $10 to $15 for a double with AC inc breakfast. So not cheap but not too bad either. Upon checking-in to a hotel, copies of passports are taken and reported to the police on a daily basis.

The main tourist attraction in Yangon is the Shwedagon Pagoda which is 320 ft high covered in gold and tipped with a 76 carat diamond. The whole temple complex is huge and it's oppulence is in huge contrast to the surrounding area.

After Yangon we took an overnight bus up to Mandalay which saw us having to get off in the dead of night and face a gentle interrogation from the military police! The number of very young children working in the roadside food stalls was shocking. Mandalay is not as pretty or romantic as you might think so we took a taxi straight out to Pyin U Lwin, a town in the mountains on the main Mandalay to China road. Pyin U Lwin is an old collonial town set in amongst trees, greenery and lakes. The botanical garden was really beautiful. The main attraction as ever were the people who have the biggest smiles in the world.

From Pyin U Lwin we took a bouncy train to Kyaukme. It might have been quicker to walk but the scenery was fantastic. Very mountainous and very green. Lots of rice paddies as well as sunflowers. We got off at Kyaukme and decided to go treking with a lovely British couple (Emma and Lyndon) as they had already gone to the trouble of arranging a guide. All we had to do was tag along! The next day Niang Niang (the guide) met us at 7:00 and we started walking, and carried on until 19:00 with a brief stop for lunch. We were knackered! The scenery was stunning though, and on more than one occasion we were overtaken by tribal villagers, dressed in traditional clothes. We walked through lots of quaint villages, and were invited in for tea. Everyone we walked past smiled and waved at us - some had never seen Westerners before. It was a beautiful day, and what an experience. In the evening we slept in a house in a mountain village (which is of course illegal in Myanmar) and the family cooked some fantastic food for us. In the night Emma dropped her glasses into the outside squat toilet which caused a giggle or two at 3:00am. Yuck. The following day we walked for half a day then took a bus back to Kyaukme. Inside the bus was full with rice and freshly picked tea leaves, so all paying customers had to ride on the roof!

We stayed on in Kyaukme and rented a motorbike from Niang Niang and went off for some long rides out into the countryside to see hot springs and temples. Beautiful. Niang Niang's wife cooked us dinner every night back at their family home. It was a lot of fun.

After a few days in Mandalay we took a bus to Bagan which has over 5000 buddist temples in an area the size of Manhattan. Pretty impressive stuff. The climate there was hot and dusty and was 40 degress plus everyday. You can rent push bikes to go around the temples but we hired a horse and cart for the day. The view at sunset across the temples to the Irrawaddy river was spectacular.

By this stage, the buses in Myanmar had taken their toll and we decided to fly the next leg to Inle Lake. What a relief - a 1 hour journey, instead of a bone crunching 12 hours! We took a shared taxi from the airport to the lake, and met up with an American guy (Jeff) and a French couple (Anthony and Shiva). We arrived and checked into a lovely hotel made of (and aptly named) teak wood. The next day, the 5 of us hired a longtailed motor boat and spent the day exploring the lake. The lake has a serene stillness about it, with mountains on either side. Life on the lake looks like it's been laid on for the tourists (a la 'Truman Show'), but this couldn't be further from the truth. People live on the lake in stilt houses - they have floating gardens where they grow everything from lotus plants to tomatoes.

After a fantastic 3 weeks we flew back to Yangon, where we stayed for 1 night, before flying via Bangkok to Hanoi (Vietnam) - where we're writing this blog from.

In summary:

- Ironically the lack of development makes the country even more interesting and mystical.
- The locals are genuine smiley people - not trying to sell anything - just interested in talking to you.
- The scenery in the mountain regions and on Inle Lake is stunning - the cities are nothing special.
- The food is awful - we stuggled with it for the whole 3 weeks.
- The money the government earns from oil and timber vastly outweighs tourist dollars, so independant travellers are not really supporting the regime.
- Trade embargos seem meaningless when Myanmar imports everything it needs from China.
- Naypidaw (the new capital) is total madness. Luxury and infrastructure on an unprecidented scale for the Government officials. A stark contrast to the rest of the country, given that even Yangon doesn't have electricity past 5pm, and the pavements look like a bomb has just exploded.
- The people are the nicest, smiliest, kindest people we've ever met - it was a joy to be in their company.

