Asia - Travel To Myanmar

 

Isolated and ostracised by the international community, the country is in the grip of tyrants. Most travellers avoid a visit, backing the boycott, but the long-suffering people are everything the regime is not. Gentle, humorous, engaging, considerate and inquisitive, they want to play a part in the world, and deserve a brighter future. Turn back the clock with a trip to this time-warped country where the adventure travel of old lives on. This is the authentic Asia with creaking buses, potholed roads, locals who greet you like long lost family and not a 7-Eleven in sight. Forget the internet for a moment and connect with a culture where holy men are more revered than rock stars and golden buddhas are bathed every day at first light – in Mandalay, the Mahamuni Paya houses a buddha re-covered in gold leaf daily. Drift down the Ayeyarwady in an old river steamer, stake out a slice of Ngapali Beach or Ngwe Saung on the blissful Bay of Bengal, trek through pine forests to minority villages around Kalaw – there are so many experiences awaiting in Myanmar that one trip is simply never enough. It’s a country that fuels your emotions, stimulates your senses and stays in your soul.

Best time to find the cheapest flights to Myanmar/Burma

The best time to visit Myanmar is between November and February. During these months it rains least (if at all in places) and it is not so hot. March to May brings intense heat. At this time, the daily temperatures in Yangon (Rangoon) often reach 40ºC (104ºF), while areas around Bagan and Mandalay go a few digits higher. The cool hill towns of Shan State offer relief from the heat, though.

The southwest monsoon starts between mid-May and mid-June, bringing frequent rains that dunk the country through till October, peaking from July to September. The dry zone (between Mandalay and Pyay) gets the least rain, though roads anywhere (and particularly in the delta region) can become impassable. Rakhaing State bears the full force of the rains – often exceeding 195in (495cm) of rain annually.

The lack of many services to Myanmar means discounted fares are hard to come by. Sometimes buying two tickets – one to Bangkok, and another to Yangon – ends up cheaper than a one-ticket fare to Yangon from your home country. If you have a little wiggle room in your itinerary, compare costs of flying return between Bangkok and Yangon (about $300 return, while a one-way ticket to Bangkok bought in Yangon is about $120). If your London–Yangon or New York–Yangon flight is more than that extra from a Bangkok ticket, you could book separate tickets and save. Sample fares to Yangon from London run from £650 (about £150 more than Bangkok), from New York $1600 (about $450 more than Bangkok).

A one-way ticket bought in Yangon for Singapore is about $300.

Once in Myanmar you can only buy international tickets from travel agents or airline offices in Yangon.

Myanmar/Burma Airports

All international flights arrive at Yangon (Rangoon) airport (RGN), except a lone Thursday flight from Chiang Mai (Thailand) to Mandalay airport (MDL). Both airports can land DC10s and 747s.

The most common route to Yangon is via Bangkok, though flights also connect Yangon with Calcutta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Kunming (China). Flights to Dhaka, Bangladesh and Hong Kong have been discontinued, but may resume at some point.

Visa/Passport requirements

If you’re arriving by air, and have your visa ready and valid passport in hand, you should have no trouble entering Myanmar. Arriving by land is not very practical. You can cross from Ruili (China) to Mu-se, but not leave that way. From Mae Sai (Thailand) you can cross to Tachileik, but can only go as far as Kengtung. Those in Thailand on a visa run can cross to Kawthoung but cannot venture farther into Myanmar. There is no way that foreigners can reach Myanmar by land or sea from Bangladesh, India or Laos. There is no requirement for you to show an onward ticket out of the country in order to enter Myanmar.

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