General Info

[Muse Fan]

The visa on arrival is strictly for business visas only. And you need paperwork for all of that. A tourist visa can still be obtained either at your nearest myanmar embassy, or if through an agent if you live in a country that has them. I'm from the US and I live in saigon, so I had an agent take care of it for me since I couldn't make time to go to the embassy. I had it rushed. 2 days, and it cost me 110 USD. But if you do it your self it will probably cost half as much. Also, the agencies that I found online wanted 7-12 days to process your application. But the embassys usually take 3 or less from what I understand.

Before clearing customs, the exchange rate was 940, after customs it was 945. IN TOWN, on sule road near the huge golden stupa, there are some people offering 1000 exchange rate. I wish I would have waited to exchange money. I haven't tried them out yet, but I believe it's the real deal.

I'm staying at okinawa guest house. I wouldn't recommend it to you guys because it's not the cleanest, or nicest place. But it's cheap and I didn't feel like looking around. I'm more of the backpacker type. 15$ for a very small box with a fan. It's definitely girl friendly because I took one home last night from JJ's

[LifeIsABeach]

Was in Yangon for a week recently, here is what I found:

SIM card: driver took me to a street in " little India" that had a row of 8 mobile phone shops. First six were sold out of SIM cards, got one at 7th store for $20. Not sure how many minutes, but it lasted the whole time. Note international SMSs I sent were never received.

CASH: exchange rate was 940 per USD. Rate at airport before clearing customs was 938 for $50 & $100 bills. 935 for smaller bills. Rate was 2 kyat higher just outside customs, next to duty free shop. Rate in town at money changer about the same. I'd suggest just changing at the airport.

Thanks for the report. Still waiting on your report on the Hotel and girls.

[SteelBaton]

Was in Yangon for a week recently, here is what I found:

SIM card: driver took me to a street in " little India" that had a row of 8 mobile phone shops. First six were sold out of SIM cards, got one at 7th store for $20. Not sure how many minutes, but it lasted the whole time. Note international SMSs I sent were never received.

CASH: exchange rate was 940 per USD. Rate at airport before clearing customs was 938 for $50 & $100 bills. 935 for smaller bills. Rate was 2 kyat higher just outside customs, next to duty free shop. Rate in town at money changer about the same. I'd suggest just changing at the airport.

[Daddy San]

3G phones with standard UMTS bands should work. .

Good to hear that Seeko.

It means that nowdays there is a GSM network in place beside the original CDMA network, just like in the US.

While GSM and CDMA are totally technically incompatible, quite possibly, you can buy cell phones which work in both worlds.

DS

[The Scout]

I did my research here before visiting Rangoon but made no detailed notes, figuring I'd log in and go to the reports that I had noted. Wrong. When I tried to log in I got a screen that said that this site is blocked. In fact, all the popular adult-content sites are blocked. So, make detailed notes before visiting Burma, or get a proxy server service before entering the country.

Or use a VPN to bypass Gov censorship. TunnelBear. Com is free but limits data usage. Not a big issue though.

[LifeIsABeach]

3G phones with standard UMTS bands should work. While I was in Yangon last month, my cousin lent me her spare SIM card. They were skeptical that it'd work, stating something about CDMA. My smartphone is Samsung Galaxy SII (T-Mobile USA version: T989, with HSPA+/UMTS Quad-band : 850/1700/1900/2100MHz; GSM Quad-band: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz). It registered the SIM Card with no issue. I was able to make & receive calls and send / receive text messages. There was no data plan on it, so I didn't get to check that part out, but there were enough free WiFi hotspots such that it didn't seem necessary to access 3G data. I got cell signals in Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay, and Inle Lake.

I did see my friends and relatives use cellular data in restaurants and pagodas to check-in & post to Facebook (with iPhones & Samsung phones) , so if you purchased proper modern SIM cards, there shouldn't be any issues.

Seeko

The CDMA-800 MHz system will initially be used, but in regions and states that do not have such facilities, WCDMA 3G SIM cards will also be sold at 1, 500 kyat, said the broadcast.

Never heard of 800 Mhz. Also Verizon (a carrier) in USA uses CDMA technology which doesn't use SIM cards. No other carrier in USA uses CDMA technology. The bands are GSM 850/900/1800/1900 & 3G / HSDPA 900/1900/2100. If a 3G SIM card works, use it! Your phone must be able to handle the MHz and be unlocked.

