How do you guys feel about the safety for solo traveller in Myanmar? I'm very much interested to visit during the dry season next year.

Next year 24 april - 5 may (11 days). I hope I can survive the heat. Planning to visit the big 4 - Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake. However, I want to experience the Gokteik Viaduct train ride too. Not sure if I'll have enough time. Will be flying into and leaving from Yangon. Should I travel all the way down to Hsipaw on the first day?

It'll be difficult for me to take 2 weeks leave at the end or beginning of the year. Trying to avoid the raining season. I have yet to work out on the exact itinerary. Are you travelling solo?

Damn!!! That's gonna be an interesting trek.

At first I'm not very sure to go or not as I'm not so sure with Myanmar. But then the wanderlust just kicked in and stumbled upon cheap tickets. Previously, I travelled solo the easy way where I only stayed in one place. Eg: Jogja/Siem Reap. So, this trip really need to plan carefully especially with the transport and travel time. As many mentioned of the bus/train being late and so on.

Will need to read and google more soon!

so. i am currently planning to do macam berikut bawah:

24-Dec kl - mdl
25-Dec mdl
26-Dec mdl
27-Dec mdl-bgn
28-Dec bgn
29-Dec bgn
30-Dec bgn - inle
31-Dec inle
1-Jan  inle
2-Jan        inle- ygn
3-Jan  ygn
4-Jan  ygn -kl

Anyone have recommendations on hostels for those 4 areas?

i bought approx a month ago rm 760 excluding meal and luggage.

ok, so i just did my visa few days ago. damn easy. compared the e-visa vs doing it with everfine services in masjid jamek. in the end its cheaper doing it via the agent (RM142 vs USD 50 via e-visa).

just bring the necessary (passport, 2 passport size photos, photostat copy of passport... ) went there in the morning, no 1 at all. filled up the form, terus went to the counter, pass up everything (before that the pak guard will help to check n etc to ensure all is in order), pay the necessary fee (RM 110 + RM 30 + gst), ur done.

collect in the same day around 4pm. kautim. i think its valid til march (90 days perhaps)

saw lots passport in the collection basket when the counter lady took my passport during the evening, looks like we fellow msians r beginning to flock to myanmar for holiday i suppose..

i plan to travel as below:

24-Dec kl - mdl
25-Dec mdl
26-Dec mdl
27-Dec mdl-bgn
28-Dec bgn
29-Dec bgn
30-Dec bgn - inle
31-Dec inle
1-Jan inle
2-Jan inle- ygn
3-Jan ygn
4-Jan ygn -kl

gutted i dont reli have extra days for mrauk u, ngapali and that gotiek viaduct train ride ... and another extra day at ygn for the golden rock as my dates are already capped as per the above

so are u there now?

we are not reli firm on the itinerary yet. but based on what we read, 2 full days in each place (except yangon) is bare minimum thus we plan in such way

mdl
- mandalay hill and palace
- the bridge

bagan
- self guided temple exploration

inle
- boat ride

ygn
- that pagoda which i cant spell it out now =)

whats your experience in USD / kyat there? how did u ordered pristine uSD bill back in malaysia (if u did)

ok..
but i budgeted 10 usd / approx 10k kyat for this. i recall reading it somewhere that this is the cost with cab sharing

hey man.

Thanks

i had booked hostels for Mandalay and and bagan. still yet to book any for inle and yangon. will checkout the 1 u recommended

for bagan, i m not entirely sure which to chose initially lots of 'debate' of pros n cons between Nyaung U or New bagan (old bagan is def out pasal more expensive). eventually i chose a hostel at new bagan..

Yes, you can withdraw there if you dont want to bring much money/not enough money.

The catches are :-

-Call you bank locally, make sure enable your withdrawal function in overseas. (PLUS)
-The local bank there will charge 5000Kyat and Msia bank will charge you RM12 (if not mistaken). So prepare to pay some commission. So withdraw more at once.

