Self-propelled in Myanmar
26.03. 07 - 07.04. 07 trip to Myanmar (Burma)
This is not a fictional story. I hope that my information will help you make a trip on your own, without the services of domestic travel agencies and calculate your financial strength.
It is impossible to say that we prepared very much for the trip. We decided to go, but since the modern style of employers implies complete uncertainty about the vacation, everything had to be done at the last moment. Hotels and air tickets in Burma were ordered through a local company, which turned out to be much cheaper than in Moscow. The route Yangon - Golden Rock - Mandalay (Migun, plus surroundings) - Bagan - Inle Lake (Pandaya) - Ngapali (sea) - Yangon cost 2350 USD for two. The rooms are large, the beds are healthy, a refrigerator, hot water, all sorts of rubbish in the bathroom, only there was no bath on Inla, and everywhere there is a bath with a shower or a separate shower plus a bath. There are towels. Here are all the costs including entrance tickets to museums and airport taxes.
Only meals and beer are not taken into account (breakfasts at the hotel are included everywhere). English-speaking guides, it is difficult to find a Russian-speaking one. It is better to take guides upon arrival at the place, because if he will constantly wander with you, keep in mind that you will pay for his travels, accommodation, etc. You need it.
So for prices:
Tickets to Yangon and back with a transfer in Doha were taken in Qatar Airwais - 26.000 rubles. for one, there are tickets for 22500, but you need to book very early. Fly to Doha 5h. 20 min. , docking 2 hours and another 6 hours. 30 mins to Yangon.
The local currency rate is 1 USD - 1200 kyats, if you change 200 USD the rate is 1220
I changed money through a guide, it's calmer.
As for food. The range of prices is quite large and the prices for Asia are relatively high, although it doesn’t matter to anyone. If you eat at hotels, then this is for two with a bottle of beer from 12 - 16 USD
Why a bottle of beer. I recommend taking the local "Myanmar" only in bottles. Bottle capacity 0.64 l. density of 5% is a very worthy drink, especially after winding in the heat.
The price in the supermarket is 1450 kyat, in hotels 2-3 USD.
I advise you to eat in eateries with the inscription Grand Royal. They are easy to notice - on a yellow background there is a black inscription, as a rule, the eatery is hung with these flags around the entire perimeter. I will say right away the system there is cunning, everything is written in English with translation into local - but the prices are not worth it. When ordering, it's better to point your finger at the Myanmar translation opposite English, they can confuse, and also keep in mind that if they speak English, this does not mean that they can read. This has been found out experimentally. Price-wise, don't be afraid. For two with beer, it is no more than 6000 - 8000 kyat. Tipping at your discretion, we did not pay.
There is no point in going to Golden Rock - unless you really want to. The trip is tiring from Yangon to the place of transfer for 4 hours and a little.
Further, in the back of a truck, sitting on a perch with a cheerful driver for about 30 minutes - it costs 1000 kyats, if you are lucky to agree for 2000 you can climb into the cab. Further on, the road up the mountain is quite steep. If you don’t want to spank with a foot-drag, take a stretcher - 4 local cupcakes will shove you uphill for another thirty minutes. The stretcher is comfortable, don't be afraid. The price is 15000 kyats. However, on the way there will be a halt and a divorce for Coca-Cola, consider four of them for each, let's go to the bank, the bank costs 2000 kyats. Plus, they will pester you upstairs - The owner must be added, you are heavy, etc.
One note to all excursions - at the box office everywhere they require a passport from foreigners when they sell an entrance ticket, but if there is no passport, they are left behind, but you need to write the name, surname, country and preferably the hotel. We limited ourselves to three points. Entrance to Golden Rock costs 6 USD per person.
