Myanmar/Burma

Itinerary in the works

mandalay
-->
inle lake
The long hike from Pindaya to Kalaw
Ywama village and the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda??
Indein ??
Nyaung Shwe ??
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mandalay
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? Pyin U Lwin and Hsipaw by rail, but this would require a double back
from mandalay a day trip can be taken to Mingun Pahtodawgyi
from mandalay, sagaing
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bhamo via rail
ketho, on the river between bhamo and mandalay
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bagan via ferry
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mount popa?
pyay??
taungoo?
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yangoon
-circle line train
-hledan market
Amarapura
-teak bridge

>>1254455
The north is largely off limits to foreigners. Where you are and aren't permitted changes quite regularly.

You can travel up to the city of Myitkyina in Kachin State and visit some of the surrounding countryside, but can't really explore the state beyond that. There's a train from Mandalay but it takes 24hrs and could be double that if delayed. Apparently there's a ferry during wet season but it's slow and expensive. I'd like to go but the 1 month visa thing means you've got to prioritise.

Shan State is prob the bit near thailand you're talking about. You can go but some places will be off limits due to fighting. It varies on a very local scale, there's specific roads and villages that are off limit, sometimes larger areas etc.

>>1254460
I'd rather do the hike from Kalaw to Inle Lake. Better to arrive at the lake after a 3 day trek than a dusty town. Might be unable to incorporate the Bagan ferry if you do this though.

>>1254462
how expensive is the ferry?

I've been practically dying to do a river trip for three months
Yangtse river was in the wrong place because I wasn't going to changhai, and in cambodia going up the mekong wasn't possible

>>1254464
I dunno. The Myitkyina one is apparently overpriced, slow and sometimes unable to take you the whole way. The Bagan one I've no idea.

I think there's a few river cruises, most go south...

>>1254465
my plan was basically to take the awful train upriver, then to take the ferry downriver which from my maritime experiences would be much more pleasant

apparently there are peace talks underway with shan state leaders or something, so I figure it would be good time to go
the thing is backed by china and could be a game changer

>>1254467
Yeah is must be changing as fast as anywhere in the world... The Mandalay > Lashio (China) road is already busy with trucks and dusty as fuck. I don't know about any peace talks but I suspect a lot of the country will remain off limits for the next 10+years but after more tourist money comes in it will improve.

Yeah you can only go Myitkyina > Mandalay or Mandalay>Bagan by boat downriver. If you're going to Myitkyina check ahead that it's actually running and there's enough water.

>>1254455

I'm going here early next year.

Anyone have any info on the backpacker route in this country? I'm looking for places where I can meet and chill with other travellers and have some fun.

I heard Burma isn't very good for nightlife, but surely there are some hostels around that cater to a more social backpacker crowd.

>>1254492
plenty o whiteys in Yangon

Would love to hear whether cheap accommodation is hard to find as well.

Also, how's the food and is it easy catching trains? I mean do they depart often?

fuck me, Im still looking at it but accommodation will cost me literally half my budget

can't camp
can't air BNB private accommodation

if I can't work out a way to get around this it might be a deal breaker for my whole trip

>>1254746
I could try using night buses, but the roads I hear are in poor condition so I might not get any sleep, and I think it's a terrible idea taking sleeping pills on a night bus.

some places are hard to travel, I can do hard.
but when the government just taxes everything, that I cannot do

>>1254566
People make a big deal about the accommodation prices but it's still pretty cheap in world terms. You just don't get as much for your money as you do elsewhere in the region, i.e. what would get you a basic but clean and comfortable room in Thailand will get you something pretty crappy in Myanmar. I haven't been there in a few years however when I was there it was still pretty outdated in terms of finding accommodation, to the point of having to use guidebooks to find places and phones to book them. I imagine now it's probably much more like everywhere else with online listings and bookings.

Food can be bretty good but again it suffers in comparison to nearby countries. Personally I preferred the more Indian-inspired dishes like dahls and curries. I particularly enjoyed the chappati stalls in Mandalay, makes for a great snack or you can get meat at some if you want a meal. I'd be pretty hesitant to order Western dishes, if you are prone to craving that stuff get your fill in Bangkok, KL or Singapore before you go.

