Burma Updates Travelled Burma from 12.-25.Sept 98 Rangoon: ------------ Accomodation: Polo Guesthouse has a basic OK double with fan & bathroom for US$10. They have an own generator. At night, this powers emergency lights. Fan works on government electricity only. The GH is located in the city center on Anawratha Street (30th street or so), entrance around the corner. It's a noisy place. Beauty Land Hotel (what a strange name !) near Khan Shan 3 Restaurant (not far from Shwedagon Pagoda) is a quiet and clean place, ground floor aircon double room with attached bathroom & hot water is $15. A bigger (huge) room upstairs is $25 (can bargain down to $18). Address is No.9 Bo Cho Road, Bahan Township, Tel.951-551525, 540092, 549772, Fax: 951-549797 Shopping: The Fuji Agent on Bogyoke Aung San Street (around 29th or so) sells the cheapest Fuji 36/400 film for color prints. We pay K610 per roll. The week before it was K670, seems to fluctuate a bit. 6V Li-Battery (Camera) is K1300 at the cheaper shops. Pocket-size Chinese-made shortwave receivers sell for K2700. So everything about half of what you pay in Thailand, USA or Germany (if you know where to go). Bogyoke Aung San Market sells nice wooden souvenirs. In a shop on the stairs of Shwedagon, we bought a 10kg Cheesee (brass chime as used in the temples, rotating if hit) at K8000. Check for good / clear sound. Another K500 for a huge wooden hammer to go with it. Small Cheesee that sound nice are K40 with hammer. Get one, this vibrating sound is inspiring, and only available in Burma. Food: Upmarket Khan Shan 3 Restaurant, opposite Japanese Embassy, not far from Shwedagon has very nice food. Menu is K1000, one whole Lobster is K1200. It is an aircon & piano music environment, partly furnished with Burmese-style treetrunk-tables. Transport: Done it all by bicycle. Rangoon is a bit hilly, but no problem. Cars are getting more and horn often without reason. There are not so many motorcycles around. General: YMCA was closed. University courses were suspended for a month. Shwedagon is $5 entry fee. One might get in without paying, but someone will catch you sooner or later, even at night. When we said we don't want to pay, they just let us go out again. Now you get a sticker plus a ticket, if you enter Shwedagon. After you leave, some children may be very keen on your sticker and ticket. Another visitor can go in with this, no need to pay again. We changed money in Bogyoke Aung San Market, a postcard vendor brought us to a Chinese shop owner, it all looked like a picture-book rip-off situation but the rate was very good and everything OK, no fake bills and so on. The postcardman asked a commission afterwards, he was happy with K50. Mandalay: ------------- Transport Rangoon-Mandalay: Mandalar Htun Express bus is K1600 per person (one-way), K2000 for a bicycle, have to take out front wheel, saddle, turn handlebar. Bus stops several times, meals are not (!) included in the fare. We came back on... HNIN THU WAI express bus, this is K1900 per person, K600 per bike (also have to disassemble it). This company gives you 3 good meals, included in the fare. Also their bus goes to the downtown office first, so either at 4pm you can get on the bus there or at 5pm board at the highway express bus station. Apart from that... Leo Express is the most popular and just K1000 with meals, but we didn't take it because they refused to transport the bikes. None of these express busses will give you a night without meals where you can sleep. Transport around Mandalay: Bike was fine. For walking, it is far too big, there is this fort in the middle. Accomodation: Royal GH: Aircon double with attached bathroom $8, no aircon $6, no aircon and no att. bathroom $5, minus $1 if no breakfast. We stayed there. People and rooms are OK. Breakfast boring like everywhere, but can get more if not enough. Sabai Phyu Hotel: Economy: Single $4, Double $6 or $8 Standard: Single $5, Double $10, Triple $15 Superior: $20 all with breakfast Careful with electricity. Most places have generator, but this is just enough for light and fan, not for aircon. If your Mandalay hotel has government electricity only, you will enjoy candlelight 2 out of 3 