It is better to make the route Bagan-Mandalay-Inle, since their planes fly in a circle when we flew to Mandalay, we stopped in Bagan. Loading and unloading is fast. Keep in mind in hotels they ask you for a ticket to make a “CHECK” the day before departure, as a rule you need to arrive at the port an hour before departure. Sometimes planes leave early. In Ngapali Ma flew 20 minutes early. In ports and hotels, things are carried by porters. In the ports they have either a sticker, or a jacket, or a “Servise” badge, do not be afraid, things will not be lost. You have to pay for the service, as a rule, 1000 kyat (you can give 500)
Flight Yangon - Bagan just over an hour.
Bagan – Mandalay 20-30 minutes
Mandalay – Heho (Inle) 30 minutes
Heho – Ngapali (Sandoway) 50 minutes
Ngapali – Yangon 45 minutes
In a propeller plane, it's best to land in the middle or tail. We once sat forward, I thought my head would burst from the rumble.
The planes are clean, they give you some water, sometimes a croissant or a sandwich with pate, tea, coffee if you fly for more than 30 minutes.
Transfer and ticket prices:
From the airport in Yangon to the city 10 USD (although last year it was 6 USD but it was during the rainy season)
Mandalay - from the airport to the city (one hour drive) 15 USD
Car with a driver who speaks English 30 - 35 USD for a full day
Boat to Mingun and back 30 USD - the boat is large, you can transport the whole village.
Ride an oxcart 3000 kyat
I forgot the name of the place - it is located away from Mandalay on the island.
Boat ride 1000 kyats
Horse carriage 3000 kyat
Boat ride around the teak bridge 3000 kyat per person. I highly recommend coming to this teak bridge at sunset.
Yes! In Mandalay, I do not advise you to go to the hill to watch the sunset. To be honest, it's complete bullshit. It is better to wander around the pagodas in Mandalay and take pictures of them at sunset, believe me, you will get much more pleasure.
Inspection of all monuments in Mandalay 10 USD per person.
Inspection of the surroundings of Mandalay (including Mingun) 5 USD per person.
Bagan: from the airport to the old part of the city, there are usually hotels 6000 kyat
A car for the whole day with air conditioning 30 USD, the driver, as a rule, understands only Stop and Go, if you need an intelligent guide, this is another 20 USD (English-speaking guide)
In Bagan, at the airport, the fee is like a ticket to enter the archaeological zone 10 USD per person
Arrive in Heho. I want to pay attention to Pandaya (this is a cave where there are more than 800 Buddha statues) located on the opposite side of the lake. From the airport to the cave, it's a two-hour drive along a rather broken road. From the airport to the pier on the lake, the road is good for about 50 minutes, only in front of the lake it is a little broken, but it cannot be compared with the road to Pandaya. We immediately rushed from the plane into the cave and only then went to the lake. It cost 56 USD, just a car with no stories, but the driver braked everywhere we spoke.
From the pier to the hotel 10 USD, a boat for the whole day to ride on the lake 20 USD, transfer from the pier to the airport 25 USD, from the hotel to the pier correctly understood again 10 USD. By and large, the lake is a big market. You will be taken to various workshops, they are also points for exchanging your money for all kinds of handicrafts of local craftsmen. I must say right away that the lotus fabric looks like an ordinary burlap. It is up to you to pay 110 USD for one meter, we did not dare. Please note that the hotels are on the water and you can only get somewhere by boat. Hence the food is very expensive. In the morning, remembering the prices of dinner, they bought fruits and vegetables at the market and had a wonderful dinner in the room. In the afternoon we ate local fish very tightly in a restaurant on the lake - the fish is delicious.
Yes, one more detail. In all hotels, drinking water in the rooms was free. What do they call a compliment? On the street, a liter bottle costs 300 kyats, in a supermarket 170 kyats.
Carry water constantly, as you have to walk barefoot everywhere on the monument. Don’t worry about the shoes, they won’t snub - but you can leave them in the car.
