We recently returned from a short stay in BurmaThis was our first return to these neighboring lands since our brief visit to Yangon a few years ago. And it's safe to say that in some respects, it was like night and day, the country has changed so much in such a short time!
We came back with our heads full of images, with a few favorites and a desire to return!
Two weeks in Burma: the chosen itinerary
Since our trip was only going for a short time (relative to the size of the country), we decided to focus on just one region. The choice was made based on the local airline's usual promotions. Air Asia and our budget.
It is therefore only in the region around Yangon (Irrawaddy delta), Then the Eastern region, between Mon State and Kayin State, through which we would return to Thailand, which we were gravitating towards. Landing in Yangon vs Mandalay was cheaper and we thought it would allow us to see less visited parts of the country, as 3/4 of tourists mainly go to Bagan and Inle Lake, which we are saving for later (after all, the country is developing slowly).
Our route on a map
A few explanations regarding the map menu showing our route below (open the menu in the top left corner of the map): you can uncheck the route highlighted in blue, and you will then see:
→ The pale green squaresThese are the starting and ending points of this trip.
→ The red diamonds, which represent our stages with overnight stays.
→ The yellow stars, which are day trips/visits
As I mentioned earlier, we logically landed in Yangon and then decided to return to Thailand via the Myawaddy-Mae Sot land border, which had only recently opened, which saved us from having to go back to our starting point.
We first headed west via Pathein, to reach Chaung Tha beach, before returning east, passing respectively through Bago, Kinpun (Golden Rock), Mawlamyine and then the steep mountains of Hpa An.
With a few details, here's how we structured our days:
- Day 1 Arrival in Yangon + journey to Pathein (1 night)
- Day 2 : journey to Chaung Tha + walks around the main beach (3 nights)
- Day 3 : Discover the mangrove and surrounding village with a local guide
- Day 4 : motorbike ride between Chaung Tha and Ngwe Saung
- Day 5 : return to Yangon (3 nights)
- Day 6 : rediscovering the essence of Yangon
- Day 7 : a short trip to the outskirts of Yangon
- Day 8 : travel + visit to Bago (1 night)
- Day 9 : journey to Kinpun (1 night)
- Day 10 Early morning – Kyaiktiyo and the Golden Rock / Afternoon – travel then visit to Mawlamyine (1 night)
- Day 11 : a few visits to Mawlamyine then travel to Hpa An (3 nights)
- Day 12 : visits around Hpan An (Mount Zwegabin and several caves)
- Day 13 : visits to sites around Hpan An (Kyaut Ka Latt pagoda and other caves)
- Day 14 : return journey to Thailand via Myawaddy-Mae Sot
Budget for two weeks in Burma
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words… no, no, you can't fool a thousand words, but a picture can… (sorry, I have vanninitis, the disease of bad jokes…):
Total Budget: 30,403 ฿ (758€) or 2,172 ฿ (54€) / day (for 2)
[To put things in context, that was 10 years ago!]
As can be seen, the largest budget, by far, accommodation, with an average of 1000 baht (€25)/day. We stayed in fairly basic hotels, the cheapest being $12 per night, while the most expensive cost us $45.
Speaking of money, you can relatively forget your dollars If you travel to Burma. While US dollars were once almost essential, the local currency, the Kyat (pronounced Tchiatte), is today mostly usedIt's quite simple, apart from 2 hotels where we were able to pay directly in Uncle Sam's currency, the rest was a no-go.
The consequence of this? We had only exchanged our baht into dollars… which we could not spend as planned, so we had to exchange them as we went along, losing fees because of the double exchange (baht-dollars then dollars-kyats).
Some pointers:
- A bottle of water costs an average of 400 Kyats
- A meal costs an average of 3 Kyats per person.
- Motorbike rental: between 6 and 000 Kyats
- On average the bus cost us 7 Kyats per person.
- For taxi rides, expect to pay an average of 4 Kyats
- Average price for tours: 10 Kyats
Getting around Burma: don’t be in a hurry!
Overall, the distances remained quite short for our itinerary. The longest journey was made between Kinpun (at the foot of the Golden Rock mountain) and MawlamyineAnd even though it's only about 150 km, it took us almost 4 hours… That was the whole point, to avoid too much long travel.
The roads are not yet sufficiently developed and we are still far from the fluidity of the neighbouring country (Thailand can boast of having an excellent road network).
As for bus styles, it varies; sometimes you'll get older local buses, other times newer ones with air conditioning (please!). Taxis are now almost all standardized, with fairly recent vehicles, mostly from Japan (with right-hand drive… even though they've been driving on the right since 1970…) and Chinese motorcycles.
So, what's the verdict on Burma?
From the country's "opening up"Prices have skyrocketed (some hotels have tripled their rates!), and while tourism is still in its infancy, changes have been observed [Editor's note: things are more complicated after 2021.In particular, all those brand-new shops selling… smartphones, which everyone has already become addicted to…
It seems trivial, but given what we observed during our quick visit before 2010, it's as if the country went from the 60s to the 2000s in less than 5 years... a shock.
- I discuss this in my article on Yangon: Return to Yangon: A city in full metamorphosis
Another point that has changed is the much heavier road traffic, especially in Yangon, which, like any large city, is now plagued by traffic jams on some major arteries.
But the Burmese people remained true to their character, always warm and welcoming. We had some wonderful encounters, beautiful rides (and as someone who loves getting around freely on two wheels, I was in heaven!), and I sincerely regret, as I write these lines, that the country has descended into a civil war that jeopardizes the possibility of reliving these moments.
But I have no doubt that the future can only be better. All the best to them!
