Visa/Crossing the border
Visa Since 1996, you can now get a visa of 4 weeks.You can get your visa by mail or you can pick it up personally at the following embassy addresses:
- France: 60, Rue de Courcelles 75008 Paris Tel.: 42.25.56.95 Visa: 150 FRF cash and 2 photographs, at the Paris embassy. Delivered in less than one week. CAUTION: it is mandatory to enter in Myanmar the month following the issue of the visa. Once entered, you are entitled to 28 days.
- Germany: 56 Zimmerstrasse, 10117 Berlin. Phone: 030-2061570.
You can also get your visa within 48 hours in the Myanmar embassies in the following cities: Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, Jakarta, New Delhi, Singapore...
If you don't have an embassy in your country, it's pretty straightforward to get it by mail:
1) First contact the embassy and ask them to send or fax the necessary forms.
2) Fill them in and send them back together with
- your travel passport
- 1 arrival form
- 2 application forms for tourist visa
- 3 passport photo's attached to the forms
- Visa fee is 40 DM, preferably cash, otherwise you need to add costs of bank transfer.
- Self addressed envelope with stamps or else an extra 15 DM to cover these costs.
If you are living in the Netherlands and want to apply for a visa forMyanmar, you can get one in the Netherlands and don't have to write or phone to the embassy of Myanmar in Paris.
The address of the Consulate General of Myanmar in the Netherlands is: 59 Baronielaan, 4818 PC Breda. Phone number is: 076-5209054. Fax: 076-5209270. They require a passport (valid for 6 months), 2 application forms, 2 passport photos, 80 Dutch guilders and a self-addressed return envelope with stamps or postage for registered letter. The tourist visa is valid for a period of maximum 3 months as of the date of issue. The visa gives you a maximum stay of 4 weeks. The whole procedure takes about 3 days after receipt of the application forms.
Entering the country
By air When entering the country, it takes a while to pass customs
First you get your entry stamp after you've given 1 application form. Then you receive a tourist card.
Then a dozen of government officials lead you to a counter where everyone has to change 200 US$ in FEC (9/2000). Other currencies like UK£, DM, French francs and others are equally accepted, and they also accept TC and VISA card (5ù commission). When we were there, it was impossible to escape from this procedure. You could try to use these tricks to avoid paying the 200 US$ nowadays (however, remember that for some things you need the FEC's anyway):
- You might try and argue to change only 200 US$ for the two if you if you only stay for 2 weeks.
- You don't have to change FEC's when you are with an organised tour which uses a local agency like Doves Travels or Myanmar travels. In that case however, you will have to take their car and guide.
- I read 1 report of someone who booked a very expensive hotel in Yangoon and got a confirmation letter from them. He then applied with this letter for an EVT visa which was granted. This visa exempted him from the 200 US$ change. He subsequently cancelled his reservation.
- You could apply for a business visa if you find a company willing to provide you a letter stating you go to Myanmar to explore business opportunities. The visa will be more expensive.
- You simply ask to change less and give them a "gift".
- One report said "Apparently, it seems relatively easy to get less, bribing with 5 or 10 $ the person who shows the window to wait (it will give the instruction to the counter clerk) (6/2000).
Afterwards, you pick up your luggage and you pass through another checkpoint. Here they'll check your luggage. You have to declare everything of value like camera etc... They then give you a form which is pinned in your passport.
Over land It is not possible to enter Myanmar from Thailand for more then 1 day (at least not for non-Thai citizens). You can enter for 1 day but you have to stay in the border town and return the same day. However, this a perfect way to get an exit stamp from Thailand, and then come back again and you'll get a new 30-day visa, f.i. in Taichilek. Other options are Muse and Kawthoung. This procedure will cost you 5 US$ (11/98).
By boat It is possible to enter Myanmar for 1 day by boat from Thailand over Kawthoung. There's even a guesthouse in Phuket (Jimmy's Light House) which organises tours to do this.
Getting out of the country
The international departure tax is 10 US$ (2/99).
Getting into town
Taxi's into the center only cost between 1 and 3 US$ for the 25 km ride.
Permits
The military junta (SLORC) controls the country with an iron fist, so a lot of places are off limits to foreigners.
In the tourist triangle of Yangoon-Mandalay-Inle Lake-Bagan you don't need a permit. Also Pathein, Ngapali beach and even Mrauk U can be visited without permit (though sometimes only if you take a plane).
It's difficult to give firm guidelines here, since they change almost every day, so you need to check for the latest developments at the MTT (Myanmar Travel & Tours) office (01/78376) right beside Sule Paya at the intersection of Sule Road and Mahabandoola St. It is run by the government, and they sell you only the expensive tours, but you can get your info and permits here.
At the tourist places, you have to pay a government tax. This can be in temples, ruins or even in a city.
Money matters
There are 3 currencies in Myanmar:
- KYAT is the national currency
- FEC is the currency installed by the government to "help you to get rid of your US$". The locals can have them too. 1 FEC = 1 US$.
- US$: Officially you're supposed to change all your US$ in FEC's first. However, the 300 FEC's you've gotten at the airport should suffice, and you can then change your US$ on the black market into Kyats.
If you change money at the bank, you will get 6 Kyats for 1 FEC, however at the black market you will get 350 to 380 Kyat for 1 FEC (8/2000)!!!
