If you are planning to travel to this country without the experience and knowledge necessary, then let’s find out what are the Myanmar travel tips to have a great and saving trip.
I/ Something to know before arriving in Myanmar
1. Visa:
If you are a citizen of a country in Southeast Asia, you do not need a visa before arriving in Myanmar, but unlike other countries in the region such as Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore, Myanmar only issues a tourist visa to you for 15 days. If you want to stay longer for a Myanmar travel trip, you will need to apply for a visa to extend your stay. Visa application fee is $ 50 and apply online through the network.
2. Exchange money:
This is quite necessary when you travel abroad, Myanmar is no exception. Visiting this country, you will have to change money to Kyat. Note that when you change the money in Vietnam, you have to change the real money because the old money will be devalued. You can change money at Yangon Airport, there are many counters in front of the exit. The current rate now is $ 1 = 1.348 Kyat (1,000Kyat ~ 17,000VND). If you spend less Kyat, when you return, you can return the money at the airport.
Exchange money is the must thing to do before visiting Myanmar
3. Culture and costumes
Myanmar is a Buddhist country, so the people here are very religious Buddhism. When you travel in Myanmar, you must also pay attention and respect their Buddhist faith. Most of the people are very gentle and friendly. They always smile to tourists and say Hello, so do not forget to smile back to their greetings. If you visit the temples, do not wear short skirts, or an impolite costume. You should choose the clothes that are easy to move but still discreet, in accordance with temple culture.
4. Sim phones and internet
Many restaurants and hotels in Myanmar have wifi but you’ll find very quickly the wifi is so slow. Internet and wifi here are also popular but the access speed is not fast, especially in Bagan, the Internet is inaccessible. You should buy Myanmar SIM card and purchase a data package. In Myanmar, you can easily buy a sim phones for convenient communication and Internet access with about 15.000 Kyat that was valid for 30 days in the airport or cell phone shops.
5. Food in Myanmar
Food in Myanmar will be very hard to eat with people who can not eat greasy, too spicy or too salty. But don’t worried because there are the restaurants of many countries for you to choose. The price of the restaurant is quite affordable, each meal cost about 7000-10.000Kyat. While having a Myanmar travel trip, don’t forget to taste some typical food here such as Tea leaf salad, Shan-style rice, Burmese curry, Burmese tea shop meal, Burmese sweet snacks, Deep-fried stuff, Shan-style ‘tofu’ noodles, Nangyi thoke,…
The cuisine is one of the attractions of Myanmar travel
6. Best time to visit Myanmar
In Myanmar, the weather is quite hot all year round. There are three distinct seasons. From March to May, the weather is so hot, the temperature can reach 40 degrees celsius. From June to September, it’s the rainy season. The weather from October to February is quite cool and pleasant, so visitors should choose the time between October to February to explore Myanmar.
7. Travel in Myanmar
If you want to travel between destinations in Myanmar, you have two options: airplane or bus. But we recommend that you choose the bus because the price is cheap and the service is very good. JJ bus company has better service, more spacious seats, in the car with a convenient charger socket, movie screen music player. You can book bus tickets online via its website, or via email, chat via facebook.
At each destination in a Myanmar travel, you can choose different transportation. In Yangon, taxis are available on an hourly basis, with rates ranging from 5000-6000Kyat/h. In Madalay, you can rent a motorbike for about 10,000Kyat /day (this is the only city that rents motorbikes). When you come to Bagan, you should choose to rent a motorbike by day for less than 6000 / Kyat / a day, you can go comfortably from 5am to 8pm. In Inle, you can rent bikes in the hotel at very cheap cost.
II/ Some popular tourist sites in Myanmar
1. Mandalay
Mandalay is the second largest city after Yangon in Myanmar with beautiful charms and full of mystery. So when traveling to Myanmar, you should not miss the opportunity to visit Mandalay. To reach Mandalay, if you depart from Yangon, you will have to spend one night on the bus, as mentioned above, you are assured of the service of the bus in Myanmar. The quality is quite good, so one night on the bus does not affect too much to your health.
Ubein Bridge – the longgest wooden bridge in the world
Points to visit when coming to Madalay:
- Ubein Bridge: You can admire the 1.2km wooden bridge that’s longgest in the world.
- Inwa village: about 5km from Ubein Bridge. You should hire a carriage to go around the village and experience the local life.
