Money Exchange in Yangon (Dollar Exchange)

If you are visiting Myanmar, you will find yourself trying to find a money exchange to change your foreign currency into Myanmar kyat. Although US dollar is universally accepted, small vendors will be reluctant to accept US dollars because of difficulty in exchanging into kyat. So you invariably have to change some money into Myanmar kyat anyway.

The first place you can change is at the airport. There is an authorized money exchange counter at the airport, but the rate they pay is very low, so you better not change there.

Your hotel might be able to make money exchange for you at a reasonable price, so you should always ask their price first. If they cannot, they can give you some advice on it. They can contact a money exchange dealer as they always have contact with these people.

Apart from your hotel, the most convenient place in Yangon to change your dollars into kyat is in Bogyoke market. There are a number of money exchanges in Bogyoke market although none of them are authorized. Just ask any shop in the market and they will show you the direction to one of these black market exchanges.

Next, you can try in the Bar Street (Maharbandoola Garden Street) near the Yangon City Hall. There is Myanmar Foreign Exchange Bank in Bar Street, and many black market dealers stalking the street near by. Just walk along Bar Street, and they will ask you whether you want to sell your US dollar.

There are also some black market money exchanges near Trader's Hotel in downtown Yangon in Sulae Pagoda Road, but be mindful of them. Read the following comment posted on my blog by one of my visitors.

" guy said...

I went to the theater on Bogyoke Aung San Rd./33 street. The movie was very dark and the sound crackling (english). But the tickets were available without a problem. Nice way to spend an afternoon in Yangoon. I think I spend about Kyt 500 -600. Btw. Beauty Land II Hotel was a great place to stay. And one more thing. There are always some money changer crooks hanging out in front of the Traders Hotel. When I changed money they let me count 1000 Kt bills and later handed me a stack of 500 Kt bills with the same thickness without me noticing it.
I lost about $15 not to bad but very irritating. Those crooks seem to work in organized groups of spotters and closers. They were nicely dressed and spoke good english. A few days later I recognized one of those guys in front of the Traders Hotel in Yangon and When I grabed one and started to shout for the police they gave me my money back."

Personally, I recommend those in Bogyoke Market. They are safer and quite well established, so you are unlikely to be cheated. Those on the street, you cannot trust them.

US dollar is the only acceptable currency in Myanmar although on some occasions, you will find somebody who is willing to buy Thai baht or Singapore dollar. For other currencies, like Japanese yen, Euro or Australian dollar, forget about them. Nobody would take them. So bring enough US dollar when you go to Myanmar.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Yangon, Rangoon, Money exchange

Bus to Mandalay

If you are planning to go to Mandalay directly from Yangon, you have three options. The most comfortable, convenient and expensive one is to take a flight. The price (for two way ticket) is more expensive than a two way ticket between Bangkok and Yangon. The second, less expensive one is to use the train. The cheapest and most uncomfortable way to travel is by bus.

Buses from Yangon to Mandalay usually leave around 5 PM in the afternoon, and arrives to Mandalay the next morning around 9 AM. The buses are all air-conditioned, but some of the bus drivers may turn off the air cons once the leave Yangon. Most buses will also take passengers in the axle seats, which makes the bus very crowded. The buses will stop on the way for dinner and supper, usually around 8 PM and after midnight. The stop depends on the bus service. Food might be a little difficult for you to digest as this is always Burmese rice and curry. Food price is not included in the bus fare. The toilets at these restaurants are almost always dirty.

The road is OK for most of the way although it is quite bumpy. Burmese soap operas, karaoke or sometimes Burmese traditional Anyeint is shown on the bus, usually with unbearably loud sound. The road is usually bumpy, and the bus jumpy so it is difficult for a traveler to sleep well on the way. There is no toilet on the bus so don't hesitate to go to the toilet even if the toilets are extremely dirty (which is true in some cases).