Trains are pretty easy to catch and go pretty frequently from the major cities. Definitely worthwhile for the scenery and experience, pretty fun being in 3rd class and seeing everyone bouncing up and down when the train goes over the shitty sections of track. Buses are faster, more comfortable, more convenient and generally cheaper, so a much better option if you just want to cover the distance.

>>1254763
The highways between the main cities are actually in pretty good condition so you could probably get a few hours if you're someone who can sleep on buses.

>>1254771
>still pretty cheap in world terms
backpackers however really are locked to cheap regions, so "in world terms" doesn't mean much

I'l proably end up in rural areas like I normally do, and so the issue for me is that a dorm is simply not a thing.
10$ dorms in big citties will hurt a backpacker on a very tight budget, but most will be OK

however 20$ shitty hotel rooms will quickly cause great pain

also as a US dollar country, this causes many travelers a LOT of hurt
americans always think they are cheap because they don't have to convert currency but the rest of us have to deal with 5% loss in conversion, but not only that we have to buy into the high US dollar

then on top of that you have the arbitary fees, a $50 visa, 5$ camera gibmedat tax, etc etc

I'm not honestly sure if I could do it on 40$/day unless I only stayed in the big cities

so everything really is dependent on if I can find home-stays reliably in rural areas, or temple stays somewhere

if I can get a 5$ room, then 6$ in meals, 5$ in buses
suddenly it becomes very do-able
that's why the accommodation costs are such a big deal

Honestly if you're on an incredibly tight budget like this just skip Myanmar. It's advancing rapidly and they are adding fees for tourists for all sorts of little things and prices are going up somewhat. The real problem for you, though, is that things are changing so insanely fast that anything you read online will be out of date unless it was written in the last 6 months or so.

>>1254566
Did Burma a few years back

Accommodation wasn't as cheap as I'd expected, they have a lot of guest houses but not many hostels

>>1254763
Yeah man, unless you're a hardcore camper I'd avoid night buses in Burma. Even if the bus is nice, the roads are terrible

Save your sanity and fly, trust me

>>1254786
that's a real issue I'm having, I need up to date info on if temple staying and camping are OK or not.

since my budget would kind of depend on it, I don't want to pay 50$US for a visa, then that again for gear only to find myself constantly harassed or turned away .

and I know how arbitrary greed fees add up, frankly I don't think asians have any understanding that not all westerners are wealthy; and even less understanding that we save up for years to travel like we do

Many people seem to have outdated info here as well. Just came back from a month there, it wasn't as expensive as I expected desu. Managed 30 usd/day pretty comfortably

Dorms or really basic single rooms can be had in most places for 10-15 usd, only Bagan is expensive as fuck so try not to stick there. Still worth going though. Food and all the rest, especially tours are cheap as fuck. For the three day Kalaw-Inle trek we paid 40.000 kyat or about 30 usd per person, everything included...

You also don't need dollars, many places prefer payment in kyat and its generally cheaper. There are ATMs in every major town now.

Night buses were fine with me, the Yangon-Mandalay highway is excellent, roads between the big cities are generally ok. Also there is a direct bus Inle-Hsipaw, that might take a lot of backtracking out of your itinerary. And the trekking around Hsipaw was fucking amazing and dirt cheap.

>>1254857
our savior arrives, based are you among anons

where did you travel?

any tips?

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I spent a month there last February and it was my favourite country in SEA. Incredibly friendly and helpful people and a really unique mix of old traditions and modern life.

I'd recommend finding someone to travel with to share hotel rooms because I didn't find a lot of hostels/dorms. If you stay in the cheap places you can definitely get by on 5-10 US$ for accomodation if you share. Food is really cheap though but it can be hit or miss. The curries are very oily, some people don't like that. If you want to get drunk on the cheap, buy a bottle of Mandalay Rum or similar spirits. 0.7l liters go for about 2$. Beer is between 1-2$ for a big bottle.

