EDIT: It's come to my attention that Visa on Arrival may be starting early this month for many nationalities. So you may not have to go through the whole shenanigans with the embassy. However, it's probably still better to have it in hand just in case right? Research beforehand!
Visas and the Washington, DC Embassy
Being based out of San Francisco, there wasn't a Myanmar embassy or consulate anywhere nearby. The e-visa program wasn't running yet, and isn't to the best of my knowledge (though they claim to be working on it). Additionally, at the time there wasn't a Visa on Arrival program in place -- except for those traveling on 8M from CAN or REP -- and still isn't to the best of my knowledge.
This wasn't a particularly eventful process. The first step was filling out a couple of forms (application and employment history) and attaching 2 passport-sized photographs. Next, I got the forms, photos, passports, fee payment and a prepaid return express envelope, and put them into yet another prepaid express envelope, and sent them off.
The visa fee was supposed to be $20USD per person payable by money order. I tried to call ahead but all the phone numbers on their website went straight through to a busy tone :roll eyes: However, when they received the applications, I got a phone call telling me that they weren't accepting money orders and that I was to mail them some cash. Due to proximity of my departure I overnighted the money -- paying $30USD to send $40USD in bills by mail
About 5 days later they mailed back the passports with the visas -- and the unused money orders -- by the self-addressed prepaid UPS return envelope. Those back in hand, and we were ready to head off!
Getting to Yangon
These flights were probably the most straight-forward part of the trip -- although we met some really interesting people and enjoyed the Thai lounges very much! The outbound was booked as an award ticket in Economy from SFO-HKG in United E+, HKG-BKK on a TG 744 and BKK-RGN on a TG 330. The Bangkok layover was tons of fun -- the Aloft is definitely the place to stay for a little while -- but I know this isn't why you all are here
Total cost was 32,500 UA miles and $2.50 per person. Can't really beat that!
Arriving in Yangon
Filling out an arrival card for Myanmar at the BKK Airport
After a rather uneventful (but super pleasant) hour-and-a-half long flight on a Thai A330, we stepped off the plane and into Yangon! What we found, somewhat to my surprise, was a very clean, modern (even sterile) airport. There was a lot of good signage (all in English, no less) and the everyone was extremely helpful and friendly.
Welcome to Myanmar (Samsung)!
We headed down to immigration, passports with visas and landing cards in hand. On an off topic, the whole airport appeared to have been sponsored by Samsung. The arrival board above was just the start! Each immigration officer's desk was outfitted with a Samsung Virus Doctor.
Unfortunately it appears there's no way to do a quick turn at this airport. Due to the layout of this airport, each time you arrive you will need to have an existing, valid visa. There is no transfers area; everyone goes through immigration, where your visa will be invalidated. You should make sure you have at least 2-3 hours at RGN if you're doing a quick turn. Even that, though, I wouldn't recommend. However, as you'll see, it's a great place to spend a day or two!
Hotel Mother Land Inn (2)
Arrivals at the Myanmar Airport
We were only there for two days (one night), and as such we decided to pick somewhere that was pretty cheap (since worst case we wouldn't be there long). The Hotel Mother Land Inn (2) was recommended in the Jumbo thread, and after looking around a bit (and reading the Wikitravel article) I decided to book a couple of rooms at the $23/night rate which included AC, en-suite bathroom, 24 hour electricity, round-trip airport transfer (return until 3:30pm) and breakfast each day!
Hotel Transfer Van
We were picked up by what I can only describe as the awesomest airport shuttle I have ever taken. Words cannot describe. I'm fairly certain the exhaust was at least partially directed inward
The airport is between 45 minutes and 1 hour from Hotel Mother Land Inn (2). The hotel is conveniently located within 10 minutes drive (45 minutes walk) of the incredible Shwedagon pagoda, though, which certainly helps.
The Hotel Mother Land Inn (2)
This hotel offers to exchange money for travelers, which is very convenient. Their rate during our stay was 1:780 for $20USD bills, and 1:800 for $100 bills. This is pretty consistent with rates offered by others in the region.
The rooms were clean, the AC worked great, the staff was extremely pleasant and helpful, and the breakfast wasn't bad either. If you stay there, ask for the Burmese breakfast a day in advance. It's a multi-coarse meal that looked fantastic. Can't remember if there was an additional fee but it would have been nominal anyways. I'd absolutely recommend this hotel, especially for the price, but it's not a luxury place!
Shwedagon Pagoda and The Train
The 100m tall Shwedagon Pagoda
If you're going to spend just one day, you should really visit the Shwedagon Pagoda. It's about 10 minutes ride from the hotel, and you should expect to pay about 1500-2500MMK ($1.75-$3.00) for a taxi. There's a $5USD entrance fee and when I was there, there wasn't a fee for cameras.
We spent about 5 hours there on the first day, all the way until nightfall. For just a few minutes a day as the sun sets, you can look up to the top of the spire and see the sunset refracted by the diamonds up at the top.
View from the Train
If you have some more time to spend and really want to get a feel for the countryside, you can't beat the train. The local train station is another ~2000MMK taxi ride from the Mother Land Inn (2). This appears to be a commuter-type train that runs in a ring from the town, out past the Insein jail (
), into the suburbs and back to town.
For the whole 3 hours, people would pour in, local sellers would get on an provide food and snacks for purchase (50-200MMK) including shrimp chips, mangos and rambutan. You get to hang out the door or look out the window and see what the country is really like. Don't expect a luxury ride though! People on the train were incredibly friendly, offering us some of the snacks they purchased, and we did the same!
Advice to Fellow Travelers
- Make sure to leave enough time to transfer! Don't get stuck!
- Visas can take up to 10 days to get, plus round-trip mailing time. Don't leave it to the last minute!
- Bring US dollars for spending that are *PERFECT* -- not a single crease, hole, tear, bend, mark or anything else. If you see an imperfection, it will not be exchanged by anyone in any circumstances.
- If you run out of money or your bills are unwelcome, there's a travel agency on the 15th floor of the Olympic Tower downtown. They will allow you to withdraw US cash from your credit card with a 10% commission. Always check any bills you get to make sure they're pristine, so you can exchange them for MMK as needed. Some of the more expensive hotels will offer this service too.
- There are NO ATMs that will accept foreign debit cards.
- Negotiate! As a foreigner all prices are marked up a lot. You should probably negotiate down 33-50% on all prices anywhere other than a department-type store.
- I felt extraordinarily safe in Myanmar. It's beautiful, everyone's friendly, and you're going to have a great time!