Use your 300 FEC's as much as possible for the official things like airtickets, long busrides, airporttax, hotels etc...
TC's are not generally accepted, unless you change them into FEC's.
It's almost impossible to get cash advances with your creditcard. You can pay airline tickets and expensive hotels with them. Not
e that Mastercard is no longer accepted since they've withdrawn from the country.
It's very easy to change money on the black market. Everyone will offer you to change. Best places are hotels, restaurants and shops.
Hotels
Since tourism has dropped a bit, prices of hotels have also dropped a bit.
You can roughly distinguish 3 types of hotels:
- Top class hotels which you only find in Yangoon and Bagan, f.i. Trades Hotel, The Strand Hotel... Prices go from 150 to 1000 US$ a night.
- You'll find middle class hotels in the big cities. In the smaller cities they are top class, and you can have them for 20 to 70 US$.
- Budget hotels and guesthouses can be found everywhere. They are mostly cheap, clean, friendly and safe with prices from 1 US$ to 15 US$.
Even in the touristic places the budget hotels are very cheap. A room with private bathroom, fan and even AC will cost no more then 6 US$ for a double. This also includes breakfast.
Remember that the government cuts down power supply every day for a couple of hours, so your AC might not work for some time unless the hotel has its own generator. Always have your torch or candlelight ready.
Hotels can only accept tourists if they have a permit. The permit is usually exposed behind the desk. Take care, because people can get in trouble for giving you lodging without having a permit.
Prices of hotels in Yangoon are more expensive. A budget hotel costs around 10 to 16 US$ for a double (10/98).
Here are some examples of hotels we stayed in (prices for a double room 10/98 including breakfast, rooms have private bathroom, fan and sometimes AC):
- Yangoon White House Hotel 14 US$
- Yangoon Beautyland Hotel 12 US$ (
www.myanmar.com/beauty)
- Mandalay ET hotel 10 US$
- Mandalay Royal guesthouse 6 US$
- Nyaungshwe Great Star Hotel 4 US$
- Bagan Eden Hotel 4 US$
- Pyay Hotel Myatt 8 US$
- Bago Hotel Emperior 10 US$
Safety
For the tourist The people in Myanmar are extremely friendly and polite. So for the tourist, it is a very safe country. Robberies and thefts are extremely uncommon. But like always, use your common sense and take care of your valuables in crowded places and don't expose your wealth when changing money.
Take care when you want to talk about politics. not for yourself, but the people you talk to can get in trouble. They will give you a sign when it's safe for them to talk about it.
For the people of Myanmar The SLORC controls the country with an iron fist. Even today a lot of people are forced to work for the government. Human rights are violated constantly, so don't bring people into trouble by not paying taxes, talking politics, crossing borders without permit...
Medical matters
The info you find here was provided by the Belgian Tropical InstituteMalaria
Myanmar is a C area according to the WHO. This means that Lariam is the drug of choice. However, if you plan to go to the Thai-Burmese border, there's resistance against Lariam of up to 50%. If you spend a lot of your time there, you might consider to take Doxycycline.
For more info on side effects of Lariam and Doxy, have a look at the "Medical Matters" section of this site.
Hepatitis A
If you travel with a backpack and don't mind eating in cheap restaurants, it's easy to catch Hepatitis A. Chances of getting infected range from 1/300 to 1/50 per month depending on your standard of travelling. It's not dangerous, but you will be sick for some weeks.
There is a good vaccination for Hepatitis A nowadays, so ask your doctor. You need 2 shots (used to be 3 shots) at 0 and 6 months, although if you can it's even better to postpone the second shot till after 12 months. They are expensive, but they protect you for 10 years.
Hepatitis B You can only get this through sex and blood transfusion. Since prevalence of Hepatitis B is much higher in SE Asia then in the Western world, it might be wise to get vaccinated.
Get your shots at 0, 1 and 6 months. They are equally expensive as hepatitis A.
Typhoid fever There is also a good vaccination consisting of 3 pills to be taken every 2 days. Take them early enough before you leave since it's better not to combine them with malaria pills, although these guidelines have recently changed (meaning you can combine them). The vaccination works for 3 years.
Travellers diarrhea We always have antibiotics at hand in case of diarrhea. We take Ciproxine 250 mg two tablets at once and then another 3 tablets, one tablet every 12 hours.
Weather
Best time to travel to Myanmar is the dry season from November till February, with December probably being the best. March and April are dry but very hot. It's not adviseable to go during the monsoon season. It rains heavily several times a day and the sky is grey.If you want to know what the weather will be in Myanmar for the next 4 days, go to the CNN page and click on the city you want to go to
http://www.cnn.com/WEATHER/cities/asiapcf.html
What to take
Here are some items you best bring with you for your visit:
- Tampons
- Sleeping sheet
- Mosquito net
- Sun protection
- Medication
- Flashlight
- Products for lenses
- A good book on Bouddhism
Going or not ?
I don't want to get involved in the discussion to either visit or boycot the country. I think everybody should read about the country and then decide for himself.
However, there are some things worth mentionning:
- You can spend as much money as possible with the local people and not with the government owned businesses.
- The people of Myanmar are very happy to see you so they know they are not isolated and they get information.
- Don't take a package tour, go on your own !!!
Go to general info 2 (transportation) If you have further questions on Myanmar, please e-mail
Geert Van Vaeck