For a bus service, I recommend "Man Shwe Pyay" as the buses are newer and in better condition. They also open air con all the way and don't have the axle seats so the bus driver cannot take any passenger on the way.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Travel

Tip on going into town from the airport

If you are a foreigner, and coming to Burma for the first time, you will found yourself in a completely different world. And the first daunting task would be to go to your hotel.
If you have already arranged with your travel agent to pick you up at the airport, everything would be OK. But if not, you will have to hire a taxi. There is no airport bus service running from the airport so the only way yo can go to your hotel is by a taxi. And this might be more complex than you think. The taxis in Myanmar are not metered, and the fare is not fixed. So you have to bargain with the taxi drivers at the airport. They will tell you that this is a fixed price, but it is not true. The taxi fare from airport is always more expensive, but you can always bargain. If you are not carrying many things, you can walk out of the airport compound (which indeed is a very small compound) and hail a taxi on the road. Only a few taxis come this way but most of the time, you will be able to get a taxi, cheaper than the one from the airport. Good luck with your travel.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Travel, Taxi

Chin Head Basket

Have you ever heard about head basket? Well, we have in Chin Hills. Lets call it Chin head basket. It is a kind of basket that you carry by hanging around your head with a string. You don't carry it by hand. The basket is quite a large one, big enough to carry a 5 gallon water container. And people, even young women and children, carry them by a string hung over their head. It is a tiring thing to do so. I once tried to carry one with some weight in it but couldn't carry more than a few minutes. For the Chin people, they have been carrying a big load since they were young so seem no problem carrying a heavy head basket over their head.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Chin Hills, Chin State, Mindat

How to go to Mindat?

If you are interested in going to Mindat, here is a guide. You cannot go there direct from Yangon. First, go to Pakokku, a big city on the west bank of Irrawaddy (Ayarwaddy). To go to Pakokku, you have two options. One is the direct bus trip to Pakokku from Yangon. The buses are quite old and slow, and carry a lot of goods and cargo. I recommend the second option which is to take a bus to Pagan (Bagan) and from there, cross the Irrawaddy. The bus to Bagan leaves around 3 PM from Yangon, and arrives there around 5 AM the next morning. You can take a ship from Bagan to Pakokku. This ship travels between Bagan and Mandalay, but you can drop in Pakokku. The trip will take around one and half hour. Alternatively, if you are more adventurous, you can take a ferry boat to Pakokku. From the boat pier, you can take a tricycle or a horse cart to Mindat bus station. The station is called "Mindat Gyar Sakhan", meaning "In between camp". From there, you take a bus to Mindat. It is actually a Jeep that carries people and goods from Pakokku to Mindat. The road is not bad for Burmese standards, but quite rough compared to other roads in neighboring Asian countries. The trip from Pakokku to Mindat usually takes around 6 to 8 hours although it is only 96 miles. If you use your own car, it will take around 4 to 5 hours, depending on the condition of the car as well as the weather. On the way, you will have to pass Pauk Town and Kyauktu Town. Only around 10 miles near Mindat is mountain road. The road trip is generally safe so you don't need to be worry to much.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Chin Hills, Chin State, Mindat

Mindat - a Southern Chin Town

If you ever want to visit Chin Hills, Mindat is the most convenient and easiest to reach town in Chin Hills. Situated in Southern part of Chin Hills, Mindat is a small but peaceful, beautiful and tranquil town. With a total population of nearly 10,000 people, it is considered a sizable town in Chin Hills. The town is built along the top of a mountain range that runs east and west. So practically, Mindat is a long line of houses built along the main road with some small side roads fanning out here and there.

Situated at 4,860 feet above the sea level, it is cool in summer and very cold in winter. And a lot of rain falls during the rainy season. The best season to visit Mindat is during summer where the weather is cool but not cold, and the roads are dry.

As soon as you reach Mindat, you will notice immediately how beautiful the town is. Tall pine trees line the approaching road while distant mountains shadows the town. It is a scenery that will definitely impress the first time visitors. Then you see the small, beautiful wooden houses with scenic backdrop along the main road. Curious faces of locals will pop through the windows of these houses while the smiling faces of their children will follow you. Welcome to Mindat.

You can see many aspect of Chin life in Mindat. Local people still wear Chin dress and carry Chin buskets and knives while some men carry locally made shot guns on the streets of Mindat. Many women dress beautiful Chin necklaces while some old women still wear enormous Chin traditional earrings. Many people carry woods or rice in Chin head baskets, the one that they carry with a string hung over their head. If you are lucky, you can even observe a Chin wedding or funeral rite. You can also observe the way they make famous Chin Khaung (Chin Beer).

