Lonely Planet Myanmar (Burma) (Lonely Planet Myanmar Burma: Travel Survival Kit) [Paperback]

Steven Martin (Author), MIC Looby (Author)

Book Description

Series: Lonely Planet Myanmar Burma: Travel Survival Kit | Publication Date: January 9, 2002

-- practical advice on spending to directly benefit the Burmese people
-- expanded coverage of Burmese culture and language
-- special sections on the country's highlights, including its many temples
-- details on areas only recently made accessible to travellers

Editorial Reviews

Review

As usual the guidebook standard is set by Lonely Planet

-- Outside

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; 8th edition (January 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1740591909
• ISBN-13: 978-1740591904
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #474,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Travel > Asia > Myanmar

More About the Author

Joe Cummings was born in New Orleans, and raised in California, France and Washington DC. In high school he developed a taste for rock guitar and subversive politics, playing in a succession of garage bands while publishing an underground newspaper. After he graduated from college, the Peace Corps granted his request to be posted to Thailand, where he served as an English lecturer at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology in Bang Mot, Thonburi. He later earned a master's degree in South Asian Civilization from the University of California at Berkeley, and was a scholar in residence at the East-West Center in Hawaii. His Thailand guide for Lonely Planet was the first guidebook to that country written in English since 1928. An instant success, it remains one of the bestselling guidebook ever published. He has authored over 35 other books, including coffeetable books, phrasebooks and travelogues. Joe has twice been honoured with the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Gold Award and is also a recipient of Mexico's Pluma de Plata (Silver Quill) for outstanding foreign journalism on Mexico. He never gave up the guitar, and continues to jam regularly at clubs in Thailand, where he makes his home.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential - but always be sure to get the latest edition., March 16, 2003

By 

Eran Cohen (Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonely Planet Myanmar (Burma) (Lonely Planet Myanmar Burma: Travel Survival Kit) (Paperback)

I don't know if or when any of you is going to find himself / herself in this particular area, but anyway here it is...

This is the latest edition (8th) that was released only about a year ago. Things really changed in this edition compared to its predecessor; more authors are involved and new and updated information is added (though many sections remain).

Important note: When it comes to Myanmar, things can change for better or worse overnight due to the nature of the ruling government, while some other things tend to stay the same. Especially here, pay close attention to all the small details given in the chapters "Facts for the visitor", "Getting there and away" and "Getting around" - they matter greatly.

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As a whole, the guide will be a valuable asset for you if you're planning on traveling there, and there is absolutely no doubt whether to buy it or not - it's an essential purchase. To a great extent it will help you plan your budget, your destinations, how to get there and when, what to bring and so forth.

You should know that there are some beautiful places to visit in the country. One of them, the Shwedagon Paya in Yangon, strikes me as one of the most beautiful man made structures in the world. Imagine a 100 meters high Stupa (Buddhist religious monument), all covered with golden leaves, set on top of a hill, in the center of smaller golden temples and Buddha statues. The sight was breathtaking and alone was worth coming. Another famous place, yet less astounding, is Bagan, the city of Stupas in the north. There you can find numerous Stupas some of which were built more than 1000 ago. And yes, almost in every city and town you will see at least one golden Stupa (that immensely contradict the poverty of the people) that give Myanmar the name "The Golden Land".

The tagline on the cover of this book is "should you go?" It is misleading due to the fact that the answer they give inside is "yes". If you want to go - go, the political status is not of your concern, you're a traveler not a world freedom fighter. You wouldn't help the local people by avoiding the country - they benefit from your staying there - and that is all that you should care about.

Nevertheless, the authors don't really prepare you for the level of poverty you're going to meet there (the same way another author hasn't done in the Cambodia book yet); this is one of the poorest countries in the world and that's why you should always be careful and never trust anybody - they're there for your money (mostly). I really don't like, after being around, the attitude of "the locals are so nice and we can learn so much from them"; some of them are really nice and helpful, but others are nice because you spend your money there and it's downright blatant. Expect it; don't fall for it and BE CAREFUL of forced and immediate friendliness. Remember that as a tourist you're regarded as very rich and compared to them you are.

I want to mention the fact that as a traveler and a guest you will receive the best services even in budget hotels - they treated my friend and me like royalty in each and every hotel, and that was something we really enjoyed and appreciated. It's the best service all over South East Asia, and it does say something about the people as a nation.

I hope their days of freedom will come soon. ...

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Hopelessly outdated and frequently just wrong, March 25, 2004

By 

Timo (Arlington, MA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lonely Planet Myanmar (Burma) (Lonely Planet Myanmar Burma: Travel Survival Kit) (Paperback)

I'm currently on a round the world trip. So I've read a lot of guidebooks. And this is the most outdated and frequently simply wrong guidebook I've come accross (I visited Myanmar in January 2004). Of course I realize that e.g. prices go up, service might go down, owners change etc.. But this guidebooks has almost been more miss then hit. I've been to guesthouses where the architecture of the place was so completely different from what the LP described that it's simply impossible that the author was there! On top of that there are tons of things where the LP is simply outdated to the point of being useless: In Yangon and Mandalay busses leave from different places then described, all of the country markets are open at different days etc. etc..
Btw: You can NOT cash travellers cheques or use your visa card in Myanmar and you do not have to change money into FEC any longer.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As good as it gets (under the circumstances), February 23, 2005

By 

Joshua Markman (Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonely Planet Myanmar (Burma) (Lonely Planet Myanmar Burma: Travel Survival Kit) (Paperback)

I toured Myanmar in January of 2005 using the 2002 edition. I discovered the new edition of 2004 too late. Still, the older version was quite serviceable--so good one hotel proprietor offered a substantial discount if I would leave the book with him when I left the country; he had never read so much information about his homeland before, and the book is unavailable in Burma(and a little seditious). I think some of the negative reviews above are a bit finicky. Any experienced tourist knows to check the internet just before his trip to get the latest on hotels, exchange rates and the like. No book can keep up with those protean details. You get a guidebook to guide you through the basics. Most of us go to places like Burma to see what has been there for 100s of years and not to find the latest in accomodations. Any hotel will have the information you need on further transportation. I would, however, like to see what Eyewitness does, one day, with Myanmar, but until then, any recent edition of LP is indispensible for touring the Golden Land.