days. Shopping: Film is cheaper in Rangoon. The Fuji 200/36 cost K610 in Rangoon and minimum K700 in Mandalay. Zegyo Market is the place to go. There is also a night market in this area, they have some foreign goods that you cannot easily get in the shops. Thanaka is cheaper here than in Rangoon. For best quality, buy the wooden sticks and a grindstone. The powdered or pressed Thanaka uses not just the bark but the whole stick, so it is less effective. Food: Nylon Cold Drink / Ice Cream is very good, also very funny to watch the boys. Mann not so bad, but not many visitors. Myanmar Fast Food couldn't find it any more, Texas Cold Snack people said is closed, Lashio Lay is excellent and fast, Thay Yai different style but also very good, great drinks. Marie Min also just nice for us and very good service. Min Min Restaurant wasn't cheap and the food was nothing special / below standard. General: You check the map on page 210 in the Lonely Planet. Something wrong with the location of either Nylon Ice Cream, Mann or Royal GH. The text gives the correct locations, the map not. At least Mann must be almost opposite Nylon Ice Cream in 83rd. Moustache Brothers cabaret perform soft anti-government sketches and traditional dances at their home in a back room without music, because not allowed any more. Their humor is very flat in my (european) eyes. They ask for K4000 per show, no matter how many people join. They use the money to buy food for one of the brothers who is in jail. They told us that this money shows the officials that there is still international support for them so they cannot kill them. Everyone knows about the secret shows, foreigners visit their home often but this is somewhat tolerated by the regime (which doesn't touch foreigners). You may receive visiting cards with their address thru other travellers. To me, it felt a bit as if they attract foreigners just because it is exciting to do something illegal. And everyone knows it, and government won't really harm them as long as they don't make big noise amongst Burmese people. When we arrived at the Highway Express Bus Station in Mandalay, a crowd of hotel-people and taxi-drivers went after us. Just like in Indonesia. I noticed that the prices for the hotels were very cheap, compared to 2 years ago. The people offered to take us to their hotels for free. Mandalay Hill costs $3 entrance fee (on the ticket it says: For general renovations of Mandalay Hill, including permission to use video and still cameras). There is a booth at the very top and people there to direct you towards it, so no matter how you come in, they catch you. You can drive up 2/3 of the hill. Before you reach the main entrance, turn right. Follow the road and take the next one to the left (there is a triangular traffic isle). An unpaved path branches left (steep uphill). Don't take this. Go straight, follow the road and pass a pagoda on the left, then the road climbs the hill and you reach the upper entrance of Mandalay Hill. You may use the escalator or elevator from the parking lot (with restaurants) to the very top. The Mandalay Fort with Palace is $5 entry. We were two, so had to pay $10. She happened to have a US$50 bill, so I gave her 3 FECs, $20 each and asked for the US$50 bill as my change. After a long discussion, and after I passed her K500, she agreed. The Palace has a very lousy toilet. Women, steer clear of this. The whole thing ain't worth $5. Certain shops and hotels in Mandalay can change money at an average rate, it is more or less the same as in Rangoon hotels / shops. We tried to get a very good rate in the area of Zegyo Market, I was left with a telephone number and a name, didn't follow that. Our chosen Royal GH offered us a slightly-below-average rate, the business done in a backroom. Myoma Cinema cost K75 for Men In Black. The movie seemed shorter than normal and the theatre was very cold and well-visited. Seats were OK. The film looked a bit worn, probably has been shown in many other places before it came to Burma. But it still was fun. Myat Thu Ka Clinic on the western side of the moat can help you in case of an emergency. They can check your blood for malaria. Amarapura: -------------- U Bein