I recently posted an article on my blog about money issues in Burma. Take a look and see if there is anything helpful to you. www.travelindependently.com

Okay I am confused now. I thought that I exchanged all my US currency for Kyat upon arrival. From what I read above you need usd to pay for a lot of things. If that is the case I dont want to bring just $100 bills I presume. How much smaller US should I bring for meals etc while there.

I am paying santa maria travel upon arrival (in pristine $100 USD bills). From there on we only need money for meals, entrance fees and tours and transport not booked in advance. Do we not use Kyat for that?

Joan you must be getting excited. I cant wait to hear your trip report!
Debbe

You are correct, Debbe, you need to bring a variety of smaller US bills to pay entrance fees, meals at hotels, bus, air or train tickets not already paid for through your travel agent. Try to bring a good variety of denominations so you don't need change.

You use kyat for purchase in markets and shops, taxis, horsecart driver, boatman at Inle, meals at restaurants. As you can see, you probably won't need to exchange a lot of money. I think we used about $200 in kyat for our trip in 2009. With the falling dollar, I'm guessing we'll use $300 in kyat this trip.

The money situation in Burma is really confusing!

Thanks Kathie. Back to the bank!

I spoke to my bank and they said they would order me new bills the beginning of Dec. for my Jan. trip. I guess they are used to doing this around Christmas time.

Thanks Kathie for you invaluable advise on so many different topics relating to Burma. It's very much appreciated.

I find the cash fits perfectly into a sandwich sized zip lock bag. Once I have my perfect bills I divide them the way I want & put them in the bags. This helps a lot with them not getting creased.