Walk around the town along the small dart roads the run around the road. There are many Chin traditional huts that were built of pine wood and roofed with thatch. See the way real Chin village people live and work over the harsh terrains of Chin land.


If you are a Buddhist, go and visit the Taung Pu Lu (Taungpulu) Buddhist monastery in Mindat. The head abbot is the famous Ashin Pyinnyar Thiri. You can make donation for the monastic school for the local poor children opened at the monastery and operated by the abbot. These children really need your help.

If your guide can arrange for you to stay in a Chin village for a night, ask him. If he cannot, you can still take a walk to a near by village. One thing to be careful is that this area is a malaria area so take a malaria precaution and prophylaxis.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Chin Hills, Chin State, Mindat

Myanmar Hotel Online Reservation and Booking

For those visitors who are coming to Myanmar and want to book their hotels online, here are some of the travel agents that handle online reservation.

Last Minute Myanmar - An online travel website where you can book your hotel, flight and transportation online. Hotels in their list include those from Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, Kyaikhtiyo, Inle, Pyinoolwin and Taunggyi.

The Governor's Resident - A luxurious hotel in the heart of Yangon, Myanmar.

Hotel Travel - An international travel site that also accept Myanmar hotel booking and reservation online.

Burma Hotel Guide - Another travel website for hotel booking and reservation in Myanmar.

Burma (Myanmar) Hotels - A travel website with hotel reservation and booking of hotels in Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, Inle and many other destinations.

Visit Mekong - A travel website with hotel booking and reservation in Myanmar and other Mekong region.

Myanmar Hotels - Book hotels in Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan and other destinations in Myanmar online.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Travel, Hotel, Tourism, Tips, Booking

Khaung (Indigenous Beer)

“Khaung” is a kind of alcoholic beverage made locally in some parts of Myanmar, mostly among ethnic people. There are various kinds of “khaung” produced locally but most widely known are Kachin and Chin khaungs. I don’t know about Kachin khaung, but I have some knowledge about Chin khaung that I could share with you.

In Chin state, the most famous khaung is made in Southern Chin State, especially in Mindat Township. In contrast to khaung from other ethnic people, Chin khaung is made from millet seeds, not rice or sticky rice. Every family in Mindat grows millet seeds in their farms solely for the purpose of making khaung.

The process of khaung making is as follows. First, red millet seed is cooked until it becomes thick. Then it is allowed to cool down. Once it is cool down, yeast is added to it and blends properly. Then it is put into a clay pot and sealed air tight. Fermentation takes place inside the sealed pot. This process takes at least a month, but the longer the fermentation time, the better the quality of khaung. To get a really good quality khaung, it needs at least six months of fermentation.

After a certain period, it is ready to drink, but you need to make beverage or khaung from this mixture. The pot is opened, and water added into the pot. Banana leaves are put above the content and a straw is inserted into the pot. Khaung is then siphoned through the straw and into the cup. First cup is the best and usually served to the guest of honor. When water contents in the pot lowers, more water is added, again and again, until there is no more taste.

The taste of Chin khaung is sweet, and a bit sour. It tastes somewhat like a mix of alcohol, grape fruit juice and lemonade. Khaung plays a very important part in Chin culture. If you are offered a cup of khaung in Chin Hills, don’t refuse under any circumstance. You are considered a guest of honor and refusal of the offer will be considered rude.

Back from Kunming, Yunnan, China

Well, I was just coming back from Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan province of China. I stayed there three days (two nights) only, sent there by my organization. It is always nice to go somewhere with other people's expense actually. Well, my stay there was a nice one.
Kunming is situated at about 6200 feet above sea level. Although it is at the same level as Hakha, the capital of Chin State in Myanmar, it is not as cold as in Hakha. Here in Kunming, the temperature during the day is around 20 degree Celsius, a very nice temperature indeed. And the city in situated on a flat land, possibly a plateau. The city itself is very clean, a lot cleaner than Bangkok, and quite modern. And there are also no dogs on the road too. Looks like they killed all the strayed dogs there.
There are fewer restaurants in Kunming than in Bangkok. Here in Bangkok, there are lots and lots of restaurants, both cheap and expensive. Over there, there are no road side paddlers, at least in the city center. That makes the city very clean, but at the same time, it makes the city monotonous. I feel like it is not as colorful as in Bangkok.
One interesting place to visit in Kunming is the old town, where the old, partly ruined houses situated. Some of the houses seemed to be ready to be pulled down in a few days. There are also many road side paddlers on the streets there too.

