Yangon, Yangoon, Rangoon?
Our plane touched down Yangon International Airport 45 minutes behind schedule. Upon connecting to Myanmar's cellular network, our phones re-adjusted to 8:45am, Myanmar local time. An hour and a half earlier than Manila. Aside from us 4, there were only two Filipinos on board. A few Westerners and all the rest were locals.
OPLAN: Bugawin ang kalapati
Arriving in Myanmar
As of this writing, there are no direct flights to Yangon from Manila so we flew in from Kuala Lumpur via Air Asia. If you prefer to enter Myanmar via Mandalay, you can fly from Bangkok.
Visa
on arrival is available but as Filipinos, we are already exempted from
visa since January 2014. Hooray! But I guess the IO wasn't well informed of that. She was surprised when I told her I'm not required to have a visa. She had to ask her colleague before she believed that I was telling the truth. I cannot blame her though. Maybe she isn't used to seeing Filipinos spending their vacation in her country.
Temperature/Climate
Having
been born and raised in a tropical country, I don't really worry much
about the high temperature and humidity of a country I visit. Just like
the Philippines, Myanmar's average temperature is around 87F just like Manila's. Light
clothing is the best option to wear and since we're visiting temples, we
also brought our sarongs and long cotton skirts.
Expect rain if you're traveling in July. But it was sunny most of the time during our trip. Just bring umbrella to be sure.
Expect rain if you're traveling in July. But it was sunny most of the time during our trip. Just bring umbrella to be sure.
Money Matters
Myanmar's
currency is Burmese Kyat (pronounced as 'chat'). Current exchange rate during
our trip was around 978 kyats to a dollar. Exchanging money in Myanmar
has always been a challenge to foreigners. Money changers only accept
USD which were issued 2006 onwards (now it's 2009 onwards) in their
pristine condition. Crisp. No fold. No crease. No marks. The smallest
crease in your Benjamins can give you a big headache especially if you
do not carry enough cash. Some might accept them but may give you a
lower rate. Some say there are some
with certain serial numbers that are not accepted. We were not sure if
this is still strictly implemented but to be safe, we requested the
money changers (in Manila) to give us the newest, crispest looking US
dollar available. I put the dollars in my hardbound notebook just to
make sure.
There are lots of money changer booths just after the baggage claim. Some say they give the highest rate in airport. We
were able to get a rate of 972 kyat to a dollar through CB Bank. And it
is true. It was the highest rate we got in all of Myanmar.
Surprisingly,
our dollars were not even examined. The lady behind the counter just
took our crisp 2009 issued (but with very very minor folds) USDs and put
them straight in the drawer. But that doesn't mean you can bring your
folded USDs. It is still best to be prepared. We only exchanged enough for our 2 day stay in Yangon.
Getting In and Around
After the customs declaration, there's a taxi service kiosk which offer fixed rates. To save us from the burden of haggling with the taxis outside, we just availed of this service.
From
the airport to downtown (in our case at Clover City Center), the rate
is 8000 kyat. With aircon, it is 9000. For a thousand kyat difference,
of course we chose the latter.
our cab
A bit expensive for a 40minute ride but we are four in the group with four big luggages so I think it's fine.
The
manner of driving in Yangon is the weirdest we've witnessed. Vehicles
are a mix of right-hand drives (from Japan) and left-hand drives (from
Taiwan) and both are driving on the right side of the road.
left hand drive truck and right hand drive cab
If
we have jeepneys as common mode of transportation, they have their
covered pick up trucks.
They also have buses but I do not recommend
them especially if you cannot read their language. Bus routes are mostly
written in Burmese.
As for the taxis, they do not use meter and you have to request
to turn on their air-con.
Clothing
Most
Burmese men also wear longyi (long-dzi) as part of their everyday clothing
even if they go to work. I just don't know if they still wear pants
underneath. I forgot to ask. Hehe. As for the footwear, we didn't see
any local wearing shoes. They either wear sandals or flipflops.
Food
Do
not expect to run to a Starbucks store for a quick coffee fix or
Mcdonald's if you're craving for burger and fries. They are non-existent
in Yangon. In all of Myanmar actually. Don't worry as there are local
restaurants offering Western cuisine. If you're aiming to try their
local cuisine, you can easily find restaurants and cafeterias. Or if
you're brave enough (or your stomach for that matter), you can sample the dishes being prepared on the
sidewalk with their bare hands.
Language
Surprisingly,
most locals we have encountered can understand and speak basic English.
Even the kids that sell souvenirs can speak the language and has good
accent too.
Religion
Theravada Buddhism is the main religion in Myanmar. About 90% of the population are Buddhists which explains the numerous temples around the country most especially in Bagan.
Religion
Theravada Buddhism is the main religion in Myanmar. About 90% of the population are Buddhists which explains the numerous temples around the country most especially in Bagan.
a Buddhist monk
Communication
We
didn't bother getting a local sim as we always go together. We
could always use our own numbers anyway to call our families back home.
Most
blogs I read talked about the difficulty of finding a decent internet
connection in Myanmar. I guess so much has improved in the recent years
as WIFI is available in hotels and most restaurants we've been to.
Social networking sites are accessible too.
These
are basically the things to expect when traveling to Myanmar. Find
more about it on my next posts as I describe our everyday experiences in
the Golden Land.
(Burma-Thailand July 2014 Series)
(Burma-Thailand July 2014 Series)
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