Visa/Crossing the border
Visa
Since 1996, you can now get a visa of 4
weeks.You can get your visa by mail or you can pick it up personally at
the following embassy addresses:
- France: 60, Rue de Courcelles
75008 Paris Tel.: 42.25.56.95 Visa: 150 FRF cash and 2 photographs, at
the Paris embassy. Delivered in less than one week. CAUTION: it is
mandatory to enter in Myanmar the month following the issue of the
visa. Once entered, you are entitled to 28 days.
- Germany: 56 Zimmerstrasse, 10117 Berlin. Phone: 030-2061570.
You
can also get your visa within 48 hours in the Myanmar embassies in the
following cities: Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, Jakarta, New Delhi,
Singapore...
If you don't have an embassy in your country, it's pretty straightforward to get it by mail:
1) First contact the embassy and ask them to send or fax the necessary forms.
2) Fill them in and send them back together with
- your travel passport
- 1 arrival form
- 2 application forms for tourist visa
- 3 passport photo's attached to the forms
- Visa fee is 40 DM, preferably cash, otherwise you need to add costs of bank transfer.
- Self addressed envelope with stamps or else an extra 15 DM to cover these costs.
If
you are living in the Netherlands and want to apply for a visa
forMyanmar, you can get one in the Netherlands and don't have to write
or phone to the embassy of Myanmar in Paris.
The address of
the Consulate General of Myanmar in the Netherlands is: 59 Baronielaan,
4818 PC Breda. Phone number is: 076-5209054. Fax: 076-5209270. They
require a passport (valid for 6 months), 2 application forms, 2
passport photos, 80 Dutch guilders and a self-addressed return envelope
with stamps or postage for registered letter. The tourist visa is valid
for a period of maximum 3 months as of the date of issue. The visa
gives you a maximum stay of 4 weeks. The whole procedure takes about 3
days after receipt of the application forms.
Entering the country
By air
When entering the country, it takes a while to pass customs
First you get your entry stamp after you've given 1 application form. Then you receive a tourist card.
Then
a dozen of government officials lead you to a counter where everyone
has to change 200 US$ in FEC (9/2000). Other currencies like UK£, DM,
French francs and others are equally accepted, and they also accept TC
and VISA card (5ù commission). When we were there, it was impossible to
escape from this procedure. You could try to use these tricks to avoid
paying the 200 US$ nowadays (however, remember that for some things you
need the FEC's anyway):
- You might try and argue to change only 200 US$ for the two if you if you only stay for 2 weeks.
-
You don't have to change FEC's when you are with an organised tour
which uses a local agency like Doves Travels or Myanmar travels. In
that case however, you will have to take their car and guide.
- I
read 1 report of someone who booked a very expensive hotel in Yangoon
and got a confirmation letter from them. He then applied with this
letter for an EVT visa which was granted. This visa exempted him from
the 200 US$ change. He subsequently cancelled his reservation.
- You
could apply for a business visa if you find a company willing to
provide you a letter stating you go to Myanmar to explore business
opportunities. The visa will be more expensive.
- You simply ask to change less and give them a "gift".
-
One report said "Apparently, it seems relatively easy to get less,
bribing with 5 or 10 $ the person who shows the window to wait (it will
give the instruction to the counter clerk) (6/2000).
Afterwards,
you pick up your luggage and you pass through another checkpoint. Here
they'll check your luggage. You have to declare everything of value
like camera etc... They then give you a form which is pinned in your
passport.
Over land
It is not possible to
enter Myanmar from Thailand for more then 1 day (at least not for
non-Thai citizens). You can enter for 1 day but you have to stay in the
border town and return the same day. However, this a perfect way to get
an exit stamp from Thailand, and then come back again and you'll get a
new 30-day visa, f.i. in Taichilek. Other options are Muse and
Kawthoung. This procedure will cost you 5 US$ (11/98).
By boat
It
is possible to enter Myanmar for 1 day by boat from Thailand over
Kawthoung. There's even a guesthouse in Phuket (Jimmy's Light House)
which organises tours to do this.
Getting out of the country
The international departure tax is 10 US$ (2/99).
Getting into town
Taxi's into the center only cost between 1 and 3 US$ for the 25 km ride.
Permits
The military junta (SLORC) controls the country with an iron fist, so a lot of places are off limits to foreigners.
In
the tourist triangle of Yangoon-Mandalay-Inle Lake-Bagan you don't need
a permit. Also Pathein, Ngapali beach and even Mrauk U can be visited
without permit (though sometimes only if you take a plane).
It's
difficult to give firm guidelines here, since they change almost every
day, so you need to check for the latest developments at the MTT
(Myanmar Travel & Tours) office (01/78376) right beside Sule Paya
at the intersection of Sule Road and Mahabandoola St. It is run by the
government, and they sell you only the expensive tours, but you can get
your info and permits here.
At the tourist places, you have to pay a government tax. This can be in temples, ruins or even in a city.
Money matters
There are 3 currencies in Myanmar:
- KYAT is the national currency
-
FEC is the currency installed by the government to "help you to get rid
of your US$". The locals can have them too. 1 FEC = 1 US$.
- US$:
Officially you're supposed to change all your US$ in FEC's first.
However, the 300 FEC's you've gotten at the airport should suffice, and
you can then change your US$ on the black market into Kyats.
If
you change money at the bank, you will get 6 Kyats for 1 FEC, however
at the black market you will get 350 to 380 Kyat for 1 FEC (8/2000)!!!
