Myanmar Expectations

You might recognize the name Myanmar (pronounced me-an-mar, AKA Burma) as it has been in the news quite a lot recently because of Aung San Suu Kyi. Over the past few years there has been considerable changes and reform happening in the country. The military is slowly loosening its grip and the roots of democracy are supposedly taking hold, however frail they might be. For these reasons we have been wavering on whether to visit Myanmar or not. As we have traveled over the past few months we have ran into some travelers and talked to friends who have visited Myanmar and they have all said the same thing: “You have to go to Myanmar!”

In our research prior to deciding to go to Myanmar, we found out that the infrastructure in the country is poor and it is the least developed out of any of the South East Asian countries; traveling there is like going back in time.  A New Zealand couple we met in Vietnam mentioned how friendly everyone was and what a great experience they had. Wowed by all the wonderful stories, we decided that we must go to Myanmar before it changes too much.

As soon as our friend from LA, Justin, arrived in Bangkok we started to make plans. At 8:15 am we were at the Republic Of The Union Of Myanmar consulate in Bangkok to get our same-day visas (1260 Baht or 40USD) and we bought our plane tickets to Yangon, the largest city of Myanmar and the major port of entry into the country. After getting our visas and booking our flight for the next day, we started to read more about Myanmar and quickly realized that no foreign banking is allowed in the country. In Myanmar,  there is exactly one ATM and it only works with a Myanmar bank. You can not pay with credit card because no one takes credit card except for the most expensive hotels in Yangon. To put it another way, when you arrive in Myanmar you are completely isolated from your money, the only money you have is what is in your pocket.  On top of that, every message board we were reading mentioned that the US dollars you bring in has to be crisp without a crease or wrinkle, otherwise, they won't exchange it or it will be exchanged at an even poorer rate.

So the three of us frantically maxed out our withdrawal limits for two days in Bangkok. Being in Thiland, we withdrew Thai Baht from the ATM, paying a $5 ATM withdrawal fee and a currency conversion fee from US to Thai Baht. Then we had to exchange our Thai Baht back to USD since the only currency that all currency exchange places in Myanmar took US dollars (and perhaps Euros or Singapore dollars).  And finally in Myanmar we converted our USD into Kyats (pronounced chyet or jyet).  Just as a tip for anyone wanting to do something similar, at BKK airport you can withdraw a maximum of $500 USD at any of the airside ATMs.  Also, while it is best to have a couple of smaller bills, when you exchange to Kyats, the best exchange rate will be crisp $100 bills.  Plus, the best exchange rate to Kyats is at the Yangon international airport; better than any of the other smaller airports we flew into.

With the stress of getting a one day visa and the concern that we were going to run out of money in the middle of Myanmar, our trip was starting off on the wrong foot.