Anyone been? any suggestions?? Bagan? Yangon?

I went on an 8-day tour in Feb/06, visited Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake. Personally I think Yangon, Bagan and Inle Lake are all worth visiting. There's the famous Shwedagon Pagoda and old colonial buildings in Yangon, so the capital is worthwhile for a quick stopover. IMHO Bagan is a must-see because the city itself is a vast archaeological site with thousands of temples. Go to Bagan and you'll have a better understanding of the religious culture of the Burmese. I also recommend visiting the Popa Mountain Resort, a scenic 2-hour drive from Bagan. The view from the mountain top is quite "fairy-tale like". Inle Lake is simply idyllic, with beautiful scenery and wonderful people.

Based on my experience, Myanmar is a very safe and clean country, its people friendly and honest. All the hotels I've stayed in are of high-quality with modern amenities (including air-con, hot water, bathroom vanities). Restaurants inside or outside of the hotels serve delicious Myanmar or Western dishes. ^

There's a lot of politically charged debate on whether to use a tour company or not when travelling in Myanmar. I used Diethelm Asia and found their service excellent. Using a good tour company allows me to enjoy the scenery, experience the culture and interact with the people more fully. Regardless of ideology, I highly recommend visiting Myanmar because it's a very worthwhile cultural experience.

i am also at the moment planning a trip to myanmar. i would prefer to stay in privately owned guesthouses which are still offering some amenities (aircon... i am not backpacking). i would like to avoid as much as possible to support the government owned hotel operations (rather support private people). no intend to start a political discussion, advice highly appreciated.

I may add Myanmar to an upcoming intinerary.

The best time to visit Myanmar is around the Oct-Nov timeframe. The rain season is just finished at this time of year and the greenery comes out, not too mention that it is easier to travel. Any other time of the year would be too hot or too wet. If you time it right in November, you can see the Tazaunding (Light) festival in Bagan. Thousands of Burmese congregates in Bagan for 3-4 days to light up the temples at night.

The obvious choices for Myanmar is Yangoon, Mandalay, Inle Lake and Bagan. Bagan is a must, if you go to Myanmar without seeing Bagan is like going to Egypt without seeing the pyramids. You will be kicking yourself for years to come. The best route from Mandalay to Bagan is the opendeck of the slow ferry. Enjoy the daily life view on the Ayeyarwaddy river view and relax yourself for a day.

Private guesthouses are almost impossible since there are rules against such option or at least in the big center. Some one may host you but you may put yourself and your host in a difficult situation with the government.

Internet access are mostly restricted. Yahoo, MSN, Gmail and all the big name email account are block. Contrary to report, you can bring in and out a laptop without a problem.

The only highend (if you can say that) hotel property is in Yangoon, the rest of the accomodations in Myanmar are clean but spartan.

Some pictures to wet your appetites here Myanmar and a few more pics

In Mandalay one could stay at The Sedona Hotel which is quite nice and is comparable to an international 4 star hotel.

aaac, thank you very much for your comment. it goes inline with what i found researching the web... did you use a tour operator or did you go on your own? do you have a hotel recommendation for bagan? any comment about bringing cellphones to myanmar (i've read you're not allowed to)?

When I was there in Feb/06, cellphones could be brought in. I declared the cellphone and Customs did not inspect or prohibit it. However, my cellphone (and yours) will not work in Myanmar. They have their own system and it costs the locals $$$ to get a SIM card.

thx for this update!

It was not exactly a tour but we did have a local that arrange things for us there. A friend who has lived in Burma in the old time book the flights and hotel for us. This is what he wrote to me at the time

Hotels:
In Yangon, the City Star hotel
(http://www.myanmars.net/citystar). Rooms are $20
(standard/single) to $30 (superior/double) a night.
I've stayed here and can recommend it. They do airport
pickup, have 24-hour electricity (not to be taken for
granted in Burma), aircon, a fair enough restaurant,
and a central city location.

In Mandalay, I stayed before at ET Hotel. Located a
few blocks from Mandalay Fort. About $7 a night for a
room with aircon. When it works, that is. Electricity
is rationed - sometimes it's on, sometimes not. For a
hotel with 24-hour electrics, you're looking at $20-30
a night again.

In Bagan - plenty of comfortable guesthouses at under
$10 a night - I still have to find out which ones to
recommend. Electricity unreliable, so again if you
want electricity (including hot showers in the
morning), look at $20-30 a night.

+Internal travel:
Trains: I get confusing advice on this, even from the
same Yangon-based travel company. The most detailed
advice - but not necessarily accurate - is that there
are 2 trains a day from Yangon to Mandalay, both
departing late afternoon/early evening, and costing
$30 (the 5pm train) or $35 (the 6.30pm train). Or
there again, it might be $45 for an ordinary seat and
$50 for a compartment ticket. Or, as a travel company
in Bangkok said, check back in a couple of months
because nothing can be known so far in advance. Even
the Yangon-based company came round to the same point
of view: "One can book 3 days ahead before departure.
Actually pre-booking system is not materialized. Every
tourists normally buy tickets just 1 or 2 hours before
departure."

Buses: Cheap.

Air: Allow $100 for a one-way flight Mandalay-Yangon.
Schedules "are not yet materialised". Get back to you
on this. If we have enough ppl we can get a discount.
Safety: Myanmar Air is the govt owned airline and has
an apalling safety record, 8 crashes since 1989. Use
only the 2 private airlines, Yangon Air and Air
Mandalay.

+ Other:
Food is cheap. What else is there?

Bring cash. It's a cash-based society, credit card acceptance is rare, and ATM don't exist. Most larger purchases (hotel, airfare, entry fees, etc.) will be in USD so don't change too much. When you do, use the black market and use some common sense.

thx again for taking the time to update.
i've also learned that one should take the time and carefully count the money exchanged as the amount of local notes is huge and this is sometimes used to betray. also learned not to take the national airline, only the foreign ones.