It takes a long time to get around on buses and they can be pricey. Expect to pay about 1-2$ per hour of bus ride.. Trains are really slow but a lot more comfortable and really cheap. I paid 1.20$ for a 6 hour train ride in first class.

It was a lot more touristy than I expected. The country is changing very quickly. Bagan and Inle Lake are the most touristy places but for a good reason. Both are very unique and interesting places and definitely worth visiting.

If you want to avoid touristy places and enjoy more tropical landscapes/beaches, you should head south. There's a 70km long peninsula near Dawei with only two basic accomodation options for tourists. Just simple bungalows on the beach. Felt a bit like the movie 'The Beach' there. I rented a motorbike for 5 days, explored the area and slept in hammocks. You can easily find completely deserted beaches there.

The Pic was taken around Hpa An. Ask away if you have any questions or you want me to dump some pics.

>>1254955
Can you maybe post your itinerary? I like to compare different ones.

You're saying that accommodation will only be about $5-10 if you share, but I'll be travelling alone - didn't you also do that? How much would you think accommodation would be solo?

Also, this is more of a general question for everyone - why do you think there's so much difference in the prices that people are reporting? Maybe it's due to seasonal differences, or maybe it's just people with different travel experience.

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>>1254959
I went a bit all over the place because I didn't really plan before. Started in Yangon and made my way to Ngwe Saung on the west coast but you could skip that. It's nothing special. Then to Bagan and after that I did the trek from Kalaw to Inle Lake. Then travelled all the way south which took a really long time. From Dawei to Kawthoung it took me 22 hours in a minibus.

If you're solo you'll find shitty rooms for 10-15$ I'd say. But I shared rooms most of the time.

I think the seasons definitely change prices. I was there in dry season which is the busiest time of year. Rain season is probably cheaper.

>>1254964
Thanks a lot.

How is that expensive? I mean I'm going to travel on a budget next year, but I could still do $30-40 a day, which is still very cheap. With rooms for $10-15 I'd easily manage.

Who did you share rooms with?

>>1254973
Well it's more expensive compared to other SEA countries like Vietnam, Cambodia or Thailand and the hotels are generally in a worse condition. I guess that's why people say Burma is an expensive country but unless you're dirt poor, you can easily manage.

I was with some friends for the first half of my trip, after that I just stayed with random travellers that were heading the same direction.

>>1254880
I crossed the border from Thailand to Dawei, then Mawlamyine, Yangon, Bagan, trek from Kalaw to Inle, trekking around Hsipaw, the train to Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay, and then back into Thailand again via Hpa-an. Highlights for me were Bagan and Hsipaw.

>>1254955
Solid advice, especially about the south, heard only great stories about it and really wish I would've had more time to spend there. I found dorms in all the places I stayed except Dawei and Pyin Oo Lwin. Even though it was supposed to be low season, it was still pretty busy everywhere and prices weren't a lot lower. I guess tourism really is taking off..

And the people are really something special, the most smiley, curious and genuinely nice I've met. Especially in the not so touristy areas. They mostly speak basic English too, unlike most countries in SEA.

The northern regions are safe as far as you're allowed in, there are many different rebel groups , some are still in open war with the government army, most have ceasefires, but none of them want to harm tourists. At least, that's what I was told.

>>1254959
I think the difference in prices might be because most of the hostels are really new and weren't available to travelers and guidebook writers two or three years ago, so they had no idea there is accommodation in this budget class. Also I think the kyat fell pretty hard against the dollar the last years, but I don't know how the inflation's been.

>>1254955
awesome man

yea I'm going solo, so I was thinking about trying to stay in monasteries where possible

I definitely will take trains where I can because rail travel is fantastic
do you know about the real costs of river travel there?

you think south to avoid tourists?
I was going to head north up to bago and maybe east into the shan state

Not sure if the lake is worth or not

>>1255148
did you manage to avoid backtracking when visiting Pyin U Lwin?

sorry for the slew of questions, a lot of "guide books" and blogs for burma were writen by people who had no clue and only stayed a week

also wondering about the cost of river travel

wikitravel has the Mandalay-bagan ferry at 35$ US which seems ridiculous, could it be that the writer was swindled?

