phoenix28

With thousands of ancient temples spread all over the country, Myanmar brings to visitors a sense of serene atmosphere wherever they are. Travel in Myanmar you will have the opportunity to visit the ancient Yangon capital; Inle lake with beautiful scenery; the city of Mandalay with attractive attractions such as Shwenandaw wooden monastery, Kuthodaw Paya temple with the world's largest book, Royal palace ... Besides, you can visit the local market and buy some of the country's most famous handcrafts such as lacquer, Buddha statue, paper umbrella, bell… All make a Myanmar heartbreaking human heart..

rje

julies ,
<i>"When traveling for this amount of time, you will definitely need some down time."</i>

That is always good advice, and I've already built in plenty of down time into this trip. Lesson I learned from past exhausting trips!

I've been to India twice before, and love it. Before my first trip I worried because I'd heard from so many people how difficult it was going to be, so I was surprised to find how easy India actually is for travel. The first trip was exhilarating, and I loved the freedom their extensive rail system provided, with overnight trains letting us wake up to a new places. And I like the control booking everything myself there provides.

But Indian train travel can be tiring, so we won't be doing any on this trip. And we find either small Indian cities or rural India to be more relaxing (something we share with you), so only one big city on this trip.

Questions –– did you (or anyone else who has been to Inle Lake in February) notice if there are a lot of mosquitos then? And how about in Ngapali? And were you able to fly from Heho to Ngapali nonstop, or were there stops or connections?

And I hope you do write your trip report, as I always enjoy them!


yestravel,
I guess the rationale is that the extra amount one would pay for a travel agency is made up for in convenience. But I don't usually mind finding things myself locally, and actually find it fun!

sartoric and Kathy,
I think you are both right, and I'm now looking to extend our return date without making any plans that can't be changed.

I went to smartraveller.gov.au and thank you for pointing me to that website, I saw that warning there that you mentioned regarding Rakhine State. Definitely makes monitoring the situation there a must.

Kathie

I have never found that local agencies in SE Asia are more expensive that DIY. Indeed, booking through a local agency cost less in Java and in Myanmar than DIY.

rje

Kathie,
My own experience right now is that its a mixed bag. Looking at the prices offered by 2 local agencies in Myanmar, some hotels are cheaper than what I can get from booking directly, but some are more expensive, even to the point of being $75 USD per night more expensive! I understand the agencies need to make money, but in some specific instances it looks to be significantly less expensive to DIY, or at least when it comes to hotels.

But as I said, convenience has value. As does peace of mind if anything were to go wrong with a DIY booking. And in some cases, time saved while on a trip is more valuable than a little extra cost.

In India, I've never had a problem with booking hotels, airlines and trains myself. I was curious, so I just checked, and in the past I've booked and stayed at over 30 hotels in India without any problems. And for this upcoming trip another group of hotels in India, and hopefully there will be no problems with these, either.

But my concern that Myanmar might be a different animal was why I started this thread in the first place!

yestravel

I agree with rje -- mixed bag. And yes, I do expect to pay for the convenience of using a TA. We've used TA's upon occassion. Mostly we book everything ourselves but Myanmar was one place we didn't. Although I think if I went today I might do some booking on my own.

Kathie

Myanmar used to be very different, these days it is less different. You might want to book some of your own hotels and have the agency book some of your hotels. (The agency won't be offended by this.) I have sometimes booked some of my own hotels in Burma when I could get better rates, but used the travel agency when they could get better rates.

I know I pay more for a car and driver from the agency than I would just negotiating, but if I am taking a day trip with a fair amount of driving, I want a reliable vehicle and a reliable driver. Pre-2011, the cars you saw on the road in Burma were old Japanese cars - ones that had do doubt been junked in other countries. Most cars were missing large parts of the interiors and exteriors. One of the few ways you could get a "whole" car was to book through an agency.

Back in the "old days" in Burma (before 2011), agencies received an allocation of rooms from each of the hotels they worked with, and their prices were better than what you could find elsewhere, When things opened up in 2011, suddenly there was so much demand that hotels didn't want to give agencies the discounted rooms. The Minister of Tourism stepped in and told the hotels that had to give the agencies a certain number of discounted rooms. I don't know what remnants of the old system still exist.

So while things have changed in Myanmar, there are still remnants of the "old days." Sometimes in surprising ways.

Keep us posted on your progress - glad to help in any way I can.

yestravel

I love it -- "whole cars."

julies

Mosquitoes in February--We saw only a couple anywhere during our entire stay in Myanmar (including Ngapali and Inle area), but we did take Malarone during our entire trip.

We flew directly from Heho to Ngapali--a 45 to 60 minute flight.