Nakhon Pathom

The following is from Au, my beloved wife who lives in Nakhon Pathom.

If you want to visit a quiet charming town, why don't you come to Nakhon Pathom province. It is just a small town which is very near to Bangkok and takes only 50 minutes to arrive there.

I am the one who lives in Nakhon Pathom and proudly presents my hometown. If you are bored at the traffic in Bangkok, please think of Nakhon Pathom as your choice. There, you will see a lot of interesting places which relate to Thai history and plenty of delicious foods that can make your stomach full.

It is very easy to get there. You can take a bus No. 997, 83 from the Southern Bus Terminal , or if you like to travel by train, you can also take a train from any station in Bangkok. Above all, it is so convinient for you to drive a car. The road is very smooth.

Here is one of the most enchanting tourist attractions in Nakhon Pathom.



Phra Pathom Chedi, the largest pagoda in Thailand . Phra Pathom Chedi is the official provincial symbol of Nakhon Pathom. As soon as you arrive there, you will be able to feel peaceful in you mind. You can do a merit and pray at the Lord Buddha. Within the monastery compound, there are various interesting historical items, including the Phra Ruang Rodjanarith, an image of Buddha bestowing pardon, is enshrined in a vihara located to the North and in front of Phra Pathom Chedi. The visitors always visit this pagoda and pray at the Buddha image for their safety and wishes.

At night, start from 4 pm, there are so many food stalls on the left side of the pagoda. I can say all the food is nice and also cheap. One of the most famous shops is Sky-High ice cream. They sell Thai-style ice cream but the difference is the way the serve ice cream. I will show a photo next time.

This is all for now. Next time I will bring you to another beautiful place of Nakhon Pathom- Sanam Chan Palace.

Technorati Tag : Thailand, Nakhon Pathom, Phra Pathom Chedi

Tips on Trip to Kanchanaburi, Thailand

A few more tips about a trip to Kanchanaburi. The bus to Kanchanaburi leaves every hour starting from 4 am until late at night from Southern Bus Terminal near Pinklao. You can take a bus there or more convemiently, by a taxi. Ask for Kanchanaburi ticket box to a guard as the terminal is a little confusing. You don't need to book a ticket in advanced as it is very easy to get a ticket. It takes about two hours to Kanchanaburi. When you get there, you can hire a pick up near the bus station. You should visit the Hell Fire Pass Museum, and the Tiger Temple where they keep tigers and you can take photos with the tigers. Don't worry. They won't bite you. And from there, take a train back to Kanchanaburi. The train actually goes back to Bangkok, but the trip from Kanchanaburi to Bangkok is really boring. So take off at Kanchanaburi after taking photos at the Bridge over river Kwai.
Oh, by the way, don't forget to visit the JEATH War Museum and Allied War Cemetry there too.

Technorati Tag : Thailand, Kanchanaburi, River Kwai

Liquid ban on all flights from Thailand

Thailand will start enforcing new restrictions on liquids, aerosols and gels in hand carried luggage on all commercial flights departing from airports nationwide in the next few weeks, according to a report in Bangkok Post news paper. This is in accordance with the suggestions by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), following the discovery of a terrorist plot in Britain last year. South Korea and Hong Kong have already implimented such restrictions, while Singapore will start restrictions on May 8. The limit is on all liquids, aerosols and gels in containers more than the maximum capacity of 100 ml. Even if the containers are not full, they will not be permitted to carry in a hand luggage. This include those bought from airport duty free shops, including alcohols and perfumes. Liquids in containers less than a maximum capacity of 100 ml will still be permitted to hand carry.