Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Myanmar Burma: Travel Survival Kit

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I like this guide book and look forward to the upcoming revised edition. I disagree with the review below that this guide is "highly derivative". That review is "highly suspect" anyway since it comes anonymously from the author of a competing Burma guidebook.

This book was published in 1996 and many things in Burma have changed since then. Though, it is a very good text for finding upscale hotels and eating establishments, backpackers will be very upset with the outdated cheap hotels and locations for buses. On the other hand this is the best lonely planet that I have seen regarding cultural sites. The drawings and descriptions of Bagan are a real plus if you ignore the sarcastic undertones of the writing. Also, this was my first lonely planet that starting falling apart with a week of normal "travelling" use. I don't think that there is a better guide book to Burma on the market. So you will probably be stuck buying this book and asking the locals a lot of questions when you are in Burma. Luckly the Burmese are very friendly and helpful!!!

Having just returned from a month in Myanmar with an LP guide others may find the following comments useful. The prices are woefully out of date. The main tourist centres are covered well but elsewhere the writers must have ran through in a hurry- how did they miss George Orwell's house in Thandwe?

All the pages of chatter about FEC's only confuses everybody, pay US$200 per person and you can use them in hotels licensed for foreigners- not a big deal if you are there for a couple of weeks. If you a really on a budget the airport FEC desk might let you pay for only one person if you are a couple in return for a monetary present.

I thought that this was probably one of the least useful LP guides.

Generally I am a fan of the Lonely Planet series and I have bought a guide for every destination I have visited in the past few years. This book really disapointed me, mainly because it is so out of date by now. It is PAST time for a new edition (and the update available on lonelyplanet.com is scant at best). Of course with some guidebook companies refusing to write a Myanmar guide because of the political situation, what alternative do travellers really have? Nearly everyone we met on our November 2001 trip was carrying this guide, and everyone complained about it. So what to do? Go to the Internet! Although I cannot list the URLs here, I found several recent travelogues on Myanmar that were extremely helpful.

We often followed the LP's restaurant tips and found the food at these establishments barely edible. Remember LP's disclaimer "prices go up, good places go bad..."? Well, apparently many of these places have gone bad in the past 3 years since this edition was written. So, I will send my comments to LP and await the next edition. Until then, take what you read in this book with a grain of salt, and do your Internet research before you go. Happy travels.

This book was useful to me in Myanmar. Joe Cummings is very insightful, and I enjoy his guidebooks (also Thailand and Laos). It's very easy to travel in Myanmar, so you barely need a guidebook. But I met a couple who were traveling without one, and without any other prior knowledge evidently. It seemed to me that they missed a lot, they had no idea what they were seeing, or what people were talking to them about.

Some of the maps aren't exactly accurate, unfortunately. But they're good enough.

Some people hesitate to visit Myanmar because Aung San Suu Kyi has asked people not to support the current government. Actually, visiting Burma helps people a lot, financially and politically. The government is sensitive to foreign opinions. Further, many industries (such as hotels, bus companies and two airlines) have been privatised, so you don't have to support the government at all. But you can get locals in trouble, so keep that in mind if you're used to countries with nearly free-speech.

I think Bago is very under-rated by this guidebook. Spend a day exploring the city with a English speaking guide, and another day visiting the Golden Rock Pagoda on Mt. Kyiaktiyo. These were my two best days in Myanmar. Also, eat from the street stalls; the food is better and it's more fun. Do your best to attend at Nat-Pwe, usually they have one somewhere every week-end. Visit the smaller, more peaceful pagodas in Bagan. Get used to long, punishing, brutal bus rides. And have a great time in a beautiful, hospital, wonderful country!

When the 7th edition of this book was published it caused quite some controversy. Many people and organizations believed that the "World" should follow Aung San Suu Kyi's recomendation to keep the country totally isolated in order to maximize the pressure on the Junta.

The LP editors differ with her in opinion and explain why. This section should be read thoroughly as a visit to Burma does in my view indeed merit some careful consideration of the morals involved ( there is no wrong and right here). I do agree, however, with the authors and indeed with quite a few Burmese people I spoke to on my recent travels, that the isolationism is not helping the NLD very much and, on the contrary, provides a good platform for the Junta to keep all Western influence out. In particular the withdrawal of all Western companies has provided the Junta with a goldmine of concessions for simple things like cigarettes and soft drinks.

Having said all this, Myanmar is one of the most fascinating countries ( if not THE most fascinating) in South East Asia.

Whether you visit Yangoon with it's old English influence and it's melting pot of Burmese and Indian People or the country side, it does not cease to amaze in it's difference from what we are used to. Without wanting to downplay the poverty, the simplicity and deep religion of daily life makes one reflect on his own ambitions.

A visit to Mandelay is like going back a century. You will find yourself on a horse-cart on sandy roads, with old pagoda's everywhere and groups of monks and nuns ( from the age of four and onewards) flocking the roads.

The beauty of the sites is prolifiral, reflecting the deep rooted tradition of the Burmese to worship their gods and there forebears. They are too many to mention all, but one stands out; the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangoon. With it's 98 meter high golden dome this 2500 years old stupa is a world treasure in line with the Taj Mahal and Angkor Wat.

The LP book is a necessity to have with you. It gives you compact information on this variety of beauties and, as stipulated before, it does not stun to take a view on the less esoteric political situation.

The information provided is generally correct, with the exception of course of the prices. Lodging is in reality much cheaper than the official rack rates which the LP guide has and a little negotiation will help you a long way. The LP guide does, however, point you to the right places to stay. By the way, consider, if you can afford, to stay at the top end for service and safety reasons. In Yangoon you get an excellent hotel for $ 60 per room.

The debate whether to go or not will continue until the Junta is replaced by a mure human regime. If you decide to go, however, make sure you have this guide with you.

Nothing special may need to be said about this guidebook, which meets the expected Lonely Planet standard: it's excellent. But one word of warning does need to be added regarding its advice: whilts in Burma, do NOT attempt to go and visit the home of Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, or the premises of her party (the NLD, National League of Democracy). This will result in you being on a blacklist, and possibly being deported - as happened to myself ! So, be careful !

I found this book highly derivative & unoriginal & would not recommend it to anyone.

The authors seem to have a guilty conscience about to writing this book and spend way too much time rationalizing their decision. They also compensate by peppering the book with cynical remarks. That's too bad because it diminish the pleasure of reading this otherwise well written and useful guide.

This book contains a succinct history or Myanmar, aspects of Thieved Buddhism, and Burmese culture. It also contains a great section on the Temples of Bagan, describing the architecture and history of the temples. In Bagan, you would need to buy a local map to get around but have this book handy.

In addition the book gives an excellent introduction to the History of Thieved Buddhism in Burma, and Burmese culture.

Yangoon Maps are difficult to follow as they span several pages. The restaurant recommendations are poor and the hotel selection is out of date.

Despite the cynicism sprinkled all over the book and some shortcomings I found it to be handy. You should take it with you on your trip.

Before I visited Myanmar/Burma last year, I read all of the available guides to the country (Odyssey, Bradt, Insight, Footprint, Lonely Planet). LP provides the most complete and accurate coverage, by far, with Footprint a distant second. The authors have obviously spent many months travelling all over the country, and perhaps years studying the related literature/news archives. The well-researched historical and political information enabled me to travel in Myanmar in an informed manner. I was amazed by how many Burmese -- even in relatively remote places like Hsipaw -- were familiar with the LP guidebook, which they say is the only guide that accurately represents Myanmar's current political situation. High compliment indeed.