I'd like to take the ferry from bhamo down to bagan if it's do-able/sensibly priced

>>1255148
You have to already have a Myanmar visa when you enter via a land border, right? If not, you only get a 15-day visa? Or am I confused?

>>1255191
you're confused

you MUST get a visa prior to arrival in Myanmar
you CANNOT get a visa at the Myanmar border

Does the Burmese evisa require a full fucking itinerary

jesus, I haven't had to do one of those since china

why does this country hate tourists so much, fucks sake

>>1254955
lurking. some more pictures would be nice too.

>>1254773
How poor are you?

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>>1255184
A lot of the ferries aren't running anymore, at least in the South. Buses got a lot cheaper so that's what the locals use now and it wasn't worth it to keep the ferry service running for a couple of backpackers who want a scenic route.

Here's a pic from inle lake where they built villages on the water. Pretty surreal place

>>1255191
As a pinoy I got 14 days visa free, I think any outside ASEAN need it first though

>>1255244
short answer: very

long answer: I'm limited by budget not duration, so every dollar I save means I can see more of the world

most people can only holiday for a few weeks/months, so for them spending a comparatively large amount to pack more into their vacation makes sense; there's nothing wrong with it

but if I can stay at around 30 or 40 US/day in Burma, I can see Nepal or Bangladesh as well.
And that's what it's all about.

for instance I just worked out that getting my visa at the embasy in thailand might only cost me 1000 baht (30$US) wheras the E-visa would cost me 50$US.

>>1255245
I'm going to have to check when I'm in Mandalay, I missed river trips in china and cambodia and I'l be shitty if I can't in burma either

anyway I think I've about sorted out an itinerary
Myawaddy
Hpa-an
mawlamyne
Rangoon
Thazi
Kalaw
hike to inle
get to mandalay somehow
a few day trips from mandalay
Bhamo
Take the ferry down south to Bagan, or as far as it goes
Mount popa

any advice on this would be appreciated, hope I'm not missing much

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>>1255206
They might ask to see your return ticket at the immigration but I have never talked to anyone who had to show it. I think they're getting more lenient now. On some bus rides there were checkpoints where they look at your passport.

This pic was taken on the trek from kalaw to inle lake.

>>1255250
I'm really reluctant to book an outwards flight because of how easily the unreliable transport can lead to a missed flight/ having to skip over destinations

how expensive are goods prices in burma compared to thailand?
should I buy camping gear here before I leave?

>>1255255
You could book a 40$ flight and cancel it with your travel insurance

>>1255257
yea I did that for china, but I might just tell them I'm leaving overland

they can't expect me to provide an outbound flight if I'm leaving over land can they

>>1255248
Don't plan too far ahead, it's nice to be flexible. That itinerary is busy but doable... For what it's worth I heard Mt Popa was underwhelming and quite touristic.

You could get a nightbus from Kalaw to Hsipaw, spend a day or two, then get the train to Pyin U Lwin or Mandalay.

>>1255259
If you tell them you're leaving overland they'll be fine. Or just pick a date that sounds about right without booking the flight

And it's easier/better to buy what you need in Thailand - it'll probably be cheaper and better quality.

>>1254797
Oh Fuck
I took some acid last time before getting on the night bus from mawylamine to maung magan. Not LSD, just some mild stuff (2ci). I was sweating bullets the whole way, about 10 hours through the night, it was stinking hot, smelly as hell, and this awful local soap opera was blaring out of the tv. Every stop along the way was smashing cigarettes and trying to decide if I should eat or not. Whoo boy that was quite the ride. I was the only foreigner and they all had to wait while some army jerkoff checked my passport because we went through some (politically) sketchy areas, so the doctor who sat next to me told me.

I say take the bus, just for the wild ride. You won't forget it, with or without the trips

Maung Magan was really quite nice. Barely a foreigner in sight, and a nice quiet beach for chillin on

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Im very suprised nobody had mentioned Naypyidaw. For me, it was one of the most disturbing and equally interesting places in whole of SEA. I would recommend anyone who hasnt seen a dictator city before to definitely go there.

