Sunday, September 23, 2012

Life in Myanmar : Prepping For Visitors

This post is also available on Vanity Shack here


The Majestic Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon

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Greetings from The Golden Land!

Well, in view of friends and families who have committed to make trips here to visit Yangon and even friends who will be participating in the Yangon Marathon next January, I’ve decided that for this article, I’d give a few tips about traveling in Yangon. I hope this will help, but be clear – I’ve only been here 3 months!

To start with, the best way in exploring a country is via food – but of course! Myanmar is vast and with 135 officially recognized ethnic groups, you’ll find yourself in cuisine haven – that is if you find it. MOH and I make it a point to try a new place every weekend (since we cook 6 days a week as it is thriftier that way!) and we’re still working our way through Yangon. I don’t think we’d cover the entire Yangon in even a year, let alone 3 months. But we want to be ready when Anthony Bourdain makes his way here. LOL!! There’s Burmese cuisine, other local ethnic cuisines, Thai, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, French, American, Italian, Indian….etc…. I think we’ve made a few blunders and also a few awesome discoveries. Below are some favourite local cuisine haunts of ours which we do visit over and over again. They’re all in the cheap to mid-range budgets J I also just realized that I cannot possibly list down all our favourite places otherwise, this article will be never-ending!

Shan Noodle 999
130B, 34
th Street (Mid Block)

- I am biased as I am a noodle person. The Shan Noodle in salad dressing is my absolute favourite. And it only costs 1,000 kyats per bowl (USD1 = 860 kyats). And then there’s also the Yellow Rice with Tomato Paste. Yummos! Plus – one of the waiter there is seriously cool and does this whole ‘show and tell’ thing with the pepper shaker
J

Malihku Restaurant
68, Myae Ni Gone Zay Street, Sanchaung Township
Tel : +951 527 699

- this place serves traditional Kachin food (yes, the state currently still in civil war) and they are all good. We’ve literally ordered up the entire menu because the menu isn’t varied. Errr…. And it’s not in English either. But they do provide you with little handheld fans in case it gets hot J

Min Lan
Inya Lake (Near Tadar Phyu Bus Stop), Kamayut Township
Tel : +95 9 7311 8696

- serves Rakhine food (how awful is it that our favourite food in Myanmar are mainly from states that are in a state of unrest??). Mostly seafood and they’re really good and fresh. But I think I come here more for the chilli sauce since it is pretty awesome kick-arse chilli sauce. The first time, the waitresses were so amused with me enjoying my chilli kick that they gave me some to take home!

House of Memories
290, U Wisara Road, Kamayut Township
Tel : +951 534 242

-  don’t let the creepy colonial façade or the dimly-lit interiors fool you. The menu ranges from Thai, Burmese to European. I love their Burmese food. Have not tried the others. The Pork Curry with Mango is a – oh-la-la! Top that with their Tomato Rice and you’ll be a happy camper. I hope. Oh – you should also ask the waiters to show you Bogyoke Aung San’s ex-office. I think they’ll gladly do so. Feel free to take pictures! The locals – they are proud of their General.

 
Sein Lann So Pyay
Inya Road, Sein Lann So Pyay Garden, Kamayut Township
Tel : +951 502 720



- This is a really nice lakeside restaurant where you do a spot of al fresco dining. I love the Century Egg Salad here. It is the same lake in which that American dude swam in. If the weather is good and the mossies are not around, this’ll be nice for visitors. It costs 500 kyats for entrance fee.

 
There’s also all the superb street food that you can find – especially in Chinatown. MOH and I are seasoned for a street side bowl of sticky rice noodles or tau foo fa or grilled meats and stuff. We’re not too sure about you guys. Worse case – bring your own diarrhoea medication and pop a shot of brandy before you head for the street food, eh?

** Most restaurants and local tea shops (much like the mamak stalls) offer free tea. But the cups are actually, not washed. You share them with whoever takes a drink from there. You can choose to rinse it yourself or simply just pass up on the free tea. Or better yet – bring your own cup!