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Comments

[Vivienne Ward]

Fab blog.....Myanmar
Hello my darlings, as always a fab blog, I think you two should write a travel book, it would be a best seller!! Love you both x Mum x

[kelly]

wow
Hi Coz and Dave your mum has sent us your blog and while Indya is asleep and giving me a little peace I have been taking a look, your trip looks fantastic truly amazing really enjoyed readin your blog xx

[Dave and Coz]

Hi Kelly Really glad you're enjoying the blog. How's Indya doing? Have you got any photos you could send us? Lots of love to the 3 of you xxx

[lol and steve]

what a trip!
I feel like I am reading a fabulous book -love the pictures too - so glad you are experiencing an amazing time... even more jealous as life in UK is soooooo hard at the present - lotsaluv Lol and Steve

[alex]

Nice job with the blog. I was wondering if you can answer a question or two for me. I am planning on going to Myanmar in November. i was planning to stay in Yangon for 2 days while I teach a few classes. Then I was hoping to head out of town. Now when you go out of town, where can one stay if you have to stay at a govt approved hotel or is that only in Yangon? Also the currency exchange on line that I am being told is totally diff. than the exchange rates I am bring quoted by a believer in Yangon. I was told that the exchange rate is 1050ks or so to the US dollar and not the 7 MMK to the dollars. Which is true and if a black market exchange where do I go to exchange in the streets? Thanks. Any advice on clothing to wear and what to make sure I dont forget to bring?

[Dave and Coz]

Kyat Exchange Rates
The best rate I got was 1120 to the dollar at the art market in Yangon. Count your Kyat carefully before you hand over any greenbacks. None the less you should show them the dollar bills before as to get top rates you need pristine 100 US dollar bills. PRISTINE. It's not dangerous in the art market as you can count it in private. They'll give you a chair to sit on and probably offer you a tea. Pretty relaxed. Avoid chaning in a busy street in the open as you may well be conned. What to bring? Lots of dollars as there are no ATMS! I would also bring some oatmeal (oats) as fried eggs everyday gets on my nerves. Take a sachet of powdered milk aas well. Stay in the Homelands guesthouse in Yangon. The best value for money, clean and so friendly. If you plan to use buses then ok but fly as much as your budget will allow and definately between Mandalay and Bagan, 25 mins on a plane vs 9 hours on the bumpiest bus in Asia. Reasons for FX rate differences.(see below)... Without doubt, the nicest people in Asia Have a great trip. Dave. These revenues make next to no impact on the country’s official fiscal accounts, however. The reason is simple: Burma’s U.S. dollar gas earnings are recorded in the government’s published accounts at the local currency’s “official” exchange rate of around six kyat to a dollar. This rate overvalues the currency by nearly 200 times its market value and undervalues the local-currency value of Burma’s gas earnings by an equivalent amount. Recorded at the official rate, Burma’s gas earnings translate into less than 1% of budget receipts. By contrast, if the same gas earnings are recorded at the market exchange rate, their contribution would more than double total state receipts, and largely eliminate Burma’s fiscal deficit. The motivation for this sleight of hand is probably to “quarantine” Burma’s foreign exchange earnings from the country’s public accounts, thereby making them available to the regime and its cronies. This accounting is facilitated by Burma’s state-owned Foreign Trade Bank and some willing offshore banks. Flush with these funds, Burma’s military rulers have embarked upon a spending binge of epic proportions, including indulging themselves in the creation of a new administrative capital named Naypyidaw, or “abode of kings.” They are also buying nuclear technologies of uncertain use from Russia and possibly from North Korea.