Trip Preparations and Trip Report

Originally we planned on going to Cambodia, but this morphed into Myanmar after I read a blog on someone’s travels to Myanmar.  K hopped right on board with the change in destination.  

There are not too many guidebooks to choose from on Myanmar.  Yes, with the internet, guidebooks are less and less necessary.  However, Myanmar is not known for its wide use of the internet.  So we did buy the Lonely Planet, despite the many many reviews saying that it was very inaccurate.  Nonetheless we did find it useful as it does provide background information on the various sights.  It is also informative about the people and history of the country.  We paid $37 for a copy here in Canada, and saw a copy in Yangon for $6.  The Lonely Planet was actually our secondary reference book.  The primary reference we used was this mini guide that I compiled after spending hours and hours reading travel forums and blogs.  For some destinations, like Mrauk U and Sittwe, had very little information available online.  For this reason I’m reposting the trip report that I already posted in the Trip Advisor forums.  It gives a more in depth view of where exactly we went and how much things cost.  

Trip Report

Day 1: Arrival in Yangon

•           Exchange money right after you pick up your luggage and are still in the ‘secure’ area.  Much less busy than the outside area.  Lots of money changers to choose from.  Also, bathrooms right there so you can re-stash your funds discretely.  We changed at $1USD=990kyats.  Exchanged $1500USD as we weren’t planning on exchanging again and had heard that the airport had the best rates.  Didn’t realize that $1500USD = 1486500 kyats = a huge brick of money!   

•       Pick up free maps while you are at the airport.  They have maps not just of Yangon, but of other places too, like Bagan and Inle Lake.  We found that guesthouses in Bagan were charging for the maps that you could get for free at the airport.  The taxi stand has maps, as does the tourism booth.

• Booked taxi from taxi stand.  Found it easier to pay upfront than fumble with money in a cab.  Cost was 9000 kyats to Hninn Si Budget inn.  We just happened to get Zayar Latt (a licensed tour guide) as our cab driver.  He provided a good introduction to Yangon and Myanmar in general.  Spoke English well, and had what would be the cleanest cab in Myanmar!  We didn’t end up booking any tours from him though, as that was not part of our plan.  However, I do have his card if anyone is interested. 

• Went to Bogyoke market and took a look around.  The market is very large!  Bought 1 longyi from a vendor for 4000 kyats.  Went to another vendor and found a very similar longyi for 3800 kyats.  Minimal bargaining (I’m not a good bargainer).  Not sure if it’s a good deal or not, but we were pleased.  My philosophy on bargaining is as long as both parties are happy, then it was a good deal. 

• Miscellanous costs: lunch of 1 dish fried noodle and 1 bowl soup noodle was 4000kyats.  2 mangoes = 500 kyats. In hindsight, we were not impressed by the food in Yangon.  The food was just tastier in all the other cities!

• Stayed in Hninn Si Budget Inn.  We prebooked this online from home.  Room was a bit musty and the only window opened out to a disgusting brick wall.  Shared washrooms were clean, but the showers could use hooks or a towel rack as there was not enough places to put things.  As it was a co-ed shared washroom I was not comfortable running around in just a towel.

Day 2: Day in Yangon, Nightbus to Bagan

• Booked bus tickets for that night to Bagan through the guesthouse front desk.  The VIP bus was full, so this was the other bus.  Still had AC.  Cost 15000 kyats per person.

• Wandered around Theingyi market.  Lots of meat/fish/produce.  Bought a bag of rambutan for 1000kyats.  5 bananas for 500kyats.  Looking back, it’s likely that we overpaid.  However, had very little to reference from, as it’s hard to observe how much the locals pay when you aren’t familiar with how their bills even look like!

• Visited Mahabandoola Park and sat on the grass and people watched.  It's a lovely park to people watch in!

•  Noticed that the money changers under the Sule Pagoda had the same exchange rate as the airport.   

• Went back to the guesthouse and showered before taking a taxi to the bus station.  The bus station is about a 1 hr drive from the downtown area.  Yangon has tons of traffic too.  Forgot to write down how much it cost though.  Probably was around 7000 kyats.