The largest of the Mainland Southeast Asian states wasn’t included in my 3-month solo trip. As you might remember, it all started with Indonesia, a country I had spent a month travelling. That was the first country I visited after leaving Australia. After Indonesia it would be turn for The Philippines. But, after The Philippines, I wasn’t sure where to go next. I thought I would be going to Vietnam but, after meeting some travellers in Indonesia and after talking to some friends back home, I decided to spend 3 weeks in Myanmar. And, just like that, I landed in Yangon on November the 21st, 2018.
Do you need a visa to enter Myanmar?
Unlike other countries in Southeast Asia like Thailand, Indonesia or The Philippines, if you plan to go to Myanmar, you need to apply (and pay) for a visa in advance. There are basically two visas you can apply for: tourist and business. For the purpose of this post, we’ll focus on the tourist visa, which is the one I got. That visa allows you to spend a total of 28 days in Myanmar. The processing time for the visa is up to 3 working days and it costs around 44 Euros.
In order to enter Myanmar you need hold a valid passport and the visa. Once the visa is granted, you need to enter the country from one of the 3 international airports (Yangon, Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw) or from one of the 5 international border checkpoints (Tachileik, Myawaddy, Kawthaung, Tamu, Rih khaw dar). To leave the country you need to use any of the above mentioned points and furthermore, you can also use the Htikee Land Border checkpoint. For further info on Myanmar’s visa, check its official website.
When is the best time to visit Myanmar?
Like many other countries in Southeast Asia, Myanmar has two main seasons: wet and dry. The dry season goes from October to May and the wet season goes from May/June to October. So, yes, the “best” time to go would be from October to May, but that doesn’t mean that the weather will be perfect then and it will be horrible during the other months. I remember myself checking the weather now and then before going somewhere until I decided to go with the flow and let the weather “surprise” me. The size of the country plus the special climate throughout Southeast Asia makes it very hard to have a perfect weather during your whole trip. That being said, I found this amazing website where you can check when is the “best” time to go to Myanmar as well as to other countries in Southeast Asia 🙂
Should you get vaccinated to go to Myanmar?
When I decided to leave Australia I didn’t have my trip to Southeast Asia properly planned. Thus, I didn’t get any vaccines. But, even if I didn’t get vaccinated, I did my best to avoid mosquito bites. I bought mosquito coils and mosquito repellents. I tried to wear long pants and long sleeve at sunrise and sunset. Overall, I tried to be conscious about it. I bought the mosquito coils and repellents in Indonesia. I would say they are cheaper and better than the ones you might find in your country. For the repellents I tried the artificial (I made sure they included DEET) and the natural ones (the ones including citronella).
Compared to Indonesia, I would say there are less mosquitos in Myanmar. During my trip in Southeast Asia I was bitten by mosquitos (even if I used repellent) and by bedbugs, but nothing to worry about. For the bedbugs, most of you would think that you get them in the worst hostels, but, funny enough, most of the times I got them in the best-looking, cleanest and newest ones. With the same cream I bought before leaving Australia (one that had antihistamine) I was able to cure all my bites. Thus, I’d encourage you to bring one as well. If you are planning your trip with enough time, make sure you get at least the Hepatitis A and the Typhoid vaccines and, for further info, take a look at this website.
Currency and expenses
The official currency in Myanmar is the Burmese Kyat (MMK) and, at the time of my trip, the conversion rate was of around 1 EUR = 1800 MMK. Compared to other countries in Southeast Asia, accommodation prices are higher. I guess it all comes down to the fact that the country, having recently open its door to tourism, doesn’t have (yet) a big offer in accommodation. That being said, the prices for food, drinks and tourist attractions were extremely cheap. To give you an idea:
- Beer in Yangon: 1 K
- Water (1 liter) in Yangon: 400
- Oranges (1 Kg) in Yangon: 2 K
- SIM Card (MPT) with 8 GB plus 1 K in phone calls: 10 K
- 1 night in a shared room at a hostel in Yangon: 8 K
- Entrance fee to Shwedagon Pagoda: 10 K
- Husband and wife in Kalaw: 200
- Scooter rental (one day) in Hpa-An: 8 K
- Lunch (fried vermicelli) in Hpa-An: 2 K
- Toothpaste in a supermarket in Hpa-An: 500
- Laundry in Hpa-An: 2700
- Bus from Hpa-An to Kalaw: 25 K
- 2 nights in a shared room at a hostel in Inle Lake: 27 K
- Street dinner in Mandalay: 2500
- E-bike rental (one day) in Bagan: 6 K
Like in any country, prices vary depending on how you travel. For me, I didn’t care too much whether the place to spend the night had a swimming pool or views to the ocean, so, I didn’t spend much money in accommodation. The same goes for food. I like to mingle with the locals as much as possible and that means that normally food will cost less compared to touristic bars/restaurants.
