Anyone been to Myanmar? I was there for about a week last year

>>1159723
Same here. I was there for a few days and absolutely loved it. Would go back and explore more.

Did you do a hot air balloon in Bagan? If so, was it worth the insane price?

i've heard accommodation is very expensive and crappy.

>>1159792
I considered it but it was a lot of money. Honestly I think climbing a temple and watching the sunrise from there is just as good of a way to drink in the landscape and it's free.

>>1159956
you heard wrong.

yes a lot of big hotels and resorts are beginning to be built in Burma because their tourist industry is rapidly expanding but cheap accommodation isn't hard to find. Burma is only expensive if you're traveling as a 45 year old yoga mom who saw eat pray love and wants to go have a spiritual experience but in reality does it by booking a ticket to a 3rd world country and puts down shit tons of money to sit by a pool with drink service, separated from the place they romanticized in their head while pretending and tricking themselves into believing they are experiencing culture.

it just depends on what kind of traveler you are and what you're looking for

>>1159982
Nah, compared to the rest of SE Asia, Myanmar IS expensive. You're not going to get the $8 decent room you can in Thailand, and the $30-40 you might spend for your average no-frills private room in Myanmar would get you somewhere pretty flash in Thailand, Cambodia etc.

However obviously it's still cheap compared to Western countries, so "very expensive" is probably unfair.

>>1159956
If you compare with neighboring countries like Thailand or Vietnam, yes. Compared to the US or Western Europe it is cheap.

>>1159996
If you're able to share a twin room with someone the costs are pretty good. The downside is you have to stay in hotels, and will meet less fellow travellers.

I was in Myanmar this year in the worst season (hot and dry). I enjoyed Bagan the most, and can recommend a simple trek from Kalaw to Inle Lake. Those were the highlights for me. Mandalay is shit. Best thing to do would be to get a motorcycle and go on your own. Overall I was disappointed. The people are really friendly, but there's a lack of history and all stupas look the same. Wish I couldve gone to tatchileik and Keng Tung, but roads are closed between the main land and those areas.

In the end I was so fed up with Myanmar I booked a planeticket from Mandalay to Chiang Mai and left Burma in a hurry.

Alright I've been thinking about Myanmar for a while now... Would appreciate some info.

How are the hostels there? I'd LOVE to visit but can't go for expensive accommodation.
What am I looking at for renting a moped/bike?What's the rail network like?
What's the food like?
Is there any nightlife? I don't want or expect Thai level tackiness but do the Burmese drink a lot, will I find any cool little bars in the cities?

>>1160148
You won't really find bars. But if you're staying at a nice hotel in Yangoon, they will have a hotel bar with music and local prostitutes.

>>1160148
1. When going to Bagan, check some places in the neighbourhood. I was staying pretty close to the airport and on the other side of Bagan then others. Was a pretty cheap resort kinda thing with pool and own bungalow.
2. In hpa-an, Bagan, mandalay and Hsipaw it's easy to get a scooter.
3. Train is shit, takes a loooong time for a short distance. Its really cheap though. Protip: go for third class as wooden benches are way better than dusty seats with broken springs.
4. Food is shit. They put a lot of oil in everything.

Any of the beach towns good?

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>>1159723

It's great. Check out Monywa (refer pic) and Saigang if in central Myanmar. South I'd go Yangon>Mawlamyine>Dawei>Myeik>Kawthoung, and end up staying here:

http://www.myanmarandamanresort.com

Simply amazing place to stay. Do 4 nights at least. Pricey but worth every cent.

Travel in April so you can enjoy Thingyan (water festival) - in Yangon it's a huge alcohol fueled water fight set to techno music. It's 38 degrees C during the day but low hunidity, plus you are constantly having water chucked on you (entire country does this).

Hotels in Yangon are generally pricey due to the premium on space / proximity to attractions or downtown. Traffic is a fucking nightmare, allow 2hrs to get TO the airport when leaving, it's that bad. Outside Yangon / big towns it's a bit cheaper, A/C & cold shower was about $40/night.

Burmese cuisine is like Thai food but less spicy & aromatic, still it's very tasty & goes well with icy cold Myanmar Beer.

I last visited in April 2014 so by now commercial tourism has probably exploded, still, I'd go back in a heartbeat.

>>1160185
Alright thanks. I'm not sure I can afford a lengthy stay in Myanmar but I'd like to see it - I might try and visit quickly when I'm next in the region.

Has anyone entered the country overland? I'm interested in visiting Assam or Nagaland in India so that could be an option... Or Thailand? I spent some time in Yunnan and everyone advised me to stay away from the Myanmar/China border.

Any help/stories appreciated.

Ok I'm confused as fuck now. I see highly mixed "reviews" here on Myanmar. I'm not OP, but me and my gf are thinking about taking a 2-3 week trip to Myanmar.

I'm an experienced backpacker and I've basically always done 1.5-2 month trips for a long time, however with my current job I can't take long periods of, hence our eyes fell on Myanmar. It's the only place I haven't been yet in SEA (my gf has only been in Malaysia and Indonesia).

Is this trip worth it or not? Just having a laid back time for 3 weeks, enough to do and see? Another option is for us is Namibia, although my gf prefers going to SEA this year.

>>1160148
There are two expats that rent out big motorbikes in Mandalay. It's an incredible way to see the country, everyone is amazed to see you out there on the road with them and people would even ride alongside me and start conversations. And you see so much more just by chance between the sites.

