MYANMAR REPORT TRAVEL.

  

Punctual as never before from Milan Malpensa at 21.20 my plane of the Qatar Airways Company towards Bangkok (Thailand), with a stopover of about 9 hours in Doha in Qatar (round trip price including taxes Euro 506.96).

The beautiful and very young Hostesses with the characteristic red headdress, coming from all over the world.

Very nice and friendly they fill you with food and drink continuously.

The plane is full and therefore I cannot lie down.

I therefore arrive at 5.15 am the following day, with impossible heat in Doha, the capital of Qatar (2 hours time zone, compared to Italy).

I remain in the very large and well-maintained transit area for 8 hours. It is a sea port as from here direct planes pass through for the whole world. However, there is a rest room on the first floor where you can sleep. At 14.00 I have the plane to Bangkok in Thailand.

In Doha they are very precise and therefore begin to board passengers 1 hour and 20 minutes before the flight.

Hostesses bring food twice: very pleasant.

After about 6 hours of flight I arrive at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok in Thailand, located about 35 km northeast of the center of the capital.

It is 11.50 pm (6 hours ahead of Italian time).

Exchange 50 euros at the airport but the exchange is not at all favorable.

Since a few hours later I have the flight to Myanmar from Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok, located about 40 km west and since the free shuttle that connects from 5.00 to 24.00 every hour, the 2 Bangkok International Airports are not there. at night, I am forced to take a taxi with a meter to the 1st floor.

The taxi trip takes place almost entirely on the motorway and lasts just over 40 minutes and costs me 540 Baht (50 Baht of fixed fare, 140 Baht of Autostrada, 310 Baht of Taxometer and 40 Baht of Mancha).

Therefore I sleep at Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok, where there are chairs without armrests and therefore you sleep like God. Many people do the same.

Punctual as never before at 7.15 my Air Asia Company plane leaves for Yangon (Myanmar), (one-way price including taxes, with hand luggage only Euro 36.75).

I therefore arrive at 7.50 am at the Yangon International Airport, the former capital of Myanmar (5 hours time zone, compared to Italy and 1 compared to Thailand).

To enter Myanmar you must have a visa that can be obtained by following this procedure:

Send the following documentation to the Embassy of Myanmar in Viale di Villa Grazioli 29 - 00198 Rome:

- original passport (valid for no less than 6 months);

-2 color passport photos taken recently;

- photocopy of identity card;

- 2 copies of the completed and signed Visa Application;

- Bank draft made out to the Embassy of Myanmar for Euro 25.00 or money order of the same amount.

After 1 or at most 2 weeks the Embassy calls you to say that the passport is ready and therefore you have to send the courier to get the passport.

To this end, I repeat that many couriers do not provide this service. One that does it is Mailbox at the minimum price of Euro 13.00.

At Yangon International Airport, located about 10 km north of the city center, exchange money at a good exchange rate (once this was not possible and you have to exchange on the black market to get a decent exchange rate). It is useful to remember that the exchange rate at Yangon's flowers is slightly more unfavorable and also the 100 dollar bills have a more advantageous rate. Logically, only dollar banknotes issued from 2006 onwards and which are perfectly intact are accepted. As long as they are slightly bent and are not taken.

From Yangon International Airport, located about 10 km north of the city center, by taxi at a cost of USD 6, I go to Aung Mingalar Bus Terminal, located 5 km northeast as the crow flies, where I buy the bus ticket to Taunggyi at the price of 13,000 Kyat.

 

A few hundred meters from the Aung Mingalar Bus Terminal, located 5 km northeast as the crow flies, I take bus no. 43 which takes me downtown in about an hour. The ticket is taken on the bus and costs 200 Kyat.

I get off the main road a few hundred meters from the Shwedagon Paya which I reach on foot. Before entering you have to remove your shoes and socks. There is a very long staircase or an elevator to reach it. After that you have to pay the ticket which costs 8,000 Kyat. There is an exchange counter nearby.

Once you have visited the Shwedagon Paya, I hire a taxi for three hours paying 13,000 Kyat to visit the attractions of the city and to return to the Aung Mingalar Bus Terminal, located 5 km northeast as the crow flies.

 The entrance to the Chaukhtatgyi Paya for the visit to the great reclining Buddha is free while the one to the Kaba Aye Paya costs 200 Kyat.

