Oh did you? You must do that alot then...

:D

Actually I do, though sometimes its not because of local regulations. My phone wouldnt have worked in Japan ! and some phones wouldnt work in the US. And phone calls are so expensive in Cambodia I rather leave them at home ! Have you actually been travelling ?

AFAIK they would keep your phone till you leave the country. I dont see the big deal since I wont be able to use it anyway, and in anycase I was using fixed line phones there. It might also interest you that they dont photograph and finger print you when you enter the country.

I dont think credit card actually works in Burma. What they do at certain larger establishments is that they actually charge your card through their associates in SIN or BKK. I believe the company managing the Strand is headquartered in SIN.

Do let me know if your experience indicate otherwise.

I think you are right actually. I did not stay in the Strand but I had a couple of drinks in the bar and I do remember those signs with Visa and Amex pictures at reception desk. Also pricewise, I wouldn't think Strand patrons would carry stacks of banknotes around (and you need a lot of those as the room rates level at about $200/night at least, if my memory still works). I guess they connect somehow via telephone line to a creditcard terminal in Singapore and it works for everyone's satisfaction:)

I love that^ :D What they did instead (in Burma of course:) ) on arrival immigration - they kindly invited me to go through passport control to the loos (as I was bursting, sorry for details) on the landside of terminal and they processed my passport and visa paperwork meantime. I returned in a minute, they were smiling and said "We hope you feel better now, welcome to our country!". ^ ^

(Sorry to re-hijack this thread lol)

Thanks for the information. I have actually reshuffled my plans around and will be doing 2 days in each of Yangon, Mandalay and Bagan. I have sent a request off to Radiant Tours to book the flights.

MD

This wasn't my experience. I declared my mobile phone (and my laptop, etc.). The Customs official said is was ok. I didn't have to register anything or show on departure, either. I didn't bother trying to get a SIM.

Does anyone have experience in geting a Myanmar visa in BKK? How long does it take and how much does it cost? Thanks.

Anyone have an answer to this?

Also, if flying UA to SE Asia (SIN, SGN or BKK), is BKK the best jumping off point for Myanmar? Best carrier to get one there? The sort of place one is best advised to have advanced booking for hotels, or OK to get there and ad lib on hotels and domestic travel? January an OK time of year to go?

JUST returned. I flew out of BKK. I used an intra Asia award on Thai using UA miles. It was only 20,000 miles RT. Thai has several flights from BKK to RGN daily. If you are paying for the tickets, Thai is rather expensive. Jet Asia is much cheaper. The way tourism is now it should be ok to wait until you get there to book hotels. However, a local agent can often get better deals. At this time some of the domestic flights have been cut back. We were there in middle of Nov. and most of the domestic flights on Yangon Air were pretty well full. January will probably be ideal time to travel. I used a private tour guide who booked all my hotels, flights, transportation and went with me. He handled checking into hotels, immigration at four domestic airports, and my money exchange. He travelled with me and his price was much lower than I was quoted from tour agencies which did not include private guide throughout. His name is MR. YE. He can be reached at [email protected]. He will give you a quote, no obligation. You can also get much valuable info from Lonely Planet Thorntree Myanmar branch. If I can answer more questions, ask away by PM or in this thread. Larry

We are goin to Burma for Xmas and NY for a couple of weeks.

I travelled all over 2 years back and a nice country.

Forget the politics. It is more dangerous to cross any western street than any danger you'll be in there.

The USA is FAR more oppressive than Burma in many ways if you really think on it. @:-)

Watching that dangerous froot loop Bush frothing at the mouth about Iran this week, when even the US spook agencies all agree they are not making nuclear weapons, and have not tried for years, makes me wonder why any Americans criticise anyone else's paranoia. :)

I've travelled to well lover 100 countries and there are far more dodgy places than Burma

Anyone know if visas on arrival are happening there yet?

I am once again using one guide to take us around the entire country.

He speaks absolutely PERFECT English, and is for Burma very politically INCORRECT so is a good guy to spend time with.

Not typing his name here to protect him, but email me if you need a contact.

Booking via him wil save you a lot of money over US or Europe agent.

response to OT Omni digressions
 

I am very interested in travel perspectives on Burma/Myanmar, since considering a visit. And don't want to turn this thread into an OMNI-type one. But do want to respond to the OMNI parts below:

You can't possibly believe that citizens of Burma/Myanmar live freer lives under a less oppressive government than do the citizens of the United States under the government they have. The notion is beyond silly, it is absurd.

"...when even the US spook agencies all agree that they (Iran) are not making nuclear weapons, and have not tried for years..." That is at best a very misleading summary.

The IAEA, no US puppet, breaks nuclear weaponization down into three (3) component parts. The first is work to obtain the fissible material needed for a nuclear weapon. It is undisputed that for quite some time and even as we speak now, Iran has had those centrifuges spinning to enrich uranium. They say the enriched uranium will only be used for the peaceful purposes, but that same enriched uranium is the stuff of atomic bombs. The third part is work on the systems to deliver nuclear weapons to their intended targets. It is beyond dispute that Iran has missiles with sufficient range and precision to hit those targets. Moreover, Iran has been anything but subtle in identifying Israel as a candidate target for their missiles. That leaves for consideration only the second part, which is work to develop and perfect the necessary bomb mechanisms. The NIE report which was declassified concluded that Iran had been working on development of a bomb, but stopped working on that perhaps four (4) years ago. There is no reason that they can't start up again whenever they chose or that they won't.

Anyone who is very sanguine about Iran as a possible possessor of nuclear weapons does not comprehend the issue. Concerns about Burma/Myanmar are of a very different sort.