Myanmar Hacks – Know Before You Go
Myanmar is a country of outstanding beauty and culture. Our trip to Myanmar was fantastic and we would recommend it to everyone, however are a few little pieces of advice that we would like to pass on.
Myanmar’s Buses
Transport between Myanmar’s major locations is convenient and expansive. Many tourists choose to take night buses to maximise their time and save on accommodation costs. However there is one thing that you should all know. Night buses in Myanmar have an rather strange habit of arriving much earlier than scheduled. For example; we left Yangon around 8:30pm on a bus that was scheduled to arrive in Kalaw at 6:00am. When our bus pulled up in Kalaw at 3am we were rather surprised. At that point we had 2 choices, sit at a little roadside restaurant for 3 hours while we waited for our guest house to open or try and find somewhere to put our head down for a couple of hours. We chose the latter, as Kalaw gets surprisingly cold at night. We found a small hotel that gave us a room and breakfast for $10, a bit of a rip off, but that was the cheapest price we could find.
The bus from Inle lake to Bagan got even earlier, closer to 2:30am. Fortunately our guesthouse let us check in very early and then didn’t charge us for the room. Naturally we would recommend them wholeheartedly. Click here to go to their airbnb page.
Check with your next guesthouse or hotel if they will let you do early check in.
Flip-Flops
If you are going to any area with temples wear flip flops as you will need to take your shoes off before entering. this will save ruining a pair of socks and the joy of tying and untying shoes (unless you have slip ons of course). However in Myanmar’s heat flip flops are a pretty solid bet.
Shorts Below the Knee
Ok, in a lot of buddhist countries they say that shorts below the knee are not allowed. These signs are all over Angkor Wat for example. However when we were there we saw plenty of tourists disobeying this rule and it was definitely not enforced. In Myanmar this is definitely not the case. If you are wearing shorts or a skirt that is not below the knee you should expect to be denied entry.
Scooters in Bagan
The majority of travelers choose e-bikes to explore the plains of Bagan, it is the easiest and most fun way to get around. However there are a few things you should check.
- Is the battery full when you pick it up. If it isn’t you’re going to be coming back early, or worse you could end up running out of juice with a long walk home.
- Check how long the battery will last. Most bikes there will do 35-40km on a full battery. This should be more than enough, but keeping mind that if there are two of you and you spend a lot of time biking through sand then the electricity will be used much quicker. You could then be facing a long walk home.
- Wear a helmet. There are bikes and cars everywhere, the last thing you need is an accident.
- Know where north is. This will stop you getting too lost in the middle of the “off piste” sections.
Read our post on Bagan here.
Crisp dollar bills
It is pretty much impossible to get Kyat (national currency) outside of Myanmar. As a result everyone brings in dollar bills to exchange to Kyat. You can still pay for things in dollars, the entrance ticket to Bagan or buses etc, but food, drink, souvenirs are usually paid for using Kyat. There are plenty of places to exchange money, but double check the rates as they can vary wildly. However they only accept crisp, perfect, almost new dollar bills. When you give the money to the teller they will check each bill to make sure. Keep the dollars you take with you in an envelope and get them from a bank in your home country before you leave.
Renting a Motorbike
Renting a motorbike is a great way to get out and explore and is pretty common in most parts of Asia. Sadly in Myanmar you options are really limited to Mandalay and the surrounding area. However this part of the country is simply stunning. We would recommend renting from Mandalay Motorbike Rental .The owner Zac and his wife have great, reliable equipment and a wonderful knowledge of the local area. Check out our post on biking up to Pyin Oo Lwin for an example of what you can do with a motorbike and a sense of adventure.
Schwedagon Pagoda
Undoubtedly one of Yangon’s and Myanmars premier sights, the Schwedagon Pagoda unlike no other temple in the country, Take the chance to experience it with fewer crowds and a more atmospheric settting by going around dusk for sunset. As the sun goes down thousands of candles are lit, people begin cleaning the temple and many come in to worship. A spectacular sight.
Budget
Although Myanmar is part of the South East Asia backpacking route you will not find things anywhere near as cheap as you will in Cambodia or Laos for example. Your budget needs to reflect this. Hotels, food and transport are all more expensive than their counterparts in other South East Asian nations. Obviously you can still find cheap eats and cheap hotels and guesthouses, but you won’t be able to live on the same amount of money here as you did in other South East Asian nations.
Myanmar is a fantastic country to explore. We hope these tips help!
