Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Myanmar (Burma) (Country Guide)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

OK, ignoring all the strange hype and anti-hype over going to Myanmar (my in-laws live there), this is a good book. I purchased it as my sole guidebook. Although some of my local guides had a few words of disparagement for some of the restaurant recommendations (they said they were years out of date), it was otherwise a useful tool. If you are going to Burma, buy this book. Really, you'll find it handy.

As for supporting the regime with tourist dollars, don't be silly. They get all the support they need from China - they don't need your money. Staying home in a snit won't change a single thing that happens for the better. And it may make things worse.

There is no other guide which comes close to being as useful for visiting Burma, either as a first-time tourist or an veteran traveller. Its overall descriptions, information on transport, reviews of hotels etc are all generally reliable and up-to-date. The accounts of restarants in Rangoon however is probably somewhat dated, as the restaurant scene in Rangoon changes quickly and there are many new restaurants today (more than a year and half since publication) which are not mentioned.

I would recommend reading The River of Lost Footsteps by Thant Myint-U for an excellent and entertaining history of the country, either before going or during your trip. The LP Myanmar and The River of Lost Footsteps are the only two books you'll need.

Since there are next to no other guides to Myanmar, this one is the best! I appreciated the helpful guidance in thinking through the issue of whether to go and hence support the government--so we could go in good conscience. After reading about the reasonable and clean hotels where we could stay, I booked tickets for us to go. Personally I prefer double references, so using both this book and the forums confirmed my choices. Wouldn't go to Burma without it.

This guide is a great update to the older editions. Having lived in Myanmar and visited several times, I believe this book is truly an updated guide with newer reviews of many places, not just a rehashed version of older reviews. For example, one hotel I often stayed at received rather poor reviews in an older edition, but was a superb place for information and the staff was extremely friendly and helpful. The current guide accurately reflects the true nature of this hotel.

The guide also goes the extra mile to provide you with needed information to travel in country. For example, in taking the bus from Myiktyina to Bhamo it not only gives you the contact information and the cost, but reminds you to bring five copies of your passport for the checkpoints.

Overall a superb update!

This is about the best book available on Myanmar that I know of. I used it extensively.

Problems include the hotels in Yangon that are listed. There are several that are very nice and about $30. US that are not listed.

There's a brand new airport in Yangon and new capitol city. Both are missing as far as I can tell.

Like all travel books, it's outdated when it comes off the press. It is quite good overall however.

An excellent book and take the advice. Myanmar is a cash-only society. You cannot use credit cards anywhere and there are not any ATM's anywhere in the country. Also, your currency must be new and without folds or marks.
The book's advice on Yangon was wonderful!

This review is for the 2009 edition of LP Myanmar (Burma). I traveled around Myanmar in December 2011. I note as I write that LP is about to publish an updated guide for 2012.

CHANGING MYANMAR

Myanmar is changing quickly with what appears to be a less iron-fisted ruling approach than past years. Hillary Clinton visited in December 2011, and met with "The Lady" (Aung Sun Suu Kyi). There is wide-spread hope / belief that "The Lady" will be able to run for the top office in 2015 and allowed to run without interference from the military junta. People are putting up pictures of "The Lady" and even her father without recrimination from the current government.

As such, the LP discussion about whether you should go (vs boycotting) is perhaps out of date. It was written shortly after repression in 2007, in which the junta injured or killed monks and other peaceful demonstrators (see wikipedia for the whole story), and reflects suspicion appropriate to that event. To some extent, this appears to have changed with the new executive appointed in 2010. Still, the current government was not democratically elected, so everyone should be wary.

In principle, tourists have little to fear from the current government, so long as there is no suspicion that you are a journalist. I carried three cameras and other equipment with no problems. Indeed, the government requires more income, and is exploiting tourist fees (get used to it) as a means of getting it.

ABOUT CURRENCY AND EXCHANGE RATES

The book says this, but I will re-state because it is crucial: currently, there are no ATMs, and nobody will take credit cards. You must bring US dollars or Euros in brand-new, unwrinkled, unmarked condition, and change money to local when you get there. Most hotels and government fees require US dollars (not local currency). The currency exchange at the airport is said to offer a good rate. You can also search for the going rate for trading currency at Bogyoke Market, Yangon. Read up on scams related to changing money, which mainly occur outside of Bogyoke Market.