>>1255434
tht's the new capitol right?

I hear it's totally dead, nothing to do but see a creepy kind of abandoned city

Was in Myanmar a couple months ago, best country I visited. I'll try to answer any questions if you got em.

>>1255184
Slow boat should be dirt cheap, fast boat should be maybe 20 bucks max.

>>1255206
No itinerary was necessary when I got my e-visa in January. It was a very easy process. Are you sure you are applying via the government website and not one of the overpriced tour agency websites?

>>1255248
If you spend over 30 usd you are spoiling yourself. 10-15 for a place to stay, 3 for food, rest on activities. So 20 usd if you are smart. And Mandalay fucking blows, everybody I met agreed. Go if you have to but there really is maybe 2 spots to visit there. If you are doing trips around Mandalay, just pay the little extra and stay there. One of my favorite spots was in Monywa, which most people just day trip to, but I got to have a lot more fun by being the only whitey past 6pm.

>>1256032
Pretty much. Worth a stop if that interests you though, it's on the Yangon-Mandalay route.

Having serious issues with the visa

They want printed and confirmed bookings for an arival hotel and bus

which is cute, acting like a developed country

but I can't actually find a bus company running that route that I can book online with, and only the expensive hotels are actually bookable online to begin with

seriously re-considering the whole thing, I'm not sure it's worth the inflated prices

>>1255248
>Nepal or Bangladesh
Don't go to Bangladesh if you have this choice, nigga, really. Nothing to see there, nothing to do. Been there myself.

>>1256148
I was actually looking at bangladesh a few days ago, I heard people leave you alone unlike in india

>>1256149
Different anon who was also in Bangladesh. I liked it a lot more than India. You will not be surrounded by beggars. The people will look at you and maybe even say hello, but it's because of genuine curiosity since foreigners are so rare.

Jesus christ just get a job lad. fucking poorfag

>>1256032
Well its not just any kind of abandones city, its an extremely huge city with monstrous buildings (that are, in fact, mostly empty) and streets by far bigger than they would be in any developed country

You can see everything notable in about a day though

>>1256096
you can just fake a booking conformation

when i applied for visa, i just emailed them a pdf in which i wrote something like "dear mister anon, your booking at xy hotel has been confirmed", which actually looked unbelievable af, but they really dont give a shit

>>1256216
I need a clean entry because when I'm in burma I'm likely to run into trouble and I don't want to give them more ammunition
>seeing only rangoon, mandalay, bagan

>>1256231
why would you run into trouble?

You don't need to be difficult, just book something you can refund on booking.com or whatever and say you're travelling by train

>>1256258
the hotel isn't an issue, but i still cant find a bus company that books online
I might try a travel agent tomorrow, it might not be so bad

Why I might get into trouble has largely to do with mixed information I'm getting about Burma, much of the information is outdated, many of the official rules are selectively ignored

I hear people saying you can stay easily in temples like the pilgrims do, but these sources are often older than the tourism boom in burma which say the drastic spike in hotel prices

I know people who say camping is totally fine (though likely to attract attention), while others say it's clearly illegal

some people say the fractious northern and eastern regions are unsafe and off limits
other people say there is little fighting, it doesn't ever involve tourists and you can just catch a shared taxi into the non-government areas

>>1256293
You don't need a bus, say you're catching trains and cabs around if immigration give you shit (which they won't).

You can stay in some temples, but it's at their discretion. There was a well known one in Hpa-An but a tourist committed suicide there a few months ago and they won't allow it anymore.

Camping is illegal but you might be able to get away with it.

Shan State is fine, some areas you can't go but it's not dangerous provided you don't wander too far. Kachin State is probably not worth visiting unless you're with a local (though I'd love to go).

Myanmar is full of contradicting info and things change fast, you have to just accept it.

>>1256346
The embassy won't issue a visa without a ticket, that's the issue.
And I can't book a ticket on that route online, maybe not at all

I'm sure immigration will be fine when I get there because they know how it is ad deal with it daily

>>1256362
well then just just make up a different route, jesus christ

njb