In four months (three different trips) of traveling in India we only had an agent book one hotel for us; all of the others I booked on my own. I always booked trains by myself too (and flights). Our first two trips to India we had an agency arrange for a dedicated car and driver for us for part of the trip. Our third trip to India we had hotels arrange transportation. So, you can see that in most ways our usual travel style regarding making arrangements is very similar to yours.

I am pretty picky about lodging (this doesn't mean I need top of the line), so even though we had Santa Maria book our hotels in Myanmar, it does not mean that I had them choose hotels for me in each location. I did all of the choosing just like I do when we make all of the arrangements on our own.

Kathie

I agree that choosing your own hotels is important. We had Santa Maria recommend a hotel for us in Mandalay, and we liked it so much we stayed there again in 2015.

yestravel

Kathie, I think we stayed at the same hotel and loved it! I couldnt imagine going with what a TA recommends without checking it out and making sure its what I will like. With Santa maria it was a mix, some I foundand had them book and some they recommended and I woudl decide if I wanted to go with it. They did come back with lower prices closer in to the trip at one hotel. I gather hte hotel may release rooms or change rates as they get closer to the date. That's something I would not of been aware of if I had booked on my own.

We had no issues with mosquitos in Myanmar, but didn't got to Ngapali.

Kathie

yes, I knew someone here had stayed at the Mandalay hotel SM recommended, but I couldn't remember how it was. Glad you enjoyed it. I had the chance to see the hotels In Mandalay that are often recommended and we were glad we stayed at the Rupar Mandalar.

We also had no issues with mosquitos, but we were prepared. As I remember we had a few mosquitoes at Bagan.

Lolazahra

Just reading along for fun from Johannesburg, South Africa as I have never been to India or Myanmar. But this is a great thread when I do decide to go. So much great deep and rich experiences. And rje, you know we are expecting another epic trip report from you. The last one from India could be turned into a best-selling travel book, so interesting and fun! Good luck with the rest of your planning!

rje

Kathie,
You might be surprised to hear that the Mrauk U hotel you stayed in (the Princess, mentioned by you as going, I think, for around $150 per night in one of your wonderful trip reports) is now going for $672 per night, as per a TA quote! I'm afraid to even ask what their boat transfer from Sittwe is going for!

I do understand that this is a place with some unique challenges, and a limited season in which to make money, so maybe this isn't so surprising after all. Especially considering it seems to still be the best of just a few options.

But it doesn't matter, as it is looking like we will save Mrauk U for another trip and take the advice offered to relax at the end of this trip at Ngapali.

And that reminds me to thank all who have given opinions and advice here. I'm going to take advantage of all this expertise by asking more questions!


julies,
What did you think of Kalaw? Would you recommend it for us considering my wife can't trek due to leg problems? I know there is the elephant camp, but if we can't do that, is the area worth it?

And on the boat ride from Nyaung Shwe down to Inle Sanctuary, where did you make stops? I'm guessing Sagar and Thar Kaung Mwe Daung Pagoda?
Are they close to Inle Sanctuary if we wanted to wait for another day and go from there, instead of visiting during the boat ride down from Nyaung Shwe?

And on a more mundane level of details, if we make stops on the way down with luggage in the boat, does someone watch it for us?
And is there anyplace on the way to stop and have lunch?


yestravel,
regarding hotel rates getting cheaper closer to the dates, did you change to take advantage of the lower rates?
And coincidently, we chose Rupar Mandalar in Mandalay, too, as I see you and Kathie did. Or perhaps not such a coincidence, as it sounds like one of the best options.

Lolazahra,
Thank you! And if during the trip I find anything that can add to the wealth of knowledge already here, I will be sure to write about it.

yestravel

Yes, we changed and got the lower rate - this was in Yangon.
Loved Rupar Mandalar - it was lovely and peaceful. Hope you like it too.

Kathie

rje, I would never trust any price quote found on Trip Advertiser. Check with an agent in Myanmar for a more realistic quote. Note that the rate at the Princess is all-inclusive with excellent food and many local dishes.

The thing that seemed very expensive to me was the boat journey.

rje

Kathie,
Maybe I shouldn't have used the abbreviation for Travel Agent (TR).
That price came from Santa Maria in Yangon 2 days ago.

rje

oops, mean (TA)!

Kathie

Wow I can't believe how much the price has gone up! Does that price include the boat?

rje

I thought you'd find that amazing. Especially after what you paid.

I just went back to the email from Santa Maria to double-check the price, and yes, it is per night!

And the boat was referred to as something I'd need to book separately.

Also, their prices aren't all-inclusive anymore, only breakfast is included now.

Yikes!

yestravel

Yikes, is right! And what's amazing is that obviously they can get that much or they would drop the price.