Use your 300 FEC's as much as possible for the official things like airtickets, long busrides, airporttax, hotels etc...
TC's are not generally accepted, unless you change them into FEC's.
It's
almost impossible to get cash advances with your creditcard. You can
pay airline tickets and expensive hotels with them. Note that Mastercard is no longer accepted since they've withdrawn from the country.
It's
very easy to change money on the black market. Everyone will offer you
to change. Best places are hotels, restaurants and shops.
Hotels
Since tourism has dropped a bit, prices of hotels have also dropped a bit.
You can roughly distinguish 3 types of hotels:
-
Top class hotels which you only find in Yangoon and Bagan, f.i. Trades
Hotel, The Strand Hotel... Prices go from 150 to 1000 US$ a night.
-
You'll find middle class hotels in the big cities. In the smaller
cities they are top class, and you can have them for 20 to 70 US$.
-
Budget hotels and guesthouses can be found everywhere. They are mostly
cheap, clean, friendly and safe with prices from 1 US$ to 15 US$.
Even
in the touristic places the budget hotels are very cheap. A room with
private bathroom, fan and even AC will cost no more then 6 US$ for a
double. This also includes breakfast.
Remember that the
government cuts down power supply every day for a couple of hours, so
your AC might not work for some time unless the hotel has its own
generator. Always have your torch or candlelight ready.
Hotels
can only accept tourists if they have a permit. The permit is usually
exposed behind the desk. Take care, because people can get in trouble
for giving you lodging without having a permit.
Prices of hotels in Yangoon are more expensive. A budget hotel costs around 10 to 16 US$ for a double (10/98).
Here
are some examples of hotels we stayed in (prices for a double room
10/98 including breakfast, rooms have private bathroom, fan and
sometimes AC):
- Yangoon White House Hotel 14 US$
- Yangoon Beautyland Hotel 12 US$ (www.myanmar.com/beauty)
- Mandalay ET hotel 10 US$
- Mandalay Royal guesthouse 6 US$
- Nyaungshwe Great Star Hotel 4 US$
- Bagan Eden Hotel 4 US$
- Pyay Hotel Myatt 8 US$
- Bago Hotel Emperior 10 US$
Safety
For the tourist
The people in Myanmar are
extremely friendly and polite. So for the tourist, it is a very safe
country. Robberies and thefts are extremely uncommon. But like always,
use your common sense and take care of your valuables in crowded places
and don't expose your wealth when changing money.
Take care when
you want to talk about politics. not for yourself, but the people you
talk to can get in trouble. They will give you a sign when it's safe
for them to talk about it.
For the people of Myanmar
The
SLORC controls the country with an iron fist. Even today a lot of
people are forced to work for the government. Human rights are violated
constantly, so don't bring people into trouble by not paying taxes,
talking politics, crossing borders without permit...
Medical matters
The info you find here was provided by the Belgian Tropical Institute
Malaria
Myanmar
is a C area according to the WHO. This means that Lariam is the drug of
choice. However, if you plan to go to the Thai-Burmese border, there's
resistance against Lariam of up to 50%. If you spend a lot of your time
there, you might consider to take Doxycycline.
For more info on side effects of Lariam and Doxy, have a look at the "Medical Matters" section of this site.
Hepatitis A
If
you travel with a backpack and don't mind eating in cheap restaurants,
it's easy to catch Hepatitis A. Chances of getting infected range from
1/300 to 1/50 per month depending on your standard of travelling. It's
not dangerous, but you will be sick for some weeks.
There is a
good vaccination for Hepatitis A nowadays, so ask your doctor. You need
2 shots (used to be 3 shots) at 0 and 6 months, although if you can
it's even better to postpone the second shot till after 12 months. They
are expensive, but they protect you for 10 years.
Hepatitis B
You
can only get this through sex and blood transfusion. Since prevalence
of Hepatitis B is much higher in SE Asia then in the Western world, it
might be wise to get vaccinated.
Get your shots at 0, 1 and 6 months. They are equally expensive as hepatitis A.
Typhoid fever
There
is also a good vaccination consisting of 3 pills to be taken every 2
days. Take them early enough before you leave since it's better not to
combine them with malaria pills, although these guidelines have
recently changed (meaning you can combine them). The vaccination works
for 3 years.
Travellers diarrhea
We
always have antibiotics at hand in case of diarrhea. We take Ciproxine
250 mg two tablets at once and then another 3 tablets, one tablet every
12 hours.
Weather
Best time to travel to Myanmar is the dry season from November till
February, with December probably being the best. March and April are
dry but very hot. It's not adviseable to go during the monsoon season.
It rains heavily several times a day and the sky is grey.If you want to
know what the weather will be in Myanmar for the next 4 days, go to the
CNN page and click on the city you want to go to http://www.cnn.com/WEATHER/cities/asiapcf.html
What to take
Here are some items you best bring with you for your visit:
- Tampons
- Sleeping sheet
- Mosquito net
- Sun protection
- Medication
- Flashlight
- Products for lenses
- A good book on Bouddhism
Going or not ?
I don't want to get involved in the discussion to either visit or
boycot the country. I think everybody should read about the country and
then decide for himself.
However, there are some things worth mentionning:
- You can spend as much money as possible with the local people and not with the government owned businesses.
- The people of Myanmar are very happy to see you so they know they are not isolated and they get information.
- Don't take a package tour, go on your own !!!
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