As our teak wood boat slowly drifted into the dock of a shop perched on stilts above Inle Lake, I noticed the man in the window.
He looked my way and we exchanged glances. I wondered if he was the owner or if he worked there.
I gestured towards my camera and as I pulled it up to my face to frame the shot, I looked for his approval.
He nodded and went back to what he was doing as I hoped he would.
Walking towards the shop I looked his way once more, smiled and nodded to thank him for the photo.
In that moment I wished my father and grandmother taught me Burmese growing up so I could’ve had a conversation with him and the many relatives I met in Myanmar.
Planning a trip to Myanmar? Myanmar is relatively new to tourism and is rapidly changing. As such I wanted to give you a list of 6 essential things you should know about travelling in Myanmar and share my Myanmar itinerary.
This article will share how to get a SIM card in Myanmar, the best Myanmar destinations to visit like Inle Lake and the Mergui Archipelago, and the critical nuances of how to exchange USD to kyat. I will also share how to say thank you in Burmese, how to pronounce ‘Myanmar’ and the best time to visit Myanmar. Spoiler alert, my answer is now.
We travelled from Mandalay to the most southern city in Myanmar, Kawthaung. We cruised the Irrawaddy River for 9 hours to Bagan, drove 12 hours through the Shan hills and past small villages to Inle Lake, visited a cave with hundreds of Buddha along the way, saw paper parasols being made, attended a Pagoda Festival on Inle Lake, lit candles to honour my ancestors in Nyaung Shwe and went liveaboard boating around the Mergui archipelago in southern Myanmar. It was one of the most incredible trips of my life. It was wonderful to see where my father and grandparents grew up and finally meet over half of the 100+ relatives I have in Myanmar.
1. Exchanging Money and US Dollars in Myanmar
Myanmar Kyat notes
There were ATMs everywhere in Mandalay and Yangon but the country is still very much a cash society. Bring crisp, unmarkedUnited States dollars (USD) for exchanging. There are a few exchange kiosks at the Mandalay and Yangon airports; you will also find some in the major cities. You may have read about having crisp notes; I can confirm that they were still strict about this. Family members had some notes rejected because there was writing on them, or the bill was slightly bent. Sometimes the ATM machines had run out of cash or we were not able to withdraw from some of them for unknown reasons. So make sure to plan for that.
Tip: Bring one hundred dollar bills instead of fifty or twenty dollar bills if you can because one hundred dollar bills get a better rate than fifty dollar bills. I recommend exchanging USD rather than relying on ATMs especially in smaller towns. Bring some envelopes to carry your money because you will receive a lot of kyats. At the time of my visit, $500 USD was over 650, 000 kyats. That is a lot of bills, but I managed it by carrying it in separate holders/wallets. You will be using cash a lot. At the time of writing it is 1 USD to 1525.20 kyat.
2. SIM cards and Internet access in Myanmar
Myanmar SIM card from Ooredoo
Your phone must be unlocked to be able to use a sim card from one of the 3 wireless companies in Myanmar – Ooredoo, Telenor and MPT. All 3 companies are vying for your business at the Mandalay and Yangon airports. In October 2015, it was 1500 kyats ($1-1.50 USD) for a SIM card and 11,500 kyats for 2.5 GB of data (about $8-9 USD) with Ooredoo. The coverage was good in Mandalay, Pyin Oo Lwin, Bagan, Inle Lake, Kalaw and Yangon.
Data coverage was sporadic when we travelled through the mountains from Bagan to Inle Lake in Myanmar. That’s to be expected when travelling through the mountains anywhere in the world. When we travelled from Mandalay to Bagan on the Irrawaddy River, data signals were non-existent. Overall I was impressed at the coverage and the speed and was able to Instagram, Facebook, tweet and do video calling by Facetime with my family at home in Canada. For a 2.5 week trip, I had more than enough data. Most hotels in Myanmar have wi-fi but I found the wi-fi to be slow except for the Bagan King hotel we stayed at in Mandalay.
Tip: If you post a lot of photos or like to use Facebook or Instagram, get the 2.5 GB amount. Though there are many shops where you can reload your prepaid data, language barriers could and probably will be an issue at the small stores (see the ‘English language’ tip below).