- Mingun Village: The highlight of the Mingun is the unique Hsinbyume Paya White Pagoda, followed by the Pahtodawgyi Pagoda, the world’s second largest bell Mingun Bell, and the lion’s statue, Sagaing Hill.
- Mandalay Palace: An enormous compound located right in the heart of the city center. There are the Royal Palace, the Shwenandaw Monastery, the Sandamuni Pagoda, the Kuthodaw Pagoda, the Maha Atulawaiyan Monastery and the KyauKTaw Gyi Pagoda.
- Mandalay Hill: climb up to the top of the hill to visit Sutaungpyae Paya Temple, watch the whole city from above, admire the sunset. It will be an unforgetable memory.
2. Bagan
Bagan is the old capital of Myanmar for 230 years, a must-see place when you travel in Myanmar, with three main areas: Old Bagan, New Bagan and Nyang U. Now, there are more than 2,000 temples here, each has its own characteristics. Arriving in Bagan, the must thing to see is the sunrise on a mysterious temple, that makes you feel a wonderful dawn. Hotels in Bagan can be easily booked on the web sites, so read hotel reviews, choose hotels for early check in at no additional cost because they usually arrive at Bagan early. You should choose a hotel in New Bagan area because it is new and comfortable than the hotels in Old Bangan and Nyang U.
Bagan – the ancient city in Myanmar
Points to visit in Bagan:
● The Lawkachanthar Temple – Thagyarhit – Thagyarpone in Nyang U district, images of the first glorious past in the land of Bagan Buddha exist.
● Htile Mininlo temple, exquisite and sophisticated temple built by fun Zeya Theinkha
● Ananada Temple, the largest and most beautiful temple in Bagan, has 4 statues of Buddha in four golden directions are the Buddha was entered into nirvana.
● Dhammayangyi temple has the largest area of Bagan, especially the temple without the crown as the other temples.
● Shwezigon pagoda is quite beautiful with its yellow color, separated from the temple grounds in Bagan.
● Thatbyinnyu show up with color moss and ancient time.
● Shwesantaw is a beautiful spot for sunsets, where you can zoom out to the horizon and wait for the first glittering glitter on the temples.
3. Inle Lake
When having a Myanmar travel trip, if you skip Lake Inle, perhaps your trip will not be complete. This lake is a second largest freshwater lake in Mynamar located at an altitude of 800m above sea level. The weather here is very cool. In the middle of this large lake, you will be impressive by immense water, surrounding mountains,… All creates a beautiful scene. You should stop at Inle for at least 2 days to discover this place, take a boat trip on the lake and ride one day around Nyaung Shwe village.
Inle lake – the highlight destination in Myanmar travel
Points to visit in Inle:
- Phra Kyaung Monastery
- Maing Thauk floating village
- Tomato garden on the water (floating market)
- Indein – where thousands of small temples close together
- Village of the long neck
- Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery: The monastery is located near the entrance to the Inle, which features for the prominent oval doors.
- Nyaung Shwe Center – local market, you can see more clearly the ordinary life.
- Red Mountain Estate: You should come to the vineyards on the hill in the afternoon to catch the far away sunset from Inle Lake and enjoy a glass of fine wine. Here you should rent a carriage, if you go from the center of town, it takes about 20,000Kyats.
4. Yangon
Yangon is a developed city in Myanmar, where you will see crowded street with many cars and no motorcycles, no car horn noisy. Some visitors choose to visit Yangon first at the airport, but others choose Yangon as the final destination and goodbye to the beautiful country Myanmar. While travel in Myanmar’s Yangon, you should hire a taxi package to visit the tourist sites here, about 5,000Kyat/h.
The temples are typical symbol of Myanmar country
Points to visit when coming to Yangon:
– Shwedagon Pagoda – The largest and most magnificent pagoda in Myanmar. The tower are gilded plates made by craftsme who use traditional techniques. The top of the tower is mounted with diamonds and rubies. At the top, there is a diamond bud with a 76 carat diamond. The temple is also considered as the most sacred temple in Myanmar.
– Sule Pagoda: The second beautiful temple after the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon.
– Bogyke Market: The central Market in Yangon, where many items are sold. Visitors can choose souvenirs, or enjoy Myanmar cuisine around the market.
Myanmar is an underdeveloped country like Singapore or Thailand, but this place is a peaceful land of buddha, long-standing cultural values, friendly people, very worthy for you to come here and experience. Hope that the Myanmar travel tips above will help you to have the beautiful memories of this country.
