Getting Around Burma

Effective 26 April 2012, guests that require visa to enter Myanmar can get their E-Visa in 4 easy steps.

Step 1 :
Go to http://www.myanmarevisa.gov.mm and fill out the secure online application form

Step 2 :
Confirm and pay with your credit/debit card

Step 3 :
Receive your approval letter (within 5 working days)

Step 4 :
Receive your visa upon arrival in Myanmar

For more information, logon to www.myanmarevisa.gov.mm

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HORSE AND CARTWITH DRIVER
A few times in Burma I hired a horse and cart with a driver for the day and found it to be just really a great relaxing way to slowly get around..Seeing that I was'nt in a hurry this mode of transport suited me just fine. One thing I found hard to deal with sometimes was the most oppressive heat. This I found while out on my bicyle..riding in the cart was comfortable as it was covered and was most relaxing.There were cushions to relax and stretch your legs .
I always carried a plastic bag with me which I could put in my hat anthen pour water into it for the horse...There were a few days that I noticed that the horse was exceptionally thirsty and was not given water. Quite often they are left to stand in the one place for long periods of time. .so make sure to carry LOTS of water with you..Hiring these horses for the day can be arranged by your Hotel or hostel. .Sometimes you will also find them at the bus stations as well..They are cheap to hire and a different experience in transportation...to say the least.

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MYANMAR (BURMA)
I arrived in Yangon from Bangkok by an Air Asia flight. All further flights that I took within Myanmar were with the Burmese Airlines of Air Bagan and Yangon Airways. These airlines are controlled by the military Government and receive all their profits...Anyone flying within Burma must use one or both of the internal airlines. I found both of the airlines to be excellent as I used the both of them. They were efficient courteous, on time and just good airlines. I must say that I was very surprised and wouldnt hesitate to use them if/when I return to Burma.

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BURMA
Bicycle hire is definately the way to go.I always hired a bike when possible as I found that " day hire "was extremely cheap and affordable. Your Hotel manager can usually organise a bicycle for you and if he has none available will certainly find you one for hire close by. Like everything ,the price is negotiable and of course that will depend on your own bargaining skills. Walking long distances around the cities is rather testing also.Due to the extreme heat and humidity here in Burma its imperative to replace fluid losses with fresh bottled water. When hiring your bicycle also enquire about a local roadmap..so you can get back!!
DON'T forget your water
DON'T carry your handbag in the basket of the bicycle.!!.

i would recommend booking tickets on line, the price on line is about half of the published fare. depending upon the time, they can get booked. recently burma introduced visa on arrival and that has spurred a spurt in tourist arrivals.
there are lots of tips on burma/myanmar on VT and there are quite a few Myanmar Experts on VT.
If you can get hold of a book called From Myanmar with Love it is a compilation by one of the Vters of travellers stories and helpful hints.
Yangon has the best kept british colonial architecture and the burmese people without doubt are the most gentle of all asian people. also the land is a tribute to the living buddhism and almsot all people who visit Burma/Myanmar fall in love with the place.
good Luck and Enjoy Myanmar

The rules apparently have changed again. Now you can enter Burma again overland at either Kowthoung or Tachileik (and exit there too) but you need to get a special permit (aka a package tour-thingy) to do so. You can get permits (or info on them) by emailing to them. From Tachileik you have to fly on since the overland route is closed to foreigners and if you come form the south then either take a flight from there to Yangon or take the boat to Myeik (around $25 one way). After that you'll have to fly to Yangon with either Air Bagan or Air Mandalay. Both charge $87 dollars for a one-way ticket (all prices are from before the price rise of august 2007). If you want to do this trip overland you'll need a special permit which you need to apply for 2-3 weeks in advance. And you can never get the permit just by itself. It is always part of a package tour and therefore quite costly. The MTT people told me that it would start from around $500 for a 3 night/4 day trip incl. transport and lodgings but still that is a huge amount of money.

For info on the permits/package tours contact the ministry of Hotels and Tourism. mtt.mht@mptmail.net.mm

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These truck-buses run everywhere (much like the pick-up trucks). Again they seem more in the 'short range' business but I've been in buses like this for 5 hours and more (even once for about 13 hours when we went to Namhsan. In the back on bags of something. With 9 people occupying a tiny bit of space(don't get me started on that one)). A bus like this runs the Mandalay-Bagan route. Or from Mandalay to Monywa or Hsipaw. From Pathein to Chaungtha we were also in a bus like this (though these pictures I took in Yangon itself where they were running as city buses). In the bus from Pathein to Chaungtha we were seated somewhere in the front. The bus was so full that my boyfriend exited through the window. We also unloaded our luggage through there. Me, I didn't want to go through the window so I painstakingly made my way through the overcrowded bus. I Was midway when the window started to become very attractive as exit. But by that time the way back was as bad as following through with my exercise..

In many small communities the bullock cart is THE way to get around. Of course, nowadays you can also go by bullock cart for tourist purposes and these rides are offered at the known places like Mingun and Bagan (at least I've seen them there). For us it was a genuine cart, used by some villagers to bring us to the next place we wanted to go. Thankfully it wasn't too far because no matter how picturesque it looks, comfortable is quite different. It looks like the cart goes real smooth until you're actually sitting in one....