Kathie

The companies are offering the pre-arranged visa. Some companies call it a VOA (as does VN) but it obviously is not. A VOA means you can arrive at an airport with no advance notice and receive a visa in return for some forms, perhaps a photo and some cash. You will not be allowed on the plane into Burma unless you have either a visa in you passport or the approval letter from the travel agency for a pre-arranged visa. Note that the pre-arranged visa is more expensive than getting the visa in your own country or in Bangkok (about $20). It is the most expensive if you are not buying other services from the agency - I've read reports of some people paying $90 for the pre-arranged visa.

mareeS55

We just got home from Myanmar two days ago. There are now 10 ATMs in Yangon dispensing Kyat, but it's still difficult to pay hotel bills by credit card...even in high-end places you have to present everything on check-in so that authorisation can be obrained. Best to have plenty of cash, or pre-pay, as we did.

Don't believe everything you hear about how fast things are changing. It will take years for tourism to get any real traction outside of Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan and Inle Lake. The rivers are still the best and fastest way to travel. It took us nearly 7hrs to travel 185km by road from Yangon to Pyay on what the British built as a main highway in 1910.

And be very cautious about the internal airlines. One crashed at Inle Lake on Christmas Day while we were there, killing a guide we knew. They overload the planes dreadfully and keep no records of the cargo that's gone aboard.

The generals and their cronies are still very much in control of commerce, the whole place is very corrupt, but the people are lovely, and proud of their "lady." (They never speak her name.)

Hotel prices have gone through the roof. Even if you have already paid for your room they will still try to downgrade you for a businessman who is willing to pay more. They tried it on us at a high-end hotel and we refused to move rooms.

We would recommend not rushing to Burma. It is not prepared for the pressure that's presently being placed on it. There aren't enough hotels or accommodation properties, the transport infrastructure is poor, the internal airlines are downright dangerous (planes still have ashtrays, ffs), in all, it's like Thailand as we experienced in 1973.

We didn't bother carrying computers, phones, iPads etc because we knew the connections were poor. There is WiFi in some of the larger hotels, but access is expensive and hotel phones for international calls are an extortion of Mafia quality.

Basically, Burma is very nice, but if you've travelled extensively through Asia since the 1970s, you've seen quite a bit of what's there.

Three weeks was enough.

(PS, there are still many places you can't go...poorer parts of the main cities, some of the remoter ethnic areas, and anywhere the generals have their mines going.

DMBTraveler

Kathie,

Thanks for the clarification. From "mareeS55" post it does not seem like it is worth the hassle at least not yet.

shelleyk

I guess it's a matter of whether one thinks the glass is half empty or half full when traveling in Myanmar. We went for 3 weeks last Jan. and thought it was one of our best trips ever. (Click on my name for details of our trip, if you are interested.) Yes, arranging the trip was time consuming and somewhat of a hassle, but it was worth the effort. Yes, there is still corruption in Myanmar, but I did not expect everything to change overnight. I think the people have taken a wait and see attitude as to whether the changes will continue, and so have I. I would go back to Myanmar in a heartbeat, because I think the glass is half full.

Kathie

I agree, Shelly. Maree is quite negative about Burma, and I don't know the experiences she had, but despite my 30+ years of travel in SE Asia, I found Burma to be unique. Yes, it is having severe growing pains with the current infrastructure being stretched to the breaking point, and we all know about the political issues.

I'm not sure what she means about not being allowed into the poorer parts of the main cities. We were not stopped anywhere in the main cities. WHile there are large areas of the country that are out of bounds for foreigners - much of the north and of course, the Sittwe/Mrauk U area because of ethnic strife.

Like you, Shelly, I expect we will go back again.

mareeS55

Kathie, Shelly, I'm not negative about Burma, simply realistic. It's a beautiful, unique country, we had a great time, but it's not utopia.

We've lived and worked in several Asian countries over the past 35 years, seen the changes that have happened politically and socially and physically over that time. The whole region is in a state of dynamic change, and they don't always get it right. Burma is at the beginning of that path at present, and it's anyone's guess what happens next.