There are different stories about the reason behind it but, when you withdraw money from the ATMs, you will see all the banknotes are just perfect and clean. I even heard they wouldn’t accept banknotes that are tore down or that, if they accept them, they will do it at a lower price. All in all I found enough ATMs throughout my trip and I never had problems to pay. But, be aware that cash is the king and the use of cards is not yet widely available.
During my 3 weeks in Myanmar I spent around 950 Euros. Out of all this money, almost 500 Euros were spent on the fly from Manila to Yangon, the Myanmar visa and the balloon trip in Bagan. Thus, as you can see, Myanmar is not an expensive country at all.
Burmese food: My 5 favourite dishes
Deep-fried stuff: from the very first moment I arrived in Myanmar I started to see deep-fried stuff all around, specially as far as street food goes. The picture you can see below was taken at a random street in Yangon, the first city I visited. Throughout my trip, I saw many more food stalls like that one. While it might not be the healthiest, the food was pretty good and you had plenty of choices: samosas, spring rolls, corn bread, buttered vegetables, etc. You could also find sweets, bread and even something that tasted and looked quite similar to our Spanish churros. The sweet food could be found at random street food stalls but also at tea shops, where mixed with the famous Burmese milk tea tasted really good!
Stir fried rice vermicelli noodles: I tried these peculiar noodles for the first time as I was waiting for my bus to Hpa-An at a random restaurant in Bago. Compared to other noodles they are extremely thin. Like any stir fried rice dish, you could have it with meat and/or vegetables. I went for the veggie option and they were delicious. The shape and size makes a difference in the taste!
Husband and Wife: I found food in Myanmar to be extremely good. That was a constant throughout my trip. But if I had to pick one dish, it would be the Husband and Wife. I was strolling around Kalaw when I ran into a woman cooking this wonder. I didn’t know the name and I asked her to write it down for me on my phone. She wrote it in Burmese (Mont Lin Ma Yar) and, after some research, I found it could be translated as “Husband and Wife”.
Husband and Wife is something like a meatball that is made by joining two pieces. That’s what gives name to the dish. The woman was using some sort of a pan-like cast iron with plenty of holes. She was pouring inside each hole rice flour mixed with coriander and other stuff. On top of it she was dropping chickpeas and, a little before each part was cooked, she was joining them together. It was delicious and super cheap!
Green tea leaf salad: from Kalaw I went on a 3D2N trek to Inle Lake. Our first night we stopped at an elderly couple house. We spent the night at their place and they prepared dinner for us. The dinner was good but, next day, for breakfast, we had green tea leaf salad and potato curry. Both dishes were incredibly good. Green tea leaf salad is one of the most famous dishes in Myanmar. The salad has green tea leaves as the main ingredient but it also comes with tomatoes, chili, garlic, nuts, cabbage and other stuff. It is a very versatile dish and you can have it as a snack, main or for breakfast, as we did 🙂
Potato curry: during my 3 weeks in Myanmar I tried different curries. Most of them are served in two bowls: one with the curry main ingredient and the other one with plain white rice. You would them mix them both together or eat them separately, as you prefer. Among all the curry dishes I tried in Myanmar, my favourite was the potato one. I had it for breakfast as we were getting ready for our second day in our trek to Inle Lake. The elderly couple cooked it for us and it was delicious. Give it a try!
Useful words and sentences
I always feel like trying to learn at least some basic stuff when going to a new country. I think it helps you mingle with the locals and also shows you are making an effort to try to understand them and their culture. So, here you have some basic words and sentences that can help you out during your time in Myanmar 🙂
- Thanks: Kyay Zuu Naw (it sounds like “xisuva”)
- Hello: Mingalaba
- Bye: Ta ta!