It's a little dangerous to travel long distance though, there are LOTS of trucks on the road and it's extremely dusty, which caused me to have a minor accident there.

If I had to do it again I'd rent a simple scooter or something in Kyaukme and get a guide to take me up into the mountain villages on that. Few people have ever done that so you'll see the villages as they really are, before tourism changes them.

>>1160995
I went to Namibia a few weeks after Myanmar. Hands-down can recommend Myanmar as being better. Namibia is just a massive desert with some animals to see, which gets lame fast. The few tourist towns are Uber touristy. And the massive distances make traveling around on the gravel roads there painful.

Myanmar has a sense of undiscovered adventure to it now, but that won't last. It's destined to become another Thailand eventually, it has all the same ingredients now. So I highly recommend going to Myanmar now and Namibia later on if you want. And yes it's totally possible to see the highlights and get a sense of the culture in a 1.5-2 week trip.

>>1161037
Thanks anon. So any recommendations besides the obvious sights?

>>1160995
It's not the most beautiful or fun country but it is certainly interesting to experience and I think it's worth a visit. 3 weeks could work if you plan ahead and find enough things to fill the time but personally I think 2 weeks would be enough.

Highlights from my trip were cycling around Bagan, riding the third class train to Mawlamyine, eating chappati at street stalls in Mandalay.

Food is diverse, all kinds of stuff there, some delicious and some less so. Not on Thailand/Malaysia level but still nonetheless good meals to be had.

I don't know how good it is for just chilling out, I understand there are some nice beaches but I don't know how well developed the services in those areas are.

If I was going again with my gf I'd consider a group tour; not because the country is overly difficult or dangerous to travel in, just that the systems for booking transport, accommodation etc. can be awkward and time consuming to navigate.

>>1161037
Are you seeing the world in reverse-alphabetical order?

>>1161050

You lucky fucker. We got stuck with 3rd class from Mawlamyine to Dawei, 14 long fucking hours sitting next to the "toilet", which leaked piss & shit all over the floor. It being Thingyan, every time the train slowed the locals took great delight in dousing us in icy or brown water, which was great as it was hot as hell. We bought every beer we could whenever the train stopped (it also broke down in the middle of the seething jungle for about 90mins) & got shitfaced & had a party using a bluetooth speaker, we has the locals rocking out with us.

Solid advice re the tour. I was lucky enough to be with 2 expats, one of whom was fluent in Burmese, made our travels slightly less hard. All in all it's a great place, I'd love to go back.

>>1161151
What I remember most from my train trip was how every so often the train would go over some shitty section of track and the whole thing would bounce up and down, much to the delight of the the other passengers. Also getting some shit spilled on my pants, and so many people trying their various home remedies to fix it. By the end of the trip I had dried up betel juice, soap, oil and toothpaste all over my khaki trousers I'd bought the day before.

>>1161045
Tour on a motorcycle if (and only if) you're already very experienced. Chat with the expat guys in Mandalay for info.

Do trekking in Kyaukme, not Inle lake or hsipaw, those are touristed out now. Find a guy that does motorbike+hike tours of the surrounding villages to see what village life truly is there.

Thanks for the info guys, just booked my tickets to here for ~20 days long solo. Yet to come up with any game plan or list of attractions hopefully it wont eat up into my budget too much.

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>>1161392

I take it you're talking about the Yangon to Bagan rail section? It certainly was an experience. We had soft sleepers (thank fuck), but were literally bouncing 4" off the beds during the night. I was afraid of going out the window, second only to the whole train derailing, but that fear faded when the valium kicked in (my expat companion explained it would be necessary if we wanted any sleep at all - he had learned the hard way).

As for local rememdies, I managed to break a pair of thongs (flipflops), being size 13 replacements weren't going to be easy to acquire, but luckily our moto-taxi driver took them to his friend the tyre repairer, where some industrial solvent was used to fix them, for free. I wore those fuckin' things until the soles disintegrated out of gratitude & because they were comfy as fuck.

Pic is some goats eating trash by the river (every river is lined with garbage) in Monywa.

Do the overnight hike to Inlay lake. Was one of the best things we did - despite being recommended by Lonely Planet!

>>1161534
>despite being recommended by Lonely Planet!
Why would that be a bad thing?

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>>1161537

Because every dipshit "traveller" wannabe with their designer trekking gear, hiking poles & dslr around the neck flock to wherever LP decides to spoil for all eternity.

>>1161534
Did the three day, two nights hike. Was really nice in off-season. With our groups of 7 people we met only 1 other group. The walks were pretty short though, we finished the days pretty early.
Did a Hsipaw trek on our own (after arriving at 5 AM) towards some little village and back, took me and a friend 9 hours to do 35km or something. The village was infested with rebels and we had some lunch over there with (a drunk) one.

>>1161764
RealTraveller (tm) detected.

Please tell us all about how you lived in a yurt with nomads and ate nothing but goat yogurt for three years.

>>1161879
Weird how the Australian government says this about Hsipaw

Think seriously about whether you need to travel here due to the high level of risk. If you do travel, do your research and take a range of extra safety precautions, including having contingency plans. Check that your travel insurer will cover you.

I'm thinking about going to myanmar alongisde other SEA countries like vietnam/laos/cambodia
Thing is, i'm gonna be visiting india and nepal first, realistically how long should i give myanmar? is 2 weeks enough?