This edition of LP Myanmar was published in 2009, and the exchange rate was around 1200 kyatt to the US dollar. When I was there, the best rate I could get was 770 kyatt / dollar. Accordingly, one could expect US dollar prices at hotels to go up 56% compared to what LP lists. At Teakwood Guest House in Nguangsche (Inle Lake area), Mrs. Tin raised her rooms in the new wing from $15-20 (as listed in LP) to $35-50. Personally, I think she is way above market rates and is not a good value at these prices (see my review on tripadvisor for more details).

MORE ABOUT LONELY PLANET MYANMAR 2009

The book is well-written and offers a lot of practical advice for visiting this interesting country. There is ample description of the most common places to visit (Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay, Inle Lake) as well as of many places off the beaten track. It also discusses areas closed to tourists, and certain restrictions such as being able to visit Taichilek only from the Thailand border, and the inability of tourists to otherwise enter or exit at this border.

However, being written almost 3 years ago, and given the change I think is going on, you have to read the book with the understanding that the facts, advice, and especially prices are changing, too. Meanwhile, it is one of the best guides in English available today. I just noticed that Amazon lists a new edition to be published early in 2012.

I was surprised at the amount of information LP provided on how to avoid paying gov fees for visiting tourist sites, etc, such as by sneaking in via off-beat entrances where the fee-paid ticket is not checked. This is justified by way of saying that the current government should not be financially supported, which I find questionable, especially today. I think tourists should avoid trouble by being honest, and if financing the government is a concern, don't go, because sometimes it is unavoidable.

Meanwhile, the LP Myanmar book is a great starting point and is worth bringing with you. I recommend considerable research on the current state of affairs for anywhere you want to go. Keep up with the news, learn the history (like on wikipedia), read lots of reviews for hotels and restaurants, find out about currency rates, etc. You cannot expect ANY book to be as up-to-date as Internet reports, so be sure to do additional research.

Myanmar is somewhat more challenging to visit than other southeast Asian countries at present, yet there is ample tourist infrastructure, including reasonably-priced airlines with good safety records to save time compared to buses or trains. Airlines can be delayed substantially, and certain precautions should be used. For example, do not assume that you can fly back to Yangon and then make a departure flight from Myanmar on the same day: better to schedule these for two consecutive days.

INTERNET IN MYANMAR

Today, the Internet is still painfully slow. I heard somewhere that the government restricts it to 256 kbps. Also, resolving Web site addresses (via DNS) takes time, some times a LOT of time. Internet was available in Yangon and Mandalay, a little around Inle Lake, but not commonly available in Bagan.

Hotels that offer Internet generally have weak infrastructure. Wifi will come and go. In one hotel, it only worked if I sat on a specific spot of my bed. I noted that my hotel in Mandalay had working Internet on the cable-based computer you have to pay for, but their wifi was not working; they blamed the wifi not working on the government, which is obviously bogus.

The new government has reduced the number of blocked sites in Myanmar. I was astonished to discover that Facebook access was allowed, for example, but equally surprised that various innocent-seeming sites were blocked.

CONCLUSION

Myanmar is more open than it has been in years, and was certainly a safe place to visit during my recent visit. I believe it will continue to move in an opening direction. There are many tourists visiting Myanmar now (especially: Europeans and Canadians) and the locals say that they are seeing more Americans and Brits than before as well.

I have been to Burma several times and I know the people I have talked to appreciate my going and communicating their concerns to the world. I believe I can say, with all appropriate humility, that I have been involved with Burma far more than the other reviewers here and am even married to a relative of a member of parliament from the NLD, Aung San Suu Kyi's party.

Having said that, the decision on whether to travel or not is not all black and white. Yes, some of the money may go to the government, but much more will go toward helping the people and sustaining local economies. Only people who haven't been there can possibly believe that spending any money in the country is evil. I think many reasonable people in Burma, including prominent democracy activists I have met, are sick and tired of the ban. If you really care about Burma, help with the effort to get it on the UN Security Council agenda, but also visit so you can learn about the people, help their livelihoods, and give them hope.

By the way, the guidebook itself is pretty useful. I usually go to Burma with people that know the country, but when I've needed it, the maps have been accurate and most locations are as well.

We recently visited Myanmar, and used the Lonely Planet guide extensively to research our trip, and while there to help us get around. It is by far the best English language guide for Burma we could find, and was extremely detailed and helpful. Using Lonely Planet certainly enhanced this travel experience.

This book contains everything you need to know about Burma: History, culture, sights plus a comprehensive "Should you go?" chapter. The only negative thing about the book is that it was too few pictures in it, making the book a bit boring. But still, I will highly recommend it for tourists and others going to Burma. And this book also get a star for being very up to date.