Myanmar - Need help with in-country tour operator
 

I am interested in traveling to Myanmar and am lookin for an in-country operator who can make arrangements for me. I am a middle-aged woman traveling alone and plan on visiting Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Inle lake. I'd like to fly between locations, stay at higher end hotels and have a private guide and driver. Any suggestions on which agency to use?

Gracious Myanmar (ask for Sonny) or Myanmar Travel (ask for Myriam). Both are excellent -- they used to be husband and wife and one agency. Myriam is Swiss -- Sonny is Burmese.
Whichever one you use ask to have Nyi Nyi as a guide. He was the best guide i have had in 30 years of travel. In fact we are returning to Burma specifically to see him again (we're going thru Sonny at Gracious Myanmar).

In Oct/Nov last year my wife and me travelled extensively in Myanmar, care of a local travel agent which was very reasonably priced and did an absolutely wonderful job for us. I posted a trip report in Nov 2004.
Orchestra is the name of the agency and their email address is
[email protected]

Thanks to both of you for your recommendations. I will contact both agencies. Aside from the typical sites, are there any "make sure you don't miss" things to do? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Make sure you spend time getting to know the people. Don't rush around just looking at temples. Spend time not only in Inle Lake but in the Shan State as well. The people and the various cultures are what make this country so wonderful. Sit in tea rooms with your guide; visit families; go to villages where tour groups don't go.

How much time do you have?

Gloria - I have almost 2 weeks. Any ideas on an itinerary? I was planning 3 nights Bagan, 3 nights Mandalay, 3 nights Inle Lake and surrounding area and several nights in Yangon. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Nan-What are your major interests? I was most interested in the people (not the temples) but everyone is different. I was also there for close to four weeks.

I'd suggest:
Yangon - 3 days
Mandalay - 3 days - 1 day day trip to Mayamo
Bagan- 2 days
Inle Lake - 2 or 3 days
Shan State - (Heho perhaps or other city) - 2 or 3 days

If there is any way you can get to Mogok (I think you need special permission) it was the high point of my trip.

Here was my itinerary. Keep in mind my major interest were the various ethnic minorities -- not the temples.

12/30-1/1 -Yangon
1/2-1/4 - Inle Lake
1/4-1/6 - Kalaw
1/6-1/8 - Pindaya
1/9-1/11- Mandalay
1/12-1/16 - Moguk
1/17-1/19 - Mandalay
1/20 - Maymo
1/21 - Mandalay
1/22-1/23 - Bagan
1/24-1/26 - Yangon

I agree that Pindaya is absolutely worth a visit when you are in the neighbourhood of Inle anyway.
I also recommend the trip to Mrauk U, by river from Sittwe. Fly into Sittwe with the earliest flight you can get and make arrangements to travel on directly to Mrauk U, because Sittwe is about the most desolate and depressing place I've seen in Myanmar. Mrauk U, however, and the river trip are very worthwile, though.

Again, thanks to both of you for your destination ideas. I, too, am interested in people and photography but I'm also looking forward to the temples. I sounds like I should try to stay a couple of days in the Pindaya/Kalaw areas. I don't know if I'll have time to travel to Mrauk U. I only have 2 weeks.

I'll be traveling in Burma in early October. I'm considering spending some time in Pyin U Lwin, and would like feedback about the city from anyone who has been there recently (within 1-2 years).
Thanks...

I was there about 5 years ago. It was worth the visit but I would recommend doing it as a day trip from Mandalay rather than stay over. Some interesting caves and the town was nice to walk around. But not worth overnight.

i used myanmar travel in jan. and was in myanmar for 10 days. My guides name was Tun , and was by far the best guide i ever had. I will be more specific on why if you are interested.

We're going through Myanmar Travel next month. Please tell me why to request Tun.
Thanks!

nan_49: I would love to do a trip to Myanmar similar to yours. Is there any way I can find out about your trip? Will you be posting a trip review? Is there some way I can give you my e-mail address? I'm not that familiar with Fodors. Thanks so much. And thanks to all of you who responded, especially glorialf with so much good info. I also prefer people to temples!

Grammyflink--when do you want to go to Burma and for how long? And what are your major interests? As with nan, I would strongly urge you to book Nyi Nyi as a guide. We are going back to Burma in January just to see him. Best guide we've ever had. A wonderful young man. You can book him and arrange your tour through gracious myanmar. Ask for Sonny (his English is excellent) who owns it and tell him Gloria Friedman referred you.

Here's the website for gracious myanmar. As I said, when you email ask for Sonny.

http://www.myanmartravelagent.com/

Thank you Gloria. I wish I could give you my e-mail address but I am reluctant to post it on the web. You are a fantastic resource! The human landscape is my travel passion and I've heard lovely things about the Burmese people. I can't go until winter 2007 but I'll keep the info. Happy travels!