For those who crave Western food – worry not. There are most of the expat joints like 50th Street Café, Sharky’s, etc. But why would you travel all the way to Myanmar and have pizza instead of Mohinga?? I also highly recommend the Pickled Tea Leaf salad. Most restaurants serve this on the menu, the really locals one serve this for free at the end of your meal or you can purchase them at the supermarkets. They’re really good.

Moving About in Yangon


Taxis are few and far in between. Just kidding!!! There are millions of taxis in Yangon and it is pretty easy to flag one down. Most of the taxis are in dilapidated condition and I have had my fair share of “Flintstone Rides” (taxis with holes on the floor of the cab!!). There are some taxis which I’ve boarded and I feel like we’re never going to make the journey! But in the short span of 3 months that I’ve been here, there’s been a huge influx of brand new taxis, especially the China-made Cherry. There was a bit of a news scare for the Cherry about a month ago as they were said to be emitting poisonous gas. But that has been cleared and people are continuing to use them. My regular taxi driver has a brand new Toyota (what model – don’t ask me. I’m not a car person!!) and he turns the AC on – which is a great plus point. Most taxis – even the new ones do not turn on the AC, even on the hottest day of your life :P So, welcome to Myanmar.


There is no meter taxis – even if there is, they don’t use it. So, confirm the price of your ride before you get in. More often than not, the taxi drivers would offer a pretty reasonable rate at the start. Some will try their luck with you – especially if you’re a foreigner. The trick is to try to negotiate the price down by 500 kyats. Depending on where you are and where you want to get to, if you’re staying within the downtown area and close by townships, the fare would range from 1,500kyats to 3,000 kyats. And there’s no difference between a new taxi or a ‘going-to-fall-apart-any-minute’ taxi.


Please also note that sometimes, because passengers are scarce due to competition (millions of taxis in town), even if you tried to negotiate for 1,000 kyats off the fare, some drivers would relent and ferry you anyway. In this instance, please understand that they are trying to make ends meet. Some of them don’t own the taxis, they merely rent it. What I’m saying is be fair. Negotiate your price and if you feel the distance was actually longer than what you paid, provide a tip! Some taxi drivers would actually return the tip to you, thinking you’ve overpaid – even though they know they’ve made a lost on your sale.



In so far that I’ve been here, I’ve only met 1 taxi driver who tried to take me for a ride. The rest are pretty nice and honest. We’ve had once, where we entered the taxi and the driver said “I’m sorry. I’m not a professional driver. Today is my first day at work.” That was hilarious! I tipped him extra for his honesty and told him not to say that anymore! LOL! And my regular taxi guy – is an absolute darling J


If you’re really brave, you could attempt to take the bus or the taxi trucks (much like a larger version of the tuk-tuks). I’ve taken both once each. The language barrier poses a problem because I have no idea what the conductor is shouting and before you can even ask, he’d shove you up the bus. When you want to ask him about the next stop, before you even finish the sentence, he’d have shoved you off the bus. MOH thinks if I ever take the bus alone, I’d end up in Mandalay! :P


I’ve also taken the “Sy Ka” – which is the 2-person trishaw (excluding the trishaw man). It was fun, although one really must know how to use their core muscles to stay in the seat! But I think the trishaw guy must have some pretty strong legs. Really. He’d win the cycling leg of the triathlon any time.


Things To See, Places to Shop….  


Shwedagon Pagoda – I highly recommend this to any visitors. It may be crowded, but for me, there’s a sense of calmness despite the crowd. I can see the Shwedagon from my balcony and it is from here that I pray for good internet connection every day. Generally, you will notice that the locals will pray to the site of the pagoda without needing to go into it. Once, a taxi driver was ferrying us and when he passed the pagoda, he lifted both hands off the wheels and prayed. I held my breath and lived to tell the tale. The locals are a very religious bunch and just respect that. The entrance fee to the pagoda is USD5 for foreigners. You can try to hide, but the staff would hunt you down. And do you really want to cheat at a holy place? Think not.