- Good morning: Mingalaba
- Good afternoon: Manaken
- Good evening: Yanegen
- Good night: Nyagen
- How are you?: Nei kaon la?
- Check, please: She meh
- How much is this?: Zey beh lout le?
Useful apps for your trip in Myanmar
During my time in Myanmar I used some useful apps which I had already used in Indonesia. One of them was Maps.me, which is like Google Maps but offline. I didn’t get to use Grab or Go-Jek but, apparently, as we speak, Grab is becoming more popular in Myanmar. Since I didn’t take any flights within the country and most of the buses and trains were booked at hostels, I didn’t use Traveloka much, but it is a very handy app. Last but not least, I used Agoda now and then to book my accommodation. For further info on these apps, click here.
What to see in Myanmar?
Myanmar is a big country with plenty of things to see. That being said, due to the past and recent history, the country is not as open to tourism as other countries in Southeast Asia. Therefore, most of the tourists follow some sort of a pre-established route while visiting the country. During my 3 weeks in Myanmar I had time to visit quite a few cities and regions. As I said before, I took mostly buses and trains.
The ancient capital of the country, Yangon, is usually the most common way to enter and leave the country. The largest city of Myanmar is not the typical big city you might expect when visiting Southeast Asia. It doesn’t have huge buildings as Bangkok or Manila and it has a different atmosphere. It does have beautiful pagodas, one of them (Shwedagon) being the tallest in the country.
Hpa-An, a city east of Yangong, was one of the highlights of my trip. The city is way smaller than Yangon but it is full of treasures: beautiful and unreal landscapes, astonishing caves and temples and a feeling of being in another world. Another highlight was my 3D2N trek from Kalaw to Inle Lake. Our guide was funny and wise and the landscapes, the people and the food made it an unforgettable journey.
Mandalay, the capital of Myanmar before Yangon, is the second largest city in the country. The city itself has some interesting stuff, like Mandalay Hill. But its beauty resides in its surroundings, where you can go by renting a scooter and visit some astonishing temples. If you have some spare time you might want to take a train to Hsipaw and get to cross the Gokteik Viaduct, a railway bridge over 100 metres above the ground and nearly 700 metres long. Not bad, huh?
My last stop was Bagan but, on the way there, I decided to stop at Monywa to check the third tallest statue in the world: the one of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. Bagan, with all its ancient temples, was a nice way to put an end to my trip. Riding my E-bike while feeling like Indiana Jones was nice. But watching the sunrise from a balloon was just out of this world 😉
How to move around?
Myanmar is a big country but I didn’t take any flights. I took mostly buses and, occasionally, also trains. I even got to use E-bikes in Bagan! The quality of buses was pretty good throughout my trip. Prices were not high and, most of the times, I could buy my tickets at the hostel I was staying at.
It is very common to spend a night in the bus while you travel to another city. The problem? Sometimes you arrive to your destination at 04:00 or 05:00 and, either you book an extra night at your hostel or you wander around the city until the check-in time. There is also the possibility that the people working at the hostel are nice and they let you rest in the living room while waiting, like it happened to me in Yangon 🙂
Most of the times I was the only tourist in the bus or train and locals were always nice to me. I never had a problem while travelling alone. The few times I rented a scooter I didn’t have any problems either. They didn’t ask for my license and the scooter they provided me with was good enough. And, when it came to fuel, the price was pretty cheap and there were always places where you could fill up your tank.
Itinerary for 3 weeks in Myanmar
I spent 3 weeks in Myanmar and visited different regions and states:
Yangon Region: Yangon
Bago Region: Bago
Kayin State: Hpa-An
Shan State: Kalaw, Inle Lake, Nyaungshwe, Hsipaw
Mandalay Region: Mandalay, Bagan
Sagaing Region: Monywa
Like always, you might feel like you would like to spend more time in the country, trying to see everything. That being said, I found that 3 weeks in Myanmar was a good amount of time to travel around the country and get to know a bit about its people and culture. For a more detailed itinerary:
I hope you enjoy your time in Myanmar as much as I did! Kyay zuu naw nhang kyaosopartaal!
