I need some clarification here from those who have gone
thro' this before. What percentage of businesses in Myanmar
accept these FECs? Are there 2 separate price lists for the
guesthouses, restaurants, etc..? I'm assuming that the food
stalls, little shops, what little private business there
are, price their wares by Kyats. I'm also assuming that
these FECs are good for purchasing airfares from within.
Air Mandalay charges US$287 (I think) for a Yangon -
Mandalay - Bagan - Yangon circuit. That easily consumes the
FECs that one exchanges for.
One other thing, some folks here have posted, for eg., that
the Bagan Inn (Yangon) charges US$20 per night whilst the
travel books note it anywhere between US$30 and US$70 per
night. What's more advisable, just show up and request a
room (do you even haggle?) or call and reserve (btw, July
trip)?
Many thanks.
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If you book a package tour, you do not have to change
US$300. More Myanmar tourist informations are available at:
www.myanmar.com
www.myanmars.net
You are welcome to our "Shwe-pyi-daw".
FECs are accepted anywhere that tourists stay or buy
transportation. Hotels, guesthouses, airlines charge
foreigners in FECs, but will not reject US dollars if your
FECs have run out. Some restaurants in hotels may have a
dual dollar/kyat charge, but food and local expenses, taxis
etc, are usually in kyat, except for the dreaded first trip
to town on arrival, where the taxi drivers assume that you
are ready to be milked for a fare several times greater than
the one you will later pay to get from the city to the
airport :-)
Davo is right. FECs are used in hotels,some transport
i.e.flights, the tourist boat from Mandalay to Bagan, &
admissions, which can be quite expensive. Otherwise, use
free market kyats. The real expensive restaurants insist on
dollars, but everything else is kyats. When in doubt, offer
kyats. Most of the time it works. bob
the LP guide update was done just before the supposed
influx of visitors for "visit myanmar year" - mid 95 i
recall. the promotion was a flop mainly due to a bit of
student protesting in rangoon and mandalay. all hotels and
guesthouses were under-booked. as a result prices have
fallen dramatically. in addition there is very little
business during the monsoon period, which includes july,
and rates are even lower. the pitch up and haggle idea is
OK provided you can do it effectively and are prepared to
walk out if the rate doesn't go low enough.
.
all the FEC stuff above is good stuff. for a traveller
doing the "loop" by air the 300FEC disappears in a trice in
airfares and some accomodation.
Folks,
Many thanks for all the feedback. Another question.... Has
anyone tried any of the existing tours? How are they? Any
good? Expensive? Would you recommend any tour or agency?
Thanks.
if all you intend to do is the standard loop there is no
need to organise a tour for this. air mandalay or yangon
airways will transport you and there are plenty of hotels to
accommodate you. transfers are not too difficult but can be
the one pricey thing in a bargain country. as in "WHAT, you
want $10 to sit at the airport three times a day and wait
for the planes coming in and take me to a hotel 10 miles
away - that's robbery". if you spend a day or so in rangoon
before you go up-country you can organise everything from
there. use an agency like columbus tours and travel to book
your flights and hotels if you don't want cold calling.
]
i just noticed inle lake (heho) is missing from your
itinerary. i would suggest missing something in mandalay and
making sure you go - you will be missing the best physical
thing to see in Burma - at least in the easily accessible
bit. Don't worry, the boat ride on the lake includes some
more pagodas to keep the cultural index up.