 
Because this is such a religious country, there are numerous, if not hundreds of pagodas in the city, not including the monasteries. The Sule Pagoda is another popular landmark pagoda. There are also other things to do like catching the Circular Train or the River Cruise, but MOH & I have not done that, intending to do the touristy rounds only when visitors come so we don’t end up doing it a hundred times or so. So at the moment, I am in no position to write about these. But feel free to look up Lonely Planet about them J We’ve actually been told to give the museums a miss however, the Yangon Zoological Garden has been highly recommended.


Bogyoke Aung San Market – this is the market of all markets in town for trinket shopping. Myanmar is well known for her gemstones and such. I do not shop for gemstones and cannot tell between a fake and a real one. But if you do – this is the place for shopping for them diamonds, sapphire and rubies.

My landlady happens to own a shop here :  (but she speaks almost no English)


MTM Myat Diamond & Jewellery
No. 43, West (D) Block, Bogyoke Aung San Market.

Groceries shopping and daily needs – you’ll definitely have to do it at City Mart – the largest retail chain in town J Yangon is also shopping mall capital – we’ve been going to a new mall every weekend as well (not new, new, but new as in, we’ve not been there) and we still haven’t worked our way through all the shopping malls in town. It ranges from your Sg Wang-type malls to your Subang Parade malls. We haven’t had the chance to see if there’s any that matches up to One U or Pavillion. For ladies, consider this city your next shopping haven.

Kyats (pronounced ‘Chets’) is the legal currency here though some of those posh hotels and pretentious restaurants do accept USD – provided your USDs are crisp, clean and free of any markings or dirt or mold, for that matter. (Rumour has it, some MDs for banks are specially hired to sit at the desk, from 9am – 5pm just to go through each and every note with an eagle’s eye)


Speaketh The England…?

Most locals would understand English, though they may not speak it. They don’t speak because they are shy to do so. On the occasion where they do not understand English, there’s always that game of charades that you can play with them to get your point across. So good luck with that! ;)


A few words in Burmese would help though – and I’m writing them as how it should be pronounced :


Hello – Mingalabar!               Thank You – Chezu Tim Ba Deh                          Chilli – Ngay Yoke Di


Look Out….. !


While Yangon is generally very safe (safer than KL now, *snort*) and it is perfectly fine to be wandering about at nights or in the wee mornings and snatch thefts are unheard of, it is still wise to practise some caution and common sense. You know, like keeping an eye on your belongings all the time, etc. Because of late, I’ve heard locals complain that some thieving has been rampantly going on. I am not sure if they simply do not disturb the foreigners or…. but – just be mindful at all times.


When walking on the roads – you MUST, MUST, MUST be careful of the traffic and the cars. The drivers here tend to be a little crazy and overzealous. The number of cars on the road have increased tremendously only over the last couple of years. In fact, in a short span of a month, when it usually takes me 20 minutes to get to work, it now takes me 30 – 45 minutes! Along most roads, there are side pavements meant for people on foot, however, these are like booby traps. A hole here, a wriggly cover there… you just never know. So keep one eye on the road literally and the other eye on the vehicles. For runners – as mentioned, the roads are stretches of booby traps. Whilst it is nice to be able to run outdoors without worrying about robbers and muggers, the road condition doesn’t really suit. I’m injured as it is. However, there is the Kandawgyi Lake Park which has a nice walkway for running. You pay 500 kyats for the entrance fee to the park.


One thing you need to be wary of – Myanmar is a whole big betelnut-chewing community. You might want to look out for people spitting betelnut juice – especially out of the buses’ windows. If you’re not careful, you might be one of the unlucky ones to have betelnut spit spraying all over you. That would be plain gross! Sometimes, the locals might talk to you with a whole mouth full of betelnut juice. I’m just simply amazed that they are able to do that without spewing betelnut spittle all over me! LOL!

