Myanmar - Getting In

Visas are required of all travelers to Myanmar ages seven years and over, for a stay of up to 30 days (formerly, you couldn't stay in the country for more than two weeks). From Bangkok, visas now only take about two to three days to be processed and cost 800 Thai baht (US$32). Tourists can travel independently in Myanmar, but aren't permitted to stray from the "approved" tourist sites. Tourist visas are not extendable except in rare circumstances (i.e., you want to become a monk). Once inside Myanmar, a business visitor may possibly apply for an extended visa with the invitation and recommendation of a state enterprise. For a tourist visa, you'll need three passport-sized photographs.

Check with:

Myanmar Embassy

132 Sathon Neua Road

Bangkok, Thailand

Tel.: 66-2-233-2237

Myanmar Embassy

2300 S St., NW

Washington, DC 20008

Tel.: 202-332-9044

Sneaking into Myanmar can be easily done by hiking over land or along logging roads into the country from Thailand. Troubles you encounter won't be with the government but with the various ethnic and rebel groups, who will have no qualms about shooting you and leaving you to rot. You can try contacting the various groups through expat sympathizers; however, don't try this from inside the country. Another alternative is having a couple of 13-year-old schoolkids-turned-commandos sneak you across the border near Mae Hong Son in Thailand for a nominal fee.

Entry by air into Myanmar is via Yangon International Airport, the country's only international gateway besides Mandalay (which is serviced from Chiang Mai, Thailand). Daily flights take less than an hour between Bangkok and Yangon. Myanmar Airways (MAI) has recently purchased new aircraft (Boeing 737-400s) for use on its routes to Singapore, Bangkok and Jakarta and has upgraded its safety agenda far enough to get off of the FAA's @#% list. Thai International offers slightly better service than Myanmar Airways between the two capitals, but only three times a week. There are also direct flights available from Singapore, Calcutta, Kathmandu, Dacca, Moscow and Beijing on a variety of Third World airlines.

MAI flies twice a week to Singapore and Jakarta. Jakarta has become the seventh foreign city that MAI flies to, in addition to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Dhaka and Kunming. The MAI international fleet consists of three Boeing 737-400s. Flights to and from Bangkok have been increased from twice daily to three times daily. MAI flies to Singapore once a day.

Yangon International Airport is situated about 19 kilometers northwest of Yangon, and there may or may not be a BAC bus to transport passengers into the major hotels. If you are traveling on a package tour, transfers are definitely provided. Expect to pay about US$6 if using local taxis (and don't forget to bargain a little).

A departure tax (US$6) is included in tour package prices. Or pay it yourself at the airport if traveling independently.

Getting there by sea was formerly an option by cruise boat. You can't get into the country by sea today, but check for the current regulations, as they change constantly. In February 1997, a group of foreign tourists visited the Mergui archipelago off Myanmar's southern coast aboard the 51-foot ketch rig trimaran Gaea. Operated by Southeast Asia Liveaboards, the boat made the run, with official permission from SLORC, from Thailand's coastal city of Ranong. There's every reason to believe the company will continue making regular cruises to the Merguis in the future. For the time being, voyagers aboard the Gaea can expect some degree of intrigue, like being stopped by Myanmar navy coastal patrols, which haven't yet gotten word the cruises (which are restricted to the inner islands only due to an ongoing fishing rights dispute in the outer islands between the Burmese and the Thais) are kosher with the generals in Yangon. For more information, contact Thailand-based Southeast Asia Liveaboards at 66-76-340406; Fax: 66-76-340586; or e-mail seadiver@loxinfo.co.th.

Yangon is the country's major port, and it lies at the mouth of the Ayeyarwady River. Visitors are welcome to travel upriver on private cargo ships or conveyances owned by the government-run Inland Water Transport Corporation to either Mandalay or Nyaung-U (for Bagan). The journey is hot, picturesque and overly time-consuming, but still popular now that you can get a 30-day visa.

Cruise ships in the Far East area often schedule calls at Yangon, but thus far, no company has been successful in arranging regular visits.

The overland route between Thailand and Myanmar, where visitors could travel from Mae Sai, Thailand, to Kengtung, Myanmar-an eight-hour trip by road each way-was closed at press time. Travelers using this route had been limited to a three-day/two-night trip (EastQuest and others offer tours). At press time, groups could no longer enter Myanmar by land from Tachilek, Three Pagodas Pass and Kawthaung in Thailand. The opening of a China overland route, from Kunming in Yunnan province, which was under consideration for independent travelers, has been shelved for the time being. Tour groups have made the crossing in the past. Things change all the time regarding land crossings. Check regarding all land crossings beforehand. There have been numerous instances of fighting along the border with Thailand, particularly opposite Tak, Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi and Chumphon provinces in Thailand.