Bridge is free to cross, but there is a fine for cycling on there. It is actually a good place to meet people. I feel that students purposely walk up and down the bridge to meet people like us. After sunset it gets very quiet. Sagaing: ---------- Sagain can be easily reached by bike from Mandalay, the place itself is slightly hilly. Follow the road to U Bein Bridge, you will see roadsigns to guide you to Ava and Sagain. It is not permitted to photograpgh from the bridge. Sagaing Hill is a nice place, equivalent to Mandalay Hill, just smaller but the more exciting views. Entry is $3, you can avoid paying if you say you are a student and never need to pay anywhere. You can also avoid the ticket booth at all, we came up from the back (not where the road comes in) and people told us not to enter that one pavillion towards the road. So we didn't pay and didn't have to discuss. Mingun: ---------- Mingun can be reached by boat. Transport of foreigners is well organised. In Mandalay, there is a ticket booth just beneath the road that runs along the river. The foreigner-boat leaves at 9am and returns at 1pm. It drops you right there where you have to pay $3 (or K1000) Mingun area entrance fee. I believe, there is just one trip so they don't have to man the Mingun entrance ticket booth 24 hours. The boats for this service, they seem to rotate daily and a ticket is no good for a next day return. Return-fare is K200 / person + K50 / bicycle. Without a bike, you can just nicely do the ruin, the bell, a neighboring temple and a few souvenir shops and restaurants, all priced slightly higher than normal (bottle of water is K50 instead of K35). Handicraft items are often priced in US$. Today, the ruin has stairs up the crumbled corner, but careful if you run around on top, you don't want to fall down, it's quite a long journey. The local boys will show you where it is safe to go and they offer you a hand (which can help a lot, if you fear the abyss). Bullock carts wanted to take us to another temple for K200. Haven't done it. In Mingun, particularly when you arrive, a crowd of people will follow you, trying to sell you all sorts of stuff. Maymyo: ----------- Transport Mandalay-Maymyo: HMV-pickup leaves at bus station not far from Zegyo market. One-way price for front seat is K500, in the back just K200. Bicycle is K75 (on top). Transport around Maymyo: Bike was fine. Maymyo is not a big place, but too much spread-out for walking. Accomodation: Candacraig looks run down from the outside, prices same as two years ago. We stay at Grace Hotel. This is $8 for a double with bathroom and hot water. Breakfast boring as everywhere. Food: Recommended Tea Shops: Shwe Zin Kyair, Summer Feeling Recommended Restaurants: Family Restaurant (Burmese), Shanghai, Yong Sein General: Botanical Garden is nice, quiet and large. Not as exciting as jungle but well-maintained, just nice to relax. And it comes with a little pagoda, of course. The Garden is 2.5 km south of the town. Entrance fee is K3, but K50 for a camera. In front of the entrance you'll find a bike parking, restaurants and shops that sell sweet wine. There are also toilets (you may need them after this sort of wine). Pwe Kauk Falls are pretty boring and often visited by overdressed locals who slip on the nice paths and stairs, buy some souvenirs or food, take funny group photos in front of the small falls and climb back into their bus. Anisakan Falls instead are very nice, not so easy to take a bath at the bottom (all slippery because wet from the spray). However, one can go up, there are several ways thru the forest. Peik Chin Myaung cave shrine is said to be impressive, too. Heard it from a tourist who done it. Other / Comments / Opinion: --------------------------- I have been in Burma 2 years ago. Today, I feel there is a lot of military presence. People are still the same. People are very bright and friendly, and many have a strong personality. Not like Thailand where people are unfocused, drifting, drinking, not mature unless those who want to do some sort of business with you. (The same goes for the dogs.) Communication in Burma is no Problem, many speak English well. In Thailand instead, only few people speak