 
Communication Devices


Maxis doesn’t roam here. Neither does Axiata or Digi or whatever.  As far as I know, nothing roams here and international text messaging does not work either (at least not for Malaysian telcos). So, you can forget about your phone when you get here. Having said that, things are changing so rapidly in this country, you just never know. You could call Maxis or Celcom and check with them J If you really, really need to be connected to the rest of the outside world, mobile phones can be rented at the airports for a lot of cash. And heads-up to BB users – these don’t work here either.


For those who need to check their mails, update their FB statuses or tweet their Burmese meals to their friends, internet IS available, albeit a tad slow. Some restaurants and cafes offer free WIFI services. The fastest would actually be at Trader’s Hotel – go order a USD5 cup of coffee and you may use their WIFI. Internet cafes are also available, but even their connection isn’t reliable at times. When the connection is not great, sometimes, the shop owners don’t even bother charging you. You pay averagely 500 kyats per hour at the internet café.


But since you’re on a holiday and not living here like me…. the internet (or lack-of) should not bother you!  

 
Travelling around Myanmar

 
This is obviously the best time to explore all that Myanmar has to offer as she is still ‘virginal’ in many ways. Do you know that it snows in Myanmar? Yes, it does! Currently, I am not the best person to tell you about travelling around Myanmar since MOH and I have yet to get that chance (waiting for the next long break!!) But my parents have done so and have come back full of praises for all they have seen and met during their 10-day tour of Myanmar.


I do advise though for travellers wishing to visit other places in Myanmar to check with a travel agent. This is because some states are not opened to foreigners, whilst others may require special permits which need to be applied in advanced.

 
Do also plan your trip well-ahead and make your bookings as early as possible since most of the popular places like Bahan, Inle, Ngapali (The Hawaii of the Orients!!!) are actually pretty full all the way till March 2013!

 
I am recommending two local travel agencies here – both of which services have been tried and tested J


Asiantour Travel (Myanmar) Co. Ltd
Tel : +95 1 500 062 / +95 9 511 2006 / + 95 9 513 3958
Email :
asiantourmyanmar@gmail.com
Website :
www.asiantour-myanmar.com

 

Glittering Tours
Tel : +951 539 507 / +95 9 4732 2277
Email : samuelbawm@gmail

 
Please be mindful that due to credit card facilities being unavailable at the moment (at time of publishing, that is) the local travel agents operate base on trust. It is obviously inconvenient for them to take a deposit from you, but most of the time, they may still be required to pay a deposit to the hotels or transport that they book on your behalf, depending on their operational framework. You don’t want to be stranded, neither do they.

 

So, don’t wait – travel prices to Myanmar will only soar. Even transportation rental price differs from one week to the other!

 
Wear….


You’re travelling, so you should aim to travel light. This is tropical weather after all. It does get cooler around November to December – which is supposedly the cold season. Now that the rainy season (July – September and I have not known another country with so much rain!!) is coming to an end, the weather is starting to get hot again. And it is not just hot, it gets seriously humid too. The worse heat happens from March to May, which is the hot season.

 
I think what you wear is generally common sense – you know, when visiting the holy places, let’s not bare too much skin. If you’re traveling to Northern Myanmar during the cold season, bring along a jacket. Nothing the seasoned traveller won’t know about. J  

 
Before You Depart…..

 
Finally – make sure you’ve got your visas done. It is not visa-free country, ok! The last I checked – Visa-On-Arrival is only for Business Visas, not for Tourist Visas. Air Asia’s website links you to the Myanmar E-Visa website – where you can get your E-Visa done pretty easily over the course of 5-working days. If that’s not your cup of tea, just go stand in line at the Myanmar Embassy. My best advice is to check on the visa statuses as the policies also changes as the country prepares to welcome more investors and visitors.

 
Don’t forget to iron your USDs and make sure they’re perfect and clean. But you can sure as hell forget about your mobile phones. Just come with a sense of adventure and survival instincts. Oh, and your camera, of course.

 
So with that, folks, I welcome you to Myanmar J

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