Planning to go bagan at the end of the month.
Any recommendations of where to stay and what are the places to go?
I also plan to go on a self-guided exploration

still considering whether to go 2 days or just a day trip. maybe 29/30th?
Plan to travel around using the ebike and just self-explore the temples.. and wait for sunset 

hey guys. just got back from a great trip from Myanmar. i ll try to put in as much info as possible as i go on, including cost, itinerary and some advice, etc. damn, kinda wish i could stay longer, but well.. only have that much days tho.

24th Dec - 4th Jan
(Mandalay - Bagan - Inle - Yangon)

before the trip:
- i made my visa @ the mentioned tour agency as per my previous post. at the current USD rate, it is much cheaper la if u dont mind going to KL for it. the visa can be done within that day itself if u apply it in the morning.
- i activated my atm card to enable oversea withdrawal. it is true. THERE IS MANY ATM at all the places we went. we did not withdraw  any money eventually
- i called Citibank to ask if their credit card can be used there. Citibank told me it cannot be used in Myanmar as that country is still being sanctioned by US bla bla (@@!!). but no prob cuz thru out the trip we din need it (in our case la), cuz we brought enuf USD to exchange
- we checked the weather forecast. we found out that Mandalay, Bagan and Inle get pretty chilly and cold in the evening and  during the night. we brought jackets just in case. the weather in Yangon is similar to KL tho. but since the humidity is different, it is pretty tolerable.

note:
1 USD - RM 4.32 (rate that i changed back home)
1 USD - 1,306 kyat (USD rate at Mandalay International Airport, as to 3 x 100 USD notes. more on this below).

24th Dec (KL - Mandalay)
- arrived at Mandalay International Airport
- changed approx 300 USD to Kyat at 1 of the bank at the arrival hall. There are a few banks across the hall, but the rates are not much of a difference, so just pick 1. we brought more USD, but decided to only change 300 USD initially, and then more in other cities as we move along down south. the casher did check our USD if they are pristine or not, but they accepted ours (no tear, no markings, not so obvious folded marks - 1 of mine has it, but i had flattened it out and they accept it... so no fuss). they have several rates. higher denomination (100 / 50 USDs) gave the best rates
- took the free Air Asia bus shuttle to city center. once you exited the arrival hall, the bus is just outside, so its pretty straight forward. show your boarding pass, off you go! do check this website for more info (http://www.airasia.com/th/en/MDL-Shuttle-Bus.page)
- there was a bus conductor on board, do check with him where is your hotel and how to get there. I assume he has his own service for day tour / taxi to hotel as i heard him explaining to others. we didnt as we know our hostel is walking distance
- checked into Ace Star BnB Hostel. approx RM 170 for 3 nights. we took the 8 bed mixed dorm, with ensuite bathroom. pretty basic room but clean. nothing to complain about (in Myanmar, u get what u paid). it was run by a Singaporean, and he was super informative and frenly. his staffs are great too! we booked our day tours and inter-city transportation thru them. they have a nice balcony area on top (lepak at night, breakfast in the morning, etc). breakfast included. free coffee n tea 24/7, there's a satellite tv as well!
- walked around the neighborhood, whack some local noodles, jalan around, went to the night market and walk to the church to see how's the xmas eve celebration (it was lighted up with wonderful colours but din join the xmas mass as it is happening late at night jer.. din plan to do much tho as we just arrived
- booked a day tour via the hostel fpr the next day @ 10,000 kyat each (share taxi). Bought the minibus to Bagan (for 27th Dec) @ 9,000 Kyat per person (it includes picking u up from your hostel and transfer to your hostel in Bagan)
- expenses : 1,300 kyat for 3 bowls of local noodles. 300 kyat for a bottle of 1L mineral water (everywhere sama jer, no matter what brand, as far as we came across la). dinner including 2 bottles of local beer @ 7,000 kyat (IIRC, both big bottles of beer is approx 1,500 & 2,000 kyat respectively)

