lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

364DIRECTORY A–ZMapsThe best available is the1:2,000,000 Periplus EditionsMyanmar Travel Map, a foldedmap with plans for Mandalay,Yangon and the Baganarea, or the ITMB 1:1,350,000Myanmar (Burma). Anotherchoice is the 1:1,500,000Nelles Myanmar, a foldedmap on coated stock. Goodplaces to buy maps onlineinclude International TravelMaps and Books (www.itmb.com) and East View MapLink (www.maplink.com).Myanmar-based DesignPrinting Services (DPS;www.dpsmap.com) prints usefultourist maps of Myanmar,Yangon, Mandalay and Bagan;get a free one online. Sometimesthese maps are sold locallyfor about K1000 or givenaway by tour agencies.In Yangon you can pick upthe full-colour, folded TouristMap of Myanmar, publishedon coated stock by DPS, frommany hotels and bookshops.Sometimes you can grab onefree at the Yangon Airportarrival hall.The Myanmar government’sSurvey Departmentpublishes a very good1:2,000,000 paper sheetmap of the country, simplyentitled Myanmar. It’s bigand the uncoated paperdecays rapidly. You can findit on Bogyoke Aung San Rdin Yangon, just east of themarket.MoneySee p 12 for details on costsin Myanmar and p 23 for tipson spreading your budgetthrough the private sectorrather than giving it to thegovernment.ATMs, Credit Cards &Travellers ChequesNone of Myanmar’s fewATMs accept overseas cards.Credit cards and travellerscheques are also useless inMyanmar, a situation that isKYAT &DOLLARSPrices in this bookalternate between kyat(K) and US dollars ($),depending on the currencyin which pricesare quoted. Be carefulto keep some US dollarswith you in caseyou’re turned back by astrict museum cashierwho will not take kyat.For more information,see p 364 .unlikely to change in the nearfuture.However, a couple of highendhotels in Yangon andMandalay do accept creditcards, and sometimes givecash back – albeit with ahefty surcharge.BanksThere was a mass emigrationof foreign banks fromMyanmar following the2003 sanctions by the EUand USA. The few nationalbanks that remain are of littleuse to travellers, as officialexchange rates massivelyovervalue the kyat.CurrencyMyanmar’s national currency,the kyat (pronounced‘chat’) is divided into thefollowing banknotes: K1, K5,K10, K20, K50, K100, K200,K500, K1000 and K5000;you’ll rarely come acrossthe smaller denominationsand if you do they’re often intatters.The US dollar acts as analternative currency withmost guesthouses and hotelsquoting prices and acceptingpayment in the greenback. Ifyou choose to pay in kyat, itwill be at a disadvantageousrate (perhaps a differenceof K50 or K100 to the dollar).Some hotels, shops andgovernment ferry clerks givechange in kyat or with tornUS bills that you can’t useelsewhere in Myanmar.Government-run services(such as archaeological sites,museums and ferries) andflights are paid for in US dollarsor FEC notes (see p 365 ).Items such as meals, bustickets, trishaw or taxi rides,bottles of water or beer andmarket items are usuallyquoted in kyat.MoneychangersAvoid the official exchangecounters, which undercutblack-market rates substantially(K7 per dollar, ratherthan K850).You will be asked to‘change money’ many timeson your trip. Technically, theonly reasonable way to buykyat is through the ‘blackmarket’ – meaning fromshops, hotels, travel agents,restaurants or less reliableguys on the street. You canchange US dollars or eurosin Yangon, but generally onlyUS dollars elsewhere.The $100 bill gets a betterexchange rate than a $50or $20, and so on. And supposedlythe exchange rate ismarginally better early in theweek (Monday or Tuesday).It’s safest to changemoney in hotels or shops,rather than on the street. Themoneychangers standingaround just east of the MahabandoolaGarden in Yangonhave a reputation for shortchangingnew arrivals.Never hand over yourmoney until you’ve receivedthe kyat and counted them.Honest moneychangerswill expect you to do this.Considering that K5000 isthe highest denomination(roughly $5.90), you’ll get alot of notes. Moneychangersgive ready-made, rubberbandedstacks of a hundredK1000 bills. It’s a goodidea to check each noteindividually. Often you’ll findone or two (or more) with acut corner or taped tears,neither of which anyone willaccept. We heard from sometravellers that Yangon mon-