Burma - how to take money?

elsien

Off to Burma in 3 weeks and seriously disorganised due to a bereavement - holiday booked and visa sorted but that's it.
Has anyone got advice the best way to take money as I've read that credit cards and travellers cheques aren't going to happen.
I had a quick look on the tripadvisor forum but found it a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Plus any other helpful sources advice on what to take etc would be good.
Thanks

danandjens_worldtravels

We were in Burma in November and its seriously busy.

I strongly suggest you look at where you are planning to go - Yangon, Mandalay, Inle Lake (Nyaunashwe), Bagan and phone some hostels/hotels up and make a booking. You don't pay when you make the booking but you will have a bed space when you arrive in the town and avoid the hour long 'hunt a room' game that needs to be replayed the next day because they only have one night available. Hunting for a room and changing hotels is a real pain and spoils time in the town.

Money - take crisp, uncreased, unmarked dollar bills. Get them in the UK before you go and tell the teller they are for Burma/Myanmar. They would only accept after 2006 notes. We took all denominations from $100 down. The hotels will exchange for you and take payment in $, you get a better rate if you can change $50 or 100 bills into Kyat (chat) but still may want $20's and $10's to pay for rooms. All locals will want Kyat.

The official rate of exchange around 800 Kyat to $1 is the same what the hotels will give you. The lonely planet guidance is a bit out of date even though its the new edition. Also bear in mind due to the popularity of Burma the prices are also out of date. I would expect to pay around $20 to $30 US Dollars for a room that Lonely Planet states is $15 or less.

I did also hear rumour that the ATM's will take international cards from Jan, but whether its true I don't know

My final tip - The tourist transport is quite reliable so you can expect to be where you need to be, however, they are very very very cold! For some reason the aircon is set at a freezing level and you will need a warm jumper/hoodie and long trousers/jeans to keep warm. You may also want to take your winter hat if you hope to sleep!

Its a beautiful country and the people are fantastically warm and generous. Enjoy

travelgran

Lonely Planet's Thorntree is now back up and running. There is a thread in the Myanmar section re ATMs and cash withdrawal.

PompeyPete

danandjens_worldtravels wrote: »

My final tip - The tourist transport is quite reliable so you can expect to be where you need to be, however, they are very very very cold! For some reason the aircon is set at a freezing level and you will need a warm jumper/hoodie and long trousers/jeans to keep warm. You may also want to take your winter hat if you hope to sleep!

The 20 year old bashed-up right hand drive Toyota Corolla we hired for 2 weeks with an excellent driver/guide, didn't have a/c that worked. Nor did the suspension! But I suppose we got what we paid for!
So we had to keep the windows open in a largely futile attempt to keep cool. Started every day off freshly showered, and finished it off with orange face and orange hair! A surgical mask was a must!
People who travel round Burma by aeroplane don't know what they're missing.

Great country, lovely people, lousy infrastructure. One of those great life experiences, but the place is probably getting too crowded with tour groups now.

My big tips are to take plenty of medicated hand gel, a hands-free torch, and as been said earlier crisp, unmarked US$. The RoE will be slightly better for US$100 notes, you'll get a better RoE in Yangon than elsewhere, and having a wad of one dollar notes is good for tipping. Don't over tip as Burma is a very poor country, and tipping too much makes people greedy [as you'll see from the swarm of kids that you'll regularly be surrounded by]. Don't eat in empty restaurants!

You'll pick up plenty of tips on the TA discussion forum for Myanmar, and as already mentioned on the Lonely Planet Thorntree forum.

danandjens_worldtravels

Pompey Pete
People who travel round Burma by aeroplane don't know what they're missing.

I should have been clearer, we were on the buses - sadly never one of the Premiership team bus

There are people that fly and it is an option for the OP, I agree though you'd miss alot of a great country on a plane.

PompeyPete

danandjens_worldtravels wrote: »

There are people that fly and it is an option for the OP, I agree though you'd miss alot of a great country on a plane.

When we went, apart from flights and visas all I'd pre-booked was the first 4 nights accommodation at the Summit Parkview in Yangon.

During that first few days I wanted to suss out the travel options for the next couple of weeks.

From Yangon airport the taxi driver got talking [as they do] and asked us how long we were staying, and what our plans were.
During that 20 minute taxi ride to the hotel, we agreed for him to take us out for the day and show us the local countryside, villages and sights.

Straight after breakfast the following morning he picked us up from the hotel, and we had a great day out. We felt he could be completely trusted.

So we then agreed with him we'd hire him for 2 weeks, and he'd guide us through Burma in his battered Toyota Corolla.

He took us back to his company office in central Yangon, and there we went through an itinerary, and agreed a fully inclusive price for 14 nights of hiring the vehicle, petrol, road tolls, his accommodation, his food, and his extensive knowledge of his wonderful country. All for the princely sum of US$800.

We told him the type of accommodation we wanted to stay at during our tour, inexpensive but clean. Obviously that was extra cost.

He arranged everything, even cancelling the last of our initial 4 nights at the Summit Parkview, and rebooking it [at no extra cost] for our final night before leaving the country.

I won't burden you with a trip report, but we had a great time. The driver soon became our friend, nothing was too much trouble, his knowledge of his country and it's history was extensive, and I'm sure he was speaking English with a North Lancashire accent by the end!