25th Dec (Mandalay)
- day tour between 8 or 830 am (cant recall) to 6 plus - 7 pm or something (cant recall). since it's a share cab, another guest join us for the tour, thus 3 in a cab.
- destination include Mahamuni temple (camera fee @ 1,000 kyat), some monastery, Sagaing bridge, Sagaing hill, Ava (the day does not include the boat ride - to & fro, and the horse cart ride.), Ubein bridge for sunset, then balik
- its xmas and the hostel provided a nice xmas dinner for all their guest. nice huh!
- expenses : lunch at the jetty before taking the boat to Ava @ 4,000 kyat each (total 12,000 kyat for 3 main dishes for 3 pax). the boat to and from Ava @ 1,000 kyat, horse cart ride at Ava @ 5,000 per pax (we nego to have 3 of us in the same horse cart - 15,000 kyat in total). at Ava, 2 of main sights are included in the so called 'Mandalay Archaeology Zone' fee, so we paid 10,000 kyat for it (they will give u a card which u need to keep hold of it for the rest of your visit in Mandalay). why horse cart? well, it is possible to walk but its quite far thus between the sights time consuming. you would not want to miss the sunset in Ubein bridge eh!

26th Dec (Mandalay)
- decided to take a boat ride to Mingun in the morning. as we got up late, we asked the hostel staff about the fastest way of getting to the jetty, which they advice its better to use the moto taxi @ 2,000 kyat each. the boat leaves the jetty approx 9.00am. once we reached there, go to the ticket counter and purchase the boat tix (include the journey back) @ 5,000 kyat. you ll automatically know where is the tix counter cuz there will be a que infront of it. bring you passport (1 person among your group will do) as they ll wana record down your details.
- once you sampai Mingun (approx 1 hour boat ride), there will be a officers waiting for you to pay the Mingun Zone fee @ 5,000 kyat right up the road. oh ya, once you alight the boat, there will be touts asking you if you wana engage em for bull cart ride. We felt its unnecessary cuz the main sights are just walking distance. plan your time well, becuz the boat ride back is approx 1 pm or something
- in the afternoon, once balik from Mingun, took a moto cab to Mandalay Hill area @ 2,000 kyat to check out more temples around the area (it is all within walking distance)
- sunset at Mandalay Hill. then took a taxi @ 5,000 kyat back to hostel (we din nego hard). but well, turns out the taxi is a mvp, not sedan. so, ok la kot.
- extra expenses: lunch at the foot of mandalay hill (many choices near by the chinthe entrance) @ 3,000 kyat each. since we worry we might miss the sunset, we took moto taxi up to the mid point (car park area at Mandalay Hill) @ 2,000 kyat each (we din nego hard). actually, could have saved this 2,000 kyat when i thought about it after. lol. camera fee at Mandalay Hill @ 1,000 kyat. dinner at the 'makan street' near the hostel (just a block or 2 away, and many local food choices) @ approx 2,100 kyat per pax (we ordered 2 or 3 main dishes IIRC). 2 cans of local beer @ 2,400 kyat.

27th Dec (Mandalay to Bagan)
- took the minibus to Bagan in the morning. approx 4 hours plus journey IIRC. since this minibus is not cater for the international passengers, it does pick up passengers along the way. no biggy. found that it arrived as per the quoted journey time (not sure about other minibus company tho)
- before entering bagan, the minibus will stop at the Bagan tour office and all foreigners gotta pay the Bagan Zone fee @ 27,000 kyat. and once the minibus reach the last stop (Nyaung U), we were then transferred to our hostel as quoted.

more on Bagan later

nice video! 

super nice! yeah, pls let us know ur itinerary. i kinda miss that place too. too bad din manage to go as many places as ur trip

wow....really impressive.

nice video!!

Wish to go backpack in myanmar someday...

Planning to go Myanmar during cny week is that possible? I mean are those attractions or shops opened? Is Myanmar and Laos trip in8days doable? Has anyone of u travel from Myanmar to Laos or vice versa?