At 5.00 pm I leave from the Aung Mingalar Bus Terminal, located 5 km north-east as the crow flies from Yangon Airport, with the Ask Group Company bus to Taunggyi at a price of 13,000 Kyat. There are several per day.

At 5.00 A.M. the next day, several km before Taunggyi, I get off at Shwenyaung, where there are taxis stationed waiting for tourists heading to Inle Lake.

I then take the taxi at the price of 10,000 Kyat or 10 USD, sharing it with a Korean boy and therefore paying 5,000 Kyat a, which in about 20 minutes takes me to the town of Nyaungshwe, on the banks of the Nan Chaung Main Canal where the motor boats leave. 4-seater for Inle Lake.

Keep in mind that if you arrive by taxi in Nyaungshwe, before arriving in the city the taxi driver will stop at the dedicated kiosk where you will have to pay the 7 USD Tax to enter the Inle Lake Region. If you enter the bus, however, this does not happen because the bus does not stop and proceeds to the Bus Station.

The rental of the 4-seater motor boat with boatman included for a full day costs 25 Dollars or 25,000 Kyat. I shared this expense in 2 but if there are 4 it is better. The Barcaiolo already follows a pre-established tourist itinerary and also takes you to see, in addition to the fishermen, the Women with the Long Neck.

Then I rent a bike to visit Nyaungshwe Town for 1 Dollar or 1,000 Kyat for a day.

At 19.00 (there is also one at 7.30 in the morning), I leave from Nyaungshwe Bus Station, located in Jetty Road, practically in the center, with the bus at the price of 12,000 Kyat or 12 USD for Bagan.

The bus arrives at 4.30 A.M. the next day, at the Nyaung U bus station, located 5 km from Old Bagan and 8 km from New Bagan. Many taxi drivers are waiting for you, offering you disproportionate prices. At the end after a long grueling negotiation we manage to rent a van for the price of 30 USD or 12.000 Kyat which we share in 6. The same takes us to the Shwesandaw Paya to see the sunrise and waits for us for almost 2 hours and then takes me to Old Bagan and the other 5 tourists in New Bagan where they have hotels.

Keep in mind that if you arrive by taxi to Nyaung U, before arriving in the city the taxi driver will stop at the dedicated kiosk where you will have to pay the 7 USD Tax to enter the Bagan Temples Region. If you enter the bus, however, this does not happen because the bus does not stop and proceeds to the Bus Station.

In Old Bagan I rent a bicycle at a cost of 3,000 Kyat or 3 USD per day that I use to move between one Pagoda and another.

To travel the 5 km that divide me between Old Bagan and Nyaung U bus station, I use a Pick up, with 2 rows of benches behind it at a cost of 500 Kyat.

At 2.30 pm (there are several a day: 5.00 am, 7.45 am, 2.30 pm, 8.00 pm), I leave for Mandalay, from Nyaung U Bus Station, by bus for the price of 7,500 Kyat or 7,5 USD.

The bus arrives at 7.30 pm, at the Pyi Gyi Myat Shin bus station in Mandalay, located several kilometers outside the center. To reach the City center I take a taxi at a cost of 7,000 Kyat or 7 USD. I share the shopping with three other tourists.

I sleep on the 5th floor of the Mahar Hotel, without a lift, located at no. 171 of 24th street, a step away from the Mandalay Fort, at a cost of 18,000 Kyat or 18 USD per night including free Internet, free breakfast consisting of 2 or 4 eggs, 2 or 4 toast, juice and coffee. Very clean and comfortable hotel.

 

Rent a bicycle at the Mahar Hotel for the price of 3,000 Kyat or 3 USD per day. It is not easy to drive it in traffic but in any case I can visit Mandalay, Amarapura and Sagaing with the bike, covering about 50 km.

 

Every day at 9.00 and 9.15 there are 2 free shuttles of the Air Asia Company that depart from Road 79 by Mandalay Palace, between Road 26 and 27 and in about an hour take you to Mandalay Airport, located 45 km south of center. Logically, to use it, you must show the Air Asia airline ticket.

My complete travel report with map, photographs and videos is available at this link:

http://vivendosalendo.blogspot.com/2016/12/viaggio-in-indocina-myanmar-vietnam.html