Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Myanmar (Burma)

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The Lonely travel books vary on quality depending on who the author is, but most are very well written, researched and even if they are not up-to-date (which can be quite difficult to do) they are accurate enough to get you by. I have come to learn that Loney Planet books written by journalists or people native to the country tend to be the best reference for travellers. Students or passing by travellers are most likely to miss important information. No matter how long they lived in the country.

This one was dead weight on my backpack. Full of disappointments, inaccurate or missing information - there came a time where I just had to stop referring to it as it frustrated me. Important information was just missing, while the information presented was useless as it was wrong or inaccurate. The only information what is correct are geographical sites and historical notes that you could had researched for free on the internet. Thank god I had a second travel book with me. That saved 1/2 the trip.

It is unfortunate as I have come to relay on these series for most of my trips. I'm an avid traveller and photographer who is visited on these books all of the Americas, most of Europe, 1/2 of Africa and started Asia, I found this book from the series to be the lemon of them all. They should try again as Maynmar is just a dream to visit.

I'm currently on a round the world trip. So I've read a lot of guidebooks. And this is the most outdated and frequently simply wrong guidebook I've come accross (I visited Myanmar in January 2004). Of course I realize that e.g. prices go up, service might go down, owners change etc.. But this guidebooks has almost been more miss then hit. I've been to guesthouses where the architecture of the place was so completely different from what the LP described that it's simply impossible that the author was there! On top of that there are tons of things where the LP is simply outdated to the point of being useless: In Yangon and Mandalay busses leave from different places then described, all of the country markets are open at different days etc. etc..
Btw: You can NOT cash travellers cheques or use your visa card in Myanmar and you do not have to change money into FEC any longer.

I have visited Burma with this book recently and I m pretty sure that this book can misguide a lot of people who wants to go to Burma like I m. As soon as you arrive to the airport you will be forced to change your money(i.e 300 USD) with goverment exchange counter whether you want to spend your cash or not. They are not unexchangeable so that means U will have to spend all your 300 usd before you leave Burma.
The authors of this book did not really show the reality of Burma as a matter of a fact, most of their topics are sugar coated! SO BEWARE AND MAKE SURE U DO ALOT OF RESEARCH BEFORE U GO!

Lonely Planet published this updated version in September 2002. I have visited Myanmar in August 2003 (a very good experience!), and found the guidebook only usefull for the descriptions of places to visit (although even there some interesting places are not mentioned in the guide), and the maps. For places to stay and eat, the guide is completely outdated. For instance, new hotels have started business long before 2002, that are not mentioned in the guide. It looks like the 2002 "update" mainly concerned the (important) political situation.

I don't know if or when any of you is going to find himself / herself in this particular area, but anyway here it is...

This is the latest edition (8th) that was released only about a year ago. Things really changed in this edition compared to its predecessor; more authors are involved and new and updated information is added (though many sections remain).

Important note: When it comes to Myanmar, things can change for better or worse overnight due to the nature of the ruling government, while some other things tend to stay the same. Especially here, pay close attention to all the small details given in the chapters "Facts for the visitor", "Getting there and away" and "Getting around" - they matter greatly.

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As a whole, the guide will be a valuable asset for you if you're planning on traveling there, and there is absolutely no doubt whether to buy it or not - it's an essential purchase. To a great extent it will help you plan your budget, your destinations, how to get there and when, what to bring and so forth.

You should know that there are some beautiful places to visit in the country. One of them, the Shwedagon Paya in Yangon, strikes me as one of the most beautiful man made structures in the world. Imagine a 100 meters high Stupa (Buddhist religious monument), all covered with golden leaves, set on top of a hill, in the center of smaller golden temples and Buddha statues. The sight was breathtaking and alone was worth coming. Another famous place, yet less astounding, is Bagan, the city of Stupas in the north. There you can find numerous Stupas some of which were built more than 1000 ago. And yes, almost in every city and town you will see at least one golden Stupa (that immensely contradict the poverty of the people) that give Myanmar the name "The Golden Land".

The tagline on the cover of this book is "should you go?" It is misleading due to the fact that the answer they give inside is "yes". If you want to go - go, the political status is not of your concern, you're a traveler not a world freedom fighter. You wouldn't help the local people by avoiding the country - they benefit from your staying there - and that is all that you should care about.

Nevertheless, the authors don't really prepare you for the level of poverty you're going to meet there (the same way another author hasn't done in the Cambodia book yet); this is one of the poorest countries in the world and that's why you should always be careful and never trust anybody - they're there for your money (mostly). I really don't like, after being around, the attitude of "the locals are so nice and we can learn so much from them"; some of them are really nice and helpful, but others are nice because you spend your money there and it's downright blatant. Expect it; don't fall for it and BE CAREFUL of forced and immediate friendliness. Remember that as a tourist you're regarded as very rich and compared to them you are.

I want to mention the fact that as a traveler and a guest you will receive the best services even in budget hotels - they treated my friend and me like royalty in each and every hotel, and that was something we really enjoyed and appreciated. It's the best service all over South East Asia, and it does say something about the people as a nation.

I hope their days of freedom will come soon. ...