Ngapali is a resort. True, you will not find a resort in our understanding. This is only for a secluded quiet holiday. Casinos, discos, animation, etc. are absent as a class. Breathe fresh air, eat the freshest seafood and fish. The transfer here remained a mystery to me - it seems to be included in the price of the hotel, although I later paid 10 USD - maybe it is. We were met on a luxurious Japanese-made bus from the Second World War. Its attraction is that it is entirely wooden, without windows and doors, even the torpedo is made of plywood.
A little on prices:
Rent a moped - from the locals 3000 kyats per hour, in the hotel where we lived, about 5 USD, a bicycle in the hotel 1 USD per hour, half a day 3 USD, all day 5 USD
The food is delicious, everything is fresh, the prices are very reasonable - vegetables with shrimps, a portion of barracuda, two large grilled tiger shrimps, a bottle of beer, fresh juice - 10 USD. Pay better in kyats. I assure you that's more than two. For lobsters - in the same restaurant - if the lobster is alive, that is, with you, he will pull his paws and run around weighing 1 kilo and a little bit - 40.000 kyats. or 30-32 USD, if the applicant did not breathe before cooking 25 USD - I assure you he is as fresh as a living fellow.
Fresh juice - a glass of 300-350 grams - 700 kyats, a coconut on the beach 500 kyats, we were given them for free at the hotel.
The price for a massage, as a rule, is traditional - 20 USD for 1 hour, then there are varieties but the price range is from 18 USD to 26 USD. It all depends on the SPA hotel. There are no problems with using the services of the neighboring hotel.
Telephone. There is no mobile connection. There is some local, but why do you need it. It is expensive to call in hotels - 7-8 USD per minute, and if the number is not answered, the cost of a minute will be charged for connection.
You can use the Internet - from 2 to 6 USD (at the resort) per hour. You can send the news that he is alive and well. Payment for the time used, not fixed.
Fruits - watermelons (there are watermelons with a yellow peel, like melons we are so confused because for them, what a melon, what a watermelon is melon about the word water, they don’t really steam), melons, bananas of three types (the most delicious with a red skin ), papaya (very tasty if poured with lime), coconuts, strawberries. Mango is not yet in season, although you can buy - usually 4 pcs. per dollar, the mango season starts with the rainy season. Do not buy apples, they are brought from China - the cost of one apple is a dollar. A kilo of tea in the market costs 1.000 kyats.
Souvenirs. There are no comrades for taste and color here. In short, they have excellent stone and wood carvings. We bought wood in Mandalay near the teak bridge. In Bagan, paintings - an interesting way - they first cover a rag with river sand and then paint - and lacquer products.
Buy there, as we have not seen such pictures anywhere else. There is also local embroidery that is difficult to describe in words - it looks like a printed pattern, but quite beautiful. Inle - everything you want is there. You will be taken to the market in the morning. I assure junk in bulk. Pearls there are only river - cheap but very clumsy. They sell silk scarves. You can see junk, but better in Yangon. An antique shop is a rare dumping ground for such junk. The flea market in Izmailovo is quietly resting. Who cares about puppets - there are a lot of them (puppets) - there are quite old specimens.
Traded, but not very much. Maybe it has to do with the season. As our purchases have shown, the price can be lowered by a maximum of 30%, but not everywhere. If you are brought to a factory store - a maximum of 15% is if you are very lucky. Usually 10%. On Inla it is profitable to buy for kyats. They are all clear. You will be shown a table with numbers and the product you are interested in will be poked into the right cell - on the back of the price in USD.
Compare yourself.
One more moment. They often find fault with the state of the USD. In hotels, not so much, but in shops and ticket offices all the time. They will very willingly exchange you a steward of bucks, while they will try to hand you bucks in such a state that you wonder where they are digging them out from.
Kyats go in denominations of 1000.500, 200.100, 50.20, 10.5 and 1. A denomination below a hundred is extremely rare for us. Money is usually very dirty and tattered, but they take their currency in any condition. 1000 there are two types of large ones - the old model and a smaller size - the new one (they are more or less normal).
Alexey Romanov.
