Visiting Burma

 

 

 

To Go or Not To Go

 If you are tempted to visit Burma, we will definitely encourage you to do so. There is quite a discussion raging in the travel community whether a visit to the country inadvertently supports the military junta that rules the country or whether the visit can bring the people desired contact with the outside world and support the local economy and entrepreneurial spirit. We thought about this issue before deciding to go and because my husband and I both grew up in a communist country (he in Czechoslovakia and me in Yugoslavia) we could remember well the excitement of  meeting foreigners that came to visit our countries and the possibility that local owners of a B&B or a small pub could earn some hard currency from their visit. When we were in Burma we asked numerous local people about their take on this dilemma and every single one of them assured us that they really wanted a chance to meet people from outside the country and that the money spent at a local establishment supports people in a big way. A purchase of a bag of bird feed from the little kid hanging around the boat rental on the Inle Lake or a piece of a sugar cane on an elephant ride can make his day or maybe his week.

The Logistics

 You will need a visa to Burma and the maximum validity is 28 days. If you have enough time you can save good money by applying for it yourself by mail to the consulate in your respective country. The forms can be downloaded from their website. I understand there are now new requirements for Burmese visas that encompass a letter of invitation. (our travel agent is able to get that for you). You will pretty much have to fly into Yangon (Rangoon) from surrounding countries as crossing over the border on foot is very difficult. There are many interesting places to visit all over the country, but when planning the trip mind the reality that transportation is an issue unless you utilize airplanes (surprisingly, we found them very reliable). The roads are tortuously potholed and even a short distance will take forever. It is possible to travel on your own but we found right at the start that we could not book a hotel directly through their website cheaper than our agent could. He also arranged for car and driver transportation that was a lot cheaper than did travelers we met, doing it on their own. We usually do not utilize guides when we travel (with the exception of safari guides in Africa), but because of the language barriers (not only few people speak English, they speak many different languages and dialects) and the novelty of tourism we found our translators-guides indispensable (the fee is very reasonable and worth every penny) and enlightening. Here is the website of our agency: Fascinating Land Travel Agency. Mong Pay and Michael are absolutely marvelous and trustworthy.

You should get appropriate immunizations. Depending on time of year you should consider malaria prophylaxis as well. We had no issues at all with food or drink. While not very exciting the food from all different sources gave our stomach absolutely no problems. There is bottled water available and good local beer. 

Things to See and Do

You will of course want to spend a bit of time in Rangoon, though a few days should suffice for Shwedagon Pagoda (try to be there before dusk) and Scott’s Market, our two favorite destinations. If you haven’t been other places in Asia the huge Reclining Buddha is worth a visit, too. Inle Lake is a very special place that pictures do not do justice to. It is great if you have enough time (a few days at least) to explore the different floating markets. Bagan is famous for the thousands of temples. Kyak Hti Jo (Kyaiktiyo), the Golden Rock seems to be a highlight for many. Most people are quite disappointed by Mandalay or by the river cruise on Irrawady. The beaches (both of them) are a relaxing and romantic place to take a break or end your trip at.

For people interested in trekking you can visit some villages on foot and even stay with the locals. The Balloon ride over Bagan is a special treat. You can ride elephants close to the Ngwe Saung beach.

The People

The people are all incredibly gracious. They are helpful if needed but never subservient or pushy. (OK with the exception of the kids selling postcard at Sule Pagoda, but they are sweet) You will have a chance to meet people from different tribes and of different religion. The majority are Buddhist and they are quite devout. That's why you will see them in large numbers at the temples making offerings. Everyone has to become a monk or a nun at least once if not twice in their life, that's why you will see many of them, some children walking around asking for rice with their alms bowls. You should not touch a monk or a nun. We have not encounter many beggars or prostitutes or drug sellers. We were never asked for money when taking a picture of a person. Nobody seemed to mind and we generally did not ask for permission. We had a supply of stickers with us and gave them out to kids. They loved them, though in some villages they had no idea what they were, until we showed them how to stick them on their clothes.

If you have a chance to allocate an extra half day for a visit to “our orphanages” you will not regret the wonderful experience of spending some time with the children. Please let us know if you are considering doing that and we might have suggestions of how you can enrich the kids’ lives. 

For an article written about our family trip click here .