For further information, visit this link for prepaid data costs in countries around the world.
3. Temple and Pagoda Manners
If you are visiting a temple or pagoda, cover your legs to at least past your knees. That goes for women and men. Also, cover your shoulders and expect to go barefoot once there.
Pindaya Caves in Shan State, Myanmar
Tip: Pick up a longyi (a Burmese sarong) at a market. It’s lightweight, travels well, is inexpensive and you will have a useful and beautiful souvenir of your visit.
4. The English language in Myanmar
Myanmar is open to tourism but is still very new to it. It is a very welcoming and friendly country, and they do want tourism to grow, but finding people with a good command and understanding of the English language can be difficult in most places. I have travelled in many non-English speaking countries and have found that the staff at the front desk of a hotel or people in the tourist areas are able to speak and understand English the best. This was not the case in Myanmar when I visited, especially at smaller locally-owned hotels and restaurants and in smaller towns. Please don’t expect that your servers in the restaurants will understand your questions about the menu or understand your food preferences. Keep your English simple, use gestures and have patience.
Update 2020: I’m hearing that it is a little easier to find people that speak some English. Still, be prepared for a significant language barrier.
The proper way to pronounce ‘Myanmar’ is not my-an-mar or me-an-mar. Listen to this pronunciation.
Use these 2 words whenever you can — Min-ga-la-ba (a way to say hello, similar meaning to namaste) and Cè-zù tin-ba-deh (thank you in Burmese).
The crew going back to our liveaboard boat in the Mergui Archipelago, Myanmar.
5. The Best Time to Visit Myanmar
Now, seriously. Myanmar is continually changing and at a rapid pace. Go while you can still see Myanmar before all the shiny new hotels, buildings and Mergui Archipelago resorts takeover. It is a beautiful country, and though much has changed in the last few years, you’ll still get a real sense of the place.
If you prefer to visit when it’s not as hot, then I recommend a visit between mid-October to mid January. If you’d like to have moderate temperatures and good weather in the Mergui Archipelago then mid-November to February is ideal.
Myanmar Festivals
If you want to attend some lesser-known but cultural festivals, go to Myanmar in October. The weather is excellent, it’s the end of the monsoon season, and before the busy tourist season. The Festival of Lights known as Thadingyut is celebrated all over Myanmar on the full moon in October. I enjoyed celebrating Thadingyut in Nyaung Shwe (Inle Lake). As a descendant of the lands, it was a beautiful and meaningful experience for me. Pagodas and temples are full of candles, and every home has a candle in their window. My father recalled celebrating the festival the years he grew up in Yangon.
The unique Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda festival occurs in the days leading up to Thadingyut in Inle Lake. During the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival, the Karaweik barge travels for 18 days from village to village spending a night or two at their temple. The barge carries four images of Buddha, and a procession of boats that are powered by 100 leg rowers (the Intha men) per boat pulls the barge. We met up with the parade in a village on Inle Lake on the last day of the festival and then celebrated Thadingyut that same evening in Nyaung Shwe.
Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival in Inle Lake, Myanmar
6. The Best Places to Visit in Myanmar
There is a reason tourists are visiting the places on the tourist trail, they’re worth seeing, but it can get crowded during the high season. Check out my 17-day Myanmar itinerary for ideas for your trip to Myanmar. See my ‘best time to visit Myanmar’ tip below.
I worked our Myanmar itinerary around the timing of the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival, because of that I had one less night in Bagan than I wanted and 1 more night in Nyaung Shwe than I needed. I feel I could have seen what I wanted to see in Inle Lake in 2 nights.
Most of our time here was spent with family. I feel that 3 nights is sufficient to get a good feel of Yangon and even include a visit to the Golden Rock.
115 Island, Nga Man Island, Kyun Phila, Myauk Ni, Thay Yae Island
Obviously, if you don’t have the time, there are ways to reduce the number of days for your Myanmar itinerary. You could visit for 7 days or 7 months and still not have enough time.
If your time is limited, I would say that you should not definitely put Inle Lake and Bagan on your Myanmar itinerary. They are two very different places that are not to be missed. I highly recommend finding a way to make it work and dare I say, skip Yangon or limit it to just 1-2 nights on your itinerary.
