Myanmar (Burma)

Visiting Myanmar (Burma) soon? Check out the advice, stories and tips I can offer after my December 2010 trip there, which saw me visit the cities of Mandalay and Yangon and visit important tourist destinations like Shwedagon Pagoda, Inwa, Amarapura Bridge and the Mahamuni Paya.

How to Get a Myanmar Visa in Bangkok

Myanmar visa in Bangkok

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All you need to get a Myanmar visa in Bangkok is a few documents, two passport-sized photos, a passport with six months remaining validity and about 900 Thai baht.

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Photo Essay: More From Myanmar

Amarapura Bridge near Mandalay, Myamar

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Cast aside any preconceived notions you have of Myanmar and take a trip with me through one of the most interesting places on the planet.

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How to Exchange Money in Myanmar

US dollars on a bed in Bangkok before a trip to Myanmar

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If you skip even a single step in the long charade of obtaining Myanmar kyats, you could end up broke or even penniless.

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Myanmar: What They Don’t Know

Mahamuni Paya in Myanmar

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In spite of the dictatorship that rules their country, the majority of Burmese people seem content with their lives. Like animals born into a zoo, they know no reality outside the proverbial cage that separates them from visiting tourists, who find themselves placed unwittingly into the role of voyeur.

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Tourism and Voyeurism in Myanmar

Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar

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Democracy, freedom and where to draw the line between tourism and voyeurism in Myanmar.

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Sagaing, Inwa and Amarapura, Myanmar

Travel in Mandalay, Myanmar

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A trio of dazzling hamlets–one a hillside studded with pagodas, the next an ancient settlement with its very own “leaning tower” and the third a monastic base with an eponymous, ramshackle bridge–awaits you just an hour outside Mandalay.

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Machismo, Gold and Grit in Mandalay

Mandalay City Palace

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The swanky Las Vegas hotel which apparently lifts its name from Mandalay will be the furthest thing from your mind as your vehicle pulls in.

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Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda

Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar

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Around 500 years before a certain Messianic baby was born somewhere in the Middle East, legend has it that two Burmese merchants visited India, gave the Buddha honey cakes and took a few of his hairs back with them. Their reward? A 30-story, solid gold pagoda.

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Tips for Travel in Myanmar

Travel photos of Myanmar

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Yangon, Myanmar’s capital and largest city, will almost certainly be your first point of contact with a country that lacks ATMs, Internet access and most of what you likely consider to be requirements for civilization.

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Created by Robert Schrader