border crossing
 

can any one give me some information weather
if its possible to cross over land from THAILAND into BURMA and later getting into
rangoon or mandally,which border should i use to enter, if its possible,i would like to hear from any one who has journeyed thisway,or from anyone who has some information

if its not possible to travel overland i dont mind flying into rangoon, could some one
recomend a very cheap airlines or ticket agent in BANGKOK

do we have to exchange our currency into FEC
on arrival in the airport

i will also be very pleased to recive any
information travelling cheaply around BURMA

i will be backpacking ,there for a month


thanking you in advance
ruben

You're best off flying into Rangoon. The border crossing from Thailand is iffy and you won't be near any place of interest. That's good only for a day trip and it's mildly interesting at best. We flew Thai Airways from BKK to Rangoon. I don't recall the price but I believe R/T was about US$250, but this was 2 1/2 years ago.

From what I understand, you no longer have to change money into FECs. When I was there, we had to exchange $200 each and it wasn't that easy to get rid of, contrary to what the gov't said. But why would anyone believe anything that gov't says?

To the best of my knowledge foreigners are restricted to the immediate areas of the Thai-Burma border posts (there are 3 or 4) so if you want to go to Rangoon you’ll need to fly from BKK. Anyway, that’s my understanding of the situation, if I’m wrong then I’d also like to know about travelling overland to Rangoon from Thailand.

It's true you can cross the border from Thailand into Burma. But if you want to go to Rangoon, you'll have to fly from the border town to Rangoon. All things considered, you're better off to fly from Bangkok. FECs were abolished a couple of years ago. You will need cash - US dollars are preferred. You will not be able to use credit cards, and of course, there are no ATMs.

For the best backpacking advice, I'd recommend Lonely Planet's website called the Thorntree.

hi there,
agree with above. You can cross the border overland, but the roads are close for foreigners, so You have to fly fly anyway. Also the borders are closed sometimes for a while without informations so it is better to fly.
No FEC anmore. Do not change money at the airport. The curse is going dramaticly down, when we were there in Feb we got (at the hotel) 950 Kyat for one US Dollar, now it is about 1350. Change at the road (near Sule Pagoda), but be carefull. Or at a hotel or travel office.
Forget Your creditcards and checks!!! There are some rare places, but You might loose about 40 %.
And check how much Kyat You need. In Rangoon, Mandalay and Bagan You get good deals, on other places (especially on the beach) the curse is down. A lots of things You have to pay in US $ (hotels, fligths, entrance fees, trains).
Travelling cheap means at first to bargain. The hotels may be the most expensive part of Your tour. If they say 20 first dont pay more than 12. Also hide western stile dinners. Flights and trains are expensive for foreigners, also rented cars, for the price of gas exploded (more than 500 % on the black market). Buses still are cheap, you can go from Rangoon to Pyay für about 4000 Kyat.
More prices:
a coke: 1000
a local coke: 200
a meal on the street: from 200
in a restaurant: about 800 - 1500
beer: 1000 - 1500
bottle of water: 150
one horse cart in Bagan for 2: 6000
one day boat trip at Lake Inle for 4: 7000
Bagan ticket for 3 days: 10 US
Shwedagon Pagoda: 5 US
boat from Mandalay to Bagan: 16 US
flight from Heho to Rangoon: 93 US
Hotels incl. breakfast: for 10 to 22 US

have fun
Gar