Grammyflink-- since you have so much time there are some wonderful books I would recommend reading for a better understanding of the culture, history and political situation. If you're interested, I'd be happy to come up with a list.

Gammyflink - I will be traveling in December and will post a report in Jan. I agree that Gloria has been invaluable in planning my trip. I've taken all of her advice and so far, it's been great. Thank you Gloria.

Plummie, as i had mentioned for your trip thru Myanmar travel , request Tun as a guide.First his english is excellent.when i toured Myanmar i had requested somebody who was going to be fun to hang out with with a good sense of humor, someone with all the knowledge of his country.Tun is a person with so much character, who interacts with his fellow countryman in a way i have never seen before.He used polite humor and at the same time with only guides that he is sure he knows will occasionly poke fun at the dictatorship. He is someone when i asked said the 2 proffesions he would be interested in would be a politician or a lawyer. We had a lot of laughs over that one as there really is neither where he is.I am 38 y.o. and Tun is probably in his 30 s as well.He isnt too religous and was able to see both sides of the coin when it came to those things. He was also careful to talk when things were clear or when he was sure of the people around him. Dont worry the country is extremely safe for tourist. I was also very sick one day which we went for an 7 hr ride thru the country. When we arrived at the motel i went to my room. I was so sick i was screaming and talking to myself. you can imagine . finally when i couldnt take it anymore i was heading to the phone and before i could get there, there was a knock at the door. It was Tun. I told him i needed to get medical treatment. He immediatly took over and had a car available in minutes and brought me to a clinic. He saved me. i was really sick. i had total confidence as soon as he had opened the door.Also one of my painting that i purchased in Rangoon was lost on the airplane. Myanmar travel was kind in arranging for the artist to paint another. Also Tun personaly went by to make sure it was of good quality.He has done extensive tours with people from national geographic. Although he says its not his favorite because of the early sunrise shots. I was so impressed with him i had the honor having dinner with him and his new bride.there is so much more but i will wrap it up by saying i learned much about the country, the religion, the dictatorship, his personal life, and most of all we had fun along the way.Also it was Tun a driver and myself only during the entire trip.Any other questions please ask.oh what was also good with myanmar travel is that on my first day which was from the airport to the hotel. tun gives me a whole bunch of their currency, maybe 50$ worth. they set you up because the exchange rates are ridiculous at some places which you will find out .It helped me get thru the night and morning.Something they didnt have to do.

There is nothing I love more than talking about burma and thailand. If any of you have any questions that you don't think would be of general interest and want to email me privately my email address is [email protected].

Hi Gloria,
About how much does a guide charge per day?
Marilyn

I think we're paying about $80- $100 a day for a large car, driver and guide. But that's in Rangoon. Cost will be more if you are traveling and have to pay for the hotel and meals of the driver and guide but not a huge amount.

Dear Mrs.Nan

I'm director travel agent in Myanmar. I would like to know when will you come to visit Myanmar. I can arrange everyting for you. Please visit www.myanmarroyal.com
and you can find everything about Myanmar. If you have any enquiry, please do not hestitate to contact me.

Best regards,
Thet Linn

I can't seem to get any travel agents to merely book hotels, car, and driver for me. They all insist on doing package deals, but my wife and I don't want to take internal flights in Myanmar when we visit for 2 weeks in mid-December.

Any suggestions? A few days ago, I sent some e-mails to individual hotels, based on their websites, but haven't heard back.

Also, is it possible to drive in one day from Yangon to Inle Lake? If not, what about to Kalaw? How many hours would that be?

hi there,
when looking on older treats You will find a few adresses of drivers. But cant say if they are still working, things changes fast in Myamnar.
You cant drive in one day to Lake Inle, not even to Kalaw. It is too far. Buses need about 16 to 20 hours.
If You have just 2 weeks You will need to rush a lot.

Thanks for your reply. Is there anywhere you'd recommend (with a decent hotel) to stop on the way to Inle that could break the trip up into a two-day drive?

audeyes I was in Pyin U Lwin in July - may I ask why you are particularly interested in that city/town?
I have posted a report about Burma which does include our visit to the Pyin U Lwin and should still be in the last 50 messages pile. (sorry could not think of any other way to put it)..I'm in my non compos mentis frame again...

An agency with lots of flexibility? Try this: [email protected]. I traveled with them in Nov 2004 and was extremely satisfied. I did not want to fly from Bagan to Mandalay, so they supplied car + driver. Had the trip really tailor made, and I remained fully in command of the trip, both before and during. And reasonably priced, with excellent service. Got no shares in that company, don't worry, but I have absolutely no problem in recommending them. They're based in Yangon. My trip report was filed on this board end Nov 2004. Good travels. Lucky you: Myanmar. It's really great and wonderful people too (as long as not dressed in uniform).