English and if they do, it is terribly wrong and hard to understand. When I cycled Maymyo - Mandalay, I came across a checkpoint where an Immigiration Officer asked to see my passport. Later, police stopped the traffic on the way, said there was a mine on the road. We heard two detonations, after almost an hour we could go on. To me it looked more like road construction and intentional blasting of some rock. What makes me think is that police would not have stopped me there if I had not asked them why the others have to stop !! Cyclists remember: European 28" tires (47-622) cannot be found here, they only have Indian / Chinese 28" (40-635) which is bigger. You are OK with a 26" mountainbike. Now something new: This time I took along a handheld GPS (Global Positioning System). No problem bringing it in, they considered it a handphone and didn't ask questions as handphones are not totally uncommon in Burma. First I wasn't sure if GPS was any good for travelling, but now I wouldn't want to miss it any more. Particularly, when cycling. It saved us so much trouble. With a GPS: ..you can check 10 hotels and after that easily find the shortest way to the one you want. ..you can wander around, don't care the way back. When it is time for bed, just consult the GPS to find your hotel. ..you don't have to ask people for the way, still have a perfect picture. When you ask people, they tell you things like: It's 5 minutes, it's just 1 km, it's not far, it's up this road then left at the post office.... The GPS also tells you (in English) estimated time of arrival, distance, bearing, so what more do you want. ..you can easily find a way to places where the official road is blocked ..you don't necessarily arrive at the front entrance, so sometimes can save the entrance fee. ..you can still navigate in the rainy season, when all landmarks are flooded (Pathein area). ..you hardly ever go totally wrong, just sometimes you are on a small road when a bigger one runs in parallel. (Occasionally, you may fight a direct line through someone's garden.) ..if you rent a boat, you can always bring it back to the right place ..you can know where your taxi takes you ..you can know if the taxi driver overcharges you, just check the distance before you go ..you can easily find your way at night, the display is lit, Burma is often not lit ..you can know the exact speed over ground of your bus, boat, bike ..you can pretend to be the prowd owner of a handphone However, it doesn't work indoors, so I still get lost in Thai shopping malls. Because it is good to know the coordinates of certain spots before you get there the first time, here is my list of places. All coordinates are WGS84: Burma: -------- Location Lattitude Longitude Maymyo: Anisakan-Falls N 021º58.583' E 096º23.371' Maymyo: Botanical Garden N 021º59.610' E 096º28.151' Maymyo: Candacraig N 022º01.104' E 096º28.687' Maymyo: Grace Hotel N 022º01.192' E 096º27.749' Maymyo: Clocktower N 022º01.630' E 096º27.827' Mandalay: Highway Express Bus Station N 021º55.400' E 096º05.383' Mandalay Hill (Top) N 022º00.962' E 096º06.474' Mandalay Fort (Center of Palace) N 021º59.553' E 096º05.775' Mandalay: Royal Guesthouse N 021º59.068' E 096º04.856' Amarapura: U Bein Bridge (middle) N 021º53.500' E 096º03.439' Sagain Hill (Top) N 021º54.067' E 095º59.572' Rangoon: Polo Guesthouse N 016º46.607' E 096º09.393' Rangoon Airport (Entrance) N 016º54.165' E 096º08.138' Rangoon: Shan Kan 3 Restaurant (nr Beauty Land Hotel) N 016º48.046' E 096º09.624' Rangoon: Shwedagon Pagoda (Top) N 016º47.888' E 096º08.858' Thailand: --------- Location Lattitude Longitude Bang Pa In Interchange N 014º10.387' E 100º37.035' Big King's Mall N 014º09.069' E 100º37.128' Future Park N 013º59.443' E 100º36.966' Khao San Rd. N 013º45.559' E 100º29.814' Bumrungrad Hospital N 013º44.762' E 100º33.172' Burmese Embassy N 013º43.390' E 100º31.417' Chatuchak Market N 013º47.987' E 100º32.953' Panthip Plaza N 013º45.073' E 100º32.224' Don Muang Airport (Amari Airport Hotel) N 013º55.225' E 100º36.019' Ayutthaya, B.J.Guesthouse N 014º21.507' E 100º34.240' Arts & Crafts Center N 014º09.252' E 100º31.175' Pathum Thani Market N 014º01.108' E 100º32.094' Regards, Martin eof