[Seeko]

Http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingn...lly-in-myanmar

The reference to the "CDMA-800 phone system" in the link is worth while paying attention to.

It means that Myanmar, does not use the universal GSM phone system and you'd need a CDMA type phone, as used in parts of the US.

If you are from the US and have a CDMA phone, you still need to check if it works in the 800MHz freuency band.

Good luck

3G phones with standard UMTS bands should work. While I was in Yangon last month, my cousin lent me her spare SIM card. They were skeptical that it'd work, stating something about CDMA. My smartphone is Samsung Galaxy SII (T-Mobile USA version: T989, with HSPA+/UMTS Quad-band : 850/1700/1900/2100MHz; GSM Quad-band: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz). It registered the SIM Card with no issue. I was able to make & receive calls and send / receive text messages. There was no data plan on it, so I didn't get to check that part out, but there were enough free WiFi hotspots such that it didn't seem necessary to access 3G data. I got cell signals in Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay, and Inle Lake.

I did see my friends and relatives use cellular data in restaurants and pagodas to check-in & post to Facebook (with iPhones & Samsung phones) , so if you purchased proper modern SIM cards, there shouldn't be any issues.

Seeko

[Daddy San]

Might be visiting for first time sometime in June or July. Can someone recommend prepaid sim card for voice and data? Get it at the airport or are they available at hotels or retail kiosks?

Http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingn...lly-in-myanmar

The reference to the "CDMA-800 phone system" in the link is worth while paying attention to.

It means that Myanmar, does not use the universal GSM phone system and you'd need a CDMA type phone, as used in parts of the US.

If you are from the US and have a CDMA phone, you still need to check if it works in the 800MHz freuency band.

Good luck

[Traveler1234]

Might be visiting for first time sometime in June or July. Can someone recommend prepaid sim card for voice and data? Get it at the airport or are they available at hotels or retail kiosks?

[James Dean 2]

Just back from Burma.

I got my visa at the embassy in Vientiane, Laos. Simple and straightforward.

From what I was told.

1. Visa on arrival is for business visa only.

2. Tourist visa can be obtained from any embassy abroad and take 3 days normally. Same day visa is possible (I was issued in 3 hours) when you can prove you are leaving the next day.

3. The online visa application site is in "test" mode and has been in that state for more than a year now.

Here's a link detailing the process in Bangkok. Its similar in other countries.

http://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2012/0...gkok-thailand/

BTW. ATMs have now sprung up in Burma. You can use your visa / mastercard to get cash. At decent rates too.

I know the requirements for visas may vary for travelers depending on their home country. But can anyone post a concrete report on what's necessary for let's say. A western traveler? (american, english, french, austrailain.)

There's a lot of conflicting reports I read on google. Some say that you can get a visa on arrival without preparing anything. Others say it's a * trying to get one.

Thanks to all those that can help.

[LifeIsABeach]

I know the requirements for visas may vary for travelers depending on their home country. But can anyone post a concrete report on what's necessary for let's say. A western traveler? (american, english, french, austrailain.)

There's a lot of conflicting reports I read on google. Some say that you can get a visa on arrival without preparing anything. Others say it's a * trying to get one.

Thanks to all those that can help.

Visa requirements do differ from country to country. At times some countries in SEA don't ask for a visa from other SEA countries but have requirements for others. You cannot bunch western countries together as they are from different continents. I recall that Argentina did not have any requirements for Americans till USA imposed a fee for Argentinians to USA. Argentina retaliated and imposed visa requiremenst for USA citizens. I usualluy call the embassey of the country I am visiting and get the details rather than relay on some independent sites. Some countries have websites too that have the information.

[Traveler1234]

I [USA citizen] hope to make my first trip sometime in July for business and have found this site that traveling forums highly recommend:http://www.myanmarvisa.com/index.htm. My plan is to apply using this site. If you try it, either pm or post result! Good luck.

[Muse Fan]

I know the requirements for visas may vary for travelers depending on their home country. But can anyone post a concrete report on what's necessary for let's say. A western traveler? (american, english, french, austrailain.)

There's a lot of conflicting reports I read on google. Some say that you can get a visa on arrival without preparing anything. Others say it's a ***** trying to get one.

Thanks to all those that can help.