We found Burma to be similar to Thailand in the early 1970s, and Vietnam in the 1990s in these respects. Sorry if I don't come across as rapturous in my praises of Burma, but I'm being honest. It's a beautiful, unique country with a wonderful culture and people.

But I really did feel as if I'd been there before.

mareeS55

One thing I might add to you both, Kathie and Shelly...Our favourite place in Asia is one that most westerners find hard to get their minds around, and that's Hanoi.

My husband was an Australian infantryman in the Vietnam war in 1996-7 during the Tet and all of that, and we have put considerable resources back into the areas where he and his mates operated, building schools and clinics despite the local communist bosses ripping out money for themselves.

We also put considerable money and time into a place in HaNoi, named "Cafe Koto," where we and others like us trained street kids in the hospitality trades with the big hotels like Sofitel. The "Koto" brand is now world-wide in training such kids, and they're just brilliant.

So, enjoy your travels in the third world, but please make sure that while you're taking such lovely photos, you're also doing a nice thing for these people along the way.

Best regards,

Maree

Kathie

maree, I'm delighted to hear that you were involved in the development of Koto. We very much enjoyed it and appreciated its approach to helping the local people.

I think the idea of making sure the money goes to the locals and enables them to better their lives is one we call all endorse.

mareeS55

Kathie, we were also involved with the Vietnam Veterans Reconstruction Team, building schools and clinics in Vietnam in the 1990s. You should check out the work Australian war veterans have done since then to repay their time in Vietnam as young 20yo conscripts.

My husband served in the Australian army, infantry in 1966/7, and I first went back with him in 1974. We have a very good read on indochina.

If you're interested in how things were in 1973 in Thailand and Burma, we still have some material on colour transparencies and b/w photos.

We're not going to sell the images, just eventually putting them on line when we can be bothered.

Kathie

Maree, I am well aware of the works of US veterns doing reconstruction work and human services work in VN post-war, as I treated many VN combat vets.

I don't have as long a history visiting SE Asia as you do, but I have traveled there annually since the mid-1980s.

Kathie

Sorry, I was interrupted before I finished what I wanted to write.

I'd enjoy seeing your old photos of various places in SE Asia. I had the impression from what you wrote that this was your first trip to Burma. Were you there in the early 70s? I have several friends who were in Burma then, and the stories they have!

alan_s

>A word of warning for those who are thinking about taking the all day boat ride from Mandalay to Bagan.... it is ALL DAY.

Just a note for travellers. There are two faster boats which both leave about 6am. I chose the Shwe Keinnery; the other is the Malikha. I arrived in the early afternoon. Trip report here: http://loraltravel.blogspot.com.au/2...-mandalay.html

Cheers, Alan

mareeS55

Kathie, this was our first time in Burma, but we have spent time in our younger days in the Thai and Vietnamese hill country. My husband shared a tent for a while in his army days in Vietnam with a Montagnard, and we visited him and his family in the Mon country in 1998.

There are Mons in Thailand and Burma, they share a dialect with the Shan in Burma.

We have the absolute privilege as Australians of being the only European western country that lives in Asia. My family has mixed and married and done business with the region for generations, which is probably why I got told off by you and some others when I said Burma wasn't anything to get excited about compared to the rest of Asia.

Burma is lovely, though, and if I had to rate it against anywhere, Vietnam would be the competition. Beautiful cultures, beautiful people.

Do yourself and your partner a favour, visit Saigon for Tet next month.

annergizer

RE: planes and infastructure:

Our touring company had us flying on Yangon airlines, which was as organized as it could be (rather quaint way of doing things.... you are given color coded stickers to identify which flight you are on). Yangon air did not overbook, there were no ashtrays, the flights left sort of on time and the luggage was there when we arrived. Yangon air has a good safety record. We stayed in mid level hotels,, not high end, and they were basic and clean. High end has never been a priority. However, hotels book up fast now. Part of the present charm (to me) of Myanmar is it's unspoiled nature. So far, no McDonalds and Starbucks. The first thing I noticed in Hanoi, after the observation that I will never get across the street alive, were the american fast food restaurants. THat is not to say that Hanoi is not an amazing city. Just homogenized. This may be the last chance to see a non money grubbing country snd I want to go back in another year or two to revisit Bagan and Inle lake, and then see other parts of the country.