I went to Burma a year and a half ago with my partner, and it was by far the most memorable trip for us in the past few years. (I've been to about 50 countries, so I've been around...)

Rangoon was the least interesting, while Bagan was the most memorable and enchanting. Inle Lake was beautiful and peaceful; Pindaya Cave with some 8,000 Buddhist statues inside was fascinating, and Mandalay was interesting.

Food was cheap. We're vegetarians and managed to find decent (not gourmet) food. About $2 at tourist restaurants, less than $1 at local restaurants. The only extravagant experience was happy hour at the grand old colonial Strand Hotel in Yangon, with friends who work at the US embassy there.

Yes, the begging of money and peddling of souvenirs was a constant nuisance throughout, but I quickly got over it. Depending on my mood, sometimes I'd just ignore them and walk on, even as they'd keep following me around. Other times I'd playfully joke with and tease the kids, and they'd seem to enjoy the exchange even as they went away empty handed.

We also encountered inflated prices from some trisaw drivers, but that's to be expected in any places where one has to bargain. Typically we'd establish a fair price for where we need to go from the locals (e.g. hotel staff, waiters, local tour guide), so we know when to walk away or how to bargain with the drivers. No big deal. They're not bad people; they're just trying to make a living.

And they do provide a good and needed service to tourists. For instance, in Mandalay, we had a driver take us to the foot of the Mandalay Hill. He waited for us with our slippers while we hiked up to the hill-top pagodas and visited for about an hour. When we came back down on the other side, he was waiting for us. He didn't ask for anything extra for all the waiting.

However, after we got dropped off at the Sedona Hotel (to use the bathroom), we walked across the street to the puppet theatre to buy some puppets. Afterwards, the driver magically reappeared and approached us, complaining that he deserved money for taking us to the theatre, which he hadn't. (If he had dropped us off in front of the theatre, he would have gotten a 300 kyat commission from the theatre.) Of course, we did not agree to that. Again, frustrating, yes. Big deal, no. From his viewpoint, he could have earned a commission for him and his family, but it didn't work out in this case. There weren't many tourists, and he probably wouldn't have made any more money that night, so he got desperate and aggressive. It's a tough living.

We always exchanged money on the black market. Again, we'd ask around for the going rate, which varied daily and by city. We paid exclusively in kyat, the local currency. At times they'd quote a price in US dollar, but then we'd quickly switch to - and finish the bargaining - in kyat. Nobody ever forced us to pay in dollars.

Overall, I'd highly recommend Burma, despite the political situation. As recommended in Lonely Planet, it'll be difficult not to enrich the military junta once there, but at least you can try to spend your money as much as possible at locally-owned guest houses, restaurants and shops.