[Western787]

there is a huge business around ngo and everyone is afraid to loose the job or the (governmental) funds or the income. so, without underestimating some real facts, it is another fact that all thos eguys need to keep their "product" well and running.

the "self trafficking" is quite a unique definition.

will this apply to the mercenaries, security forces, contractors working for the (usa) government ins ome risky areas?

and will this apply to expatriates seeling their skills and capacities to work abroad for long time for usa based corporates needing reps in many countries?

all these guys are self-trafficking for the sake of money and ready to leave behind relatives.

the term "self trafficked" was invented by necessity (as it was obvious to most) that in the case of (18 or over) adult providers, many were in fact giving full consent and therefore could not be construed as victims of "trafficking". so the ngos and lawmakers in effect claimed any alleged consent was often negated by some outside forces and therefore invalid, thus allowing a full scale attack against even (alleged fully consentual) ) normal adult to adult p4p transactions.

below are some definitions referred to by cosa (an ngo). under these all expansive definitions which were originally intended to go after child molesters, at this point (as one example) nearly every isaan (18 and over) bar girl working in bangkok (lets say under "cultural or familial obligations" or a result of "social forces") would be a victim of [CodeWord908], and thus for example a uk resident or citizen involved with one of these bar girls (given the long reach jurisdiction uk now claims for "trafficking" violations or interaction with such parties), could in theory be prosecuted back in his home country.

"[CodeWord908]" is just the latest (of a long list) of invented or extremely exaggerated "scourges", and the stats will never be questioned by the msm, so expect 10 to 20 more years of the hysteria before people start to notice the numbers don't make any sense. one of many examples of past hysterias is the claim in the us that "1 in 4 college women" are raped, (alternatively at times stated as "1 in 4 college women are victims of [CodeWord123] or attempted [CodeWord123]"), that has now survived 25 years and to this day is still repeated by major broadcast networks, yet had no basis in reality in the first place (ms magazine modifying the original koss study) and in fact most of the "victims" themselves told the researchers they were not in fact raped (only 27% confirming they were raped when asked to affirm), yet the researchers insisted that any college woman taking a single drink of alcohol could never give consent and therefore must be classified as being raped even though "she didn't know it", thus an entire cottage industry was created out of thin air by researchers making absurd assumptions. this is exactly the type of methodology being used in the current "[CodeWord908]" claims.

from the ngo

"trafficked: when a person has been moved on to another for the purpose of sexual exploitation, labor, or slavery. note that this is distinct from kidnapped; trafficked individuals are aware that they are being moved, though they may be compelled to do so by force and / or cultural or familial obligation. these individuals are often deceived as to their final destination and / or the work awaiting them there.

trafficked due to addiction: a child or children trafficked by their family due to debt, greed, drugs, and / or alcoholism.

trafficking: the trade of human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation, labor, or slavery. the us department of state defines trafficking in their annual tip (trafficking in persons) report as an 'umbrella term for activities involved when one person obtains or holds another person in compelled service. ' please see the palermo protocol for a more detailed definition of this term. this includes, but is not limited to, the following major forms of [CodeWord908]:

labor trafficking: an individual, frequently a child, who has been trafficked for the purpose of labor, e. g. farming, construction, service work, etc.

self trafficking: an individual, frequently a child or young woman, who 'willingly' enters into a trafficking ring in hopes of bettering his or her life. social forces and mental abuse are usually factors behind this choice.

sex trafficking: an individual, frequently a child or young woman, who has been trafficked for sexual purposes."

[BionicMan]

Like many government and NGO sourced numbers, they simply make them up, with the MSM chorus (which I will include Wiki as part of) just keep repeating them over and over enough times that people just accept them.

In the United States for example, for the FBI to arrive at their purported "[CodeWord908]" statistics they make the absurd (and condescending) assumption that any woman arriving from Asia who withing 6 months is working in the AMP business, by definition HAS to have been "trafficked" into the country against her will, and later to gin up the stats even more developing a concept of economic coercion and the newer concept of "self trafficking". Two concepts that can pretty much mean anything.

There is a huge business around NGO and everyone is afraid to loose the job or the (governmental) funds or the income. So, without underestimating some real facts, it is another fact that all thos eguys need to keep their "product" well and running.

The "self trafficking" is quite a unique definition.

Will this apply to the mercenaries, security forces, contractors working for the (USA) government ins ome risky areas?

And will this apply to expatriates seeling their skills and capacities to work abroad for long time for USA based corporates needing reps in many countries?

All these guys are self-trafficking for the sake of money and ready to leave behind relatives.