The Most Beautiful Places in Myanmar
Sunset in Kawthaung, Myanmar, the gateway to the Mergui Archipelago
For me, there were two that stood out on my Myanmar itinerary above the rest – Bagan and the Mergui Archipelago. Sadly, I only had 1 night in Bagan but could have spent at least another 2 nights there. There’s just something about being surrounded by all the ancient temples and pagodas and knowing they have survived a few significant earthquakes. The history, the beauty, and the peace of the place drew me in.
For something off the tourist trail, plan a visit to the Mergui Archipelago, also known as the Myeik Archipelago in southern Myanmar. The Mergui Archipelago is still very much untouched with only 2200 tourists a year (2015 stats) and is home to the best beaches in Myanmar.
The Mergui Archipelago was hands-down the most remote place I’ve ever visited. We travelled by private liveaboard boat as we cruised from beach to beach for 3-nights/4-days. It was surreal. The only other people we saw were fishermen and the Indigenous Moken people.
Snorkelling the Mergui Archipelago in Myanmar
The best beaches in Myanmar are found in the Mergui Archipelago
The Mergui Archipelago is home to over 800 mostly uninhabited islands in the Andaman Sea, the indigenous Moken people and the best beaches in Myanmar. The Moken are traditionally a nomadic people that live by and off the sea, but have been forced to live in island villages and have been losing their traditional ways.
The beaches in this region of Myanmar were something out of glossy magazine. They only sign of life and those beaches not inhabited by Moken people were monkey tracks.
Snorkelling in Myanmar was incredible. It was the first time I saw such a variety of marine life and the first time (and only time so far) I’ve seen cuttlefish and squid. I snorkelled with a wide variety of tropical fish including ‘Nemo’ and ‘Dory’, moray eel, cuttlefish, urchin, squid, banded sea krait (sea snake), sea cucumber and several different coloured hard corals. I imagine that scuba diving in Myanmar is even more incredible, but I, unfortunately, don’t have personal experience to share. As we made our way back to the jetty in Kawthaung at the end of our liveaboard experience in Myanmar, we saw the fins of a shark in the distance.
This region in Myanmar is only accessible by liveaboard boating. We started and ended in Kawthaung after a short plane ride from Yangon. After our three incredible nights on a liveaboard in Southern Myanmar, we took a long tail boat from Kawthaung to Ranong, Thailand. We spent a night in Ranong and flew Nok Air to Bangkok, Thailand the next day for our onward journey, we spent a final night in Bangkok before making our way home to Toronto, Canada.
Our boat stopped at one of the Moken communities, but I did not go ashore. Five chapans (Moken traditional dugout boat) filled with children rowed out to our boat. The captain gave the children food and drinks and off they went with a smile, “Mingalabar” and a wave. To learn more about the Moken and their plight, visit Project Moken.
In Yangon, Thadingyut is best celebrated at the night market at Yay Kyaw Streetor the Shwedagon Pagoda. I arrived in Yangon late on the last evening of Thadingyut and unfortunately, missed the celebration at Yay Kyaw Street and the infamous human-powered Ferris wheel.
If you’re planning to visit during the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival in Inle Lake, you can find a schedule online for when the leg-rowing races occur (twice). I missed the last race by a few days; it would have been wonderful to see.
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One of my favourite animals to watch in the wild are monkeys. I especially enjoy seeing the dynamics within a troop of baboons and I hold a special place for moms and babies.
An early morning boat ride on the Ganga in Varanasi, India. This sacred river is also known as the Ganges and is over 2500 kilometers long. It flows from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal.
A flashback to ATV riding on this beach in rural Senegal near Lac Rose (Lake Retba). I rode around the ‘pink
lake’, past villages, down dunes, to this beach by the Atlantic Ocean and past stops on the former Dakar rally.
A street view at Bogyoke market in Yangon, Myanmar from the walkway near the train station.
In October 2015, I visited my ancestral home of Myanmar with my father who was born and raised in Yangon until he was 15 years old.
As we walked across this walkway, a memory of his days in Yangon as a teen came back to him. He recalled visits to this market and hanging out with friends at a cousin’s nearby shop.
