yestravel

We looked at Lonely Planet but it came out before the election, so figured it might not be current. Also someone on Fodors commented that is was not helpful due to the timing. your thoughts would be appreciated, Thanks!

Kathie

You need a guidebook that gives you history and cultural information. No guidebook will be entirely up to date, especially for Burma. The most recent Lonely Planet was published in Dec 2011. Some things have changed - the money situation and costs for accommodation and such but it is still well worth buying.

Basically, there are no other guidebooks even vaguely up to date.

You might want to look at a reading list I posted a few years ago:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...-bookshelf.cfm

yestravel

Great list-we've actually read a few already.

On guidebooks, we found two books on Amazon more recent than the Lonely Planet. One, An Illustrated History and guide to Burma by Caroline Courtauid out in Nov 2012. The other, Pankesum 6x6 Guide to Myanmar.... By James Rodriguez & Pankesum, from May 2012. Does anyone happen to know of these books? thanks

Kathie

I don't know either one of those guides. My experience with "off-brand" guides has been pretty bad. I would look carefully at the guides before I bought them. Maybe someone else has seen them or can comment.

yestravel

Yes, that's always the fear when one buys off Amazon. I do like to leaf thru a guide before buying. nyway, thanks for your help. in March, we will contact the TA you recommended.

alan_s

I spent a few months simply browsing the web for info. Every time I found something interesting I bookmarked it and read it in detail later. Occasionally I printed off a page to take with me. I also bought "Finding George Orwell in Burma". It was a good but depressing read, and valid in parts, but I felt (and hope) that it may be out of date now in many respects.

I didn't buy the LP guide because I thought it would be out of date, but I noticed a lot of people wandering around Nyaung U with it in hand.

My trip reports may help with some ideas: http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...ember-2012.cfm

Cheers, Alan

Kathie

The LP Guide is very good and I recommend it. It has excellent historical and cultural information and thoughtful writing about the long-running debate as to whether to visit Burma (now only partially solved by the reforms).

The info about changing money is out of date and soon ATMs will be a reliable possibility as well as use of credit cards at upper range accommodation.

What is out of date are accommodation prices and restaurant recommendations. But those are the kinds of things that are often out of date before a book gets printed. While I often read those sections in guidebooks, I use recommendations from people here for such things.

Kathie

Oh, and a book listed as a guide book on my reading list, "To Myanmar with Love: A Travel Guide for the Connoisseur" isn't really a guide book. We read it before our 2009 trip and once we got to Burma it was clear that all of the charming vignettes were probably at least 10 years old.

tyro

Although this is not a guidebook - if you enjoy cooking or reading about food and culture, Naomi Duguid's new book "Burma, Rivers of Flavor" is a wonderful book. Along with her recipes (which are as close to authentic as you might find), she has included insightful chapters of information about Myanmar. I just ate a big bowl of her Silky Shan soup tonight - delish. I had the privilege to cook with her in Thailand last year and she is currently in Myanmar with a group of fellow foodies. Her book is getting allot of good press and well deserved.