Although call rates within country are quite cheap, data rate are quite expensive. 1 GB of data will usually cost you around 5 US dollars, and the speed is still quite slow, even if you are using 3G or 4G network. At evening times when a lot of people are using social media, speed can be painfully slow and unreliable. All incoming calls and SMS area free of charge.
Myanmar Restaurant in Bangkok
There is one Myanmar restaurant near Bumrungrad International Hospital near Sukumvit Soi 1. The restaurant does not have a special name – simply called “Myanmar Cuisine”, and serve authentic and delicious Myanmar food to customers. Each set meal consists of one serving of rice and one dish and cost around
Living with Electricity Outage in Myanmar
Electricity outage is a regular event in Myanmar. The electricity produced in Myanmar is not enough for domestic use. As a result, even in Yangon which is the largest city in Myanmar, electricity outages are quite common. The outage frequently occurs during the rainy season when hydroelectric turbines can run at full. However, when the dry season approaches, these hydroelectric power plants cannot produce enough electricity, and outages become a daily event. In fact, during summer months and early
Get married to a Myanmar man or lady
For a foreigner trying to get married to a Myanmar lady or man can be quite complicated. Here is the advice from my personal experience, and how we did it. This article give advice on getting married to a Myanmar man or lady. It is quite difficult, due to restrictions in Myanmar law, but entirely possible. (I am married to a Thai lady, and we did it successfully).
(Please see updated information for 2018 at the end of the article)
Many of our visitors asked us information on getting married to a
Going around Bagan
If you are travelling in a tour group, your tour operator will handle all travelling arrangement for you. However, if you are travelling on your own, you will have to take care of your own travelling arrangement in Bagan. But travelling around Bagan is not difficult. Travelling in Bagan is easy for both tourists with a very limited budget to rich tourists.
Cheapest – Bicycle
My favorite way of travelling in Bagan. I always travel in a bicycle, at least a day, whenever I visit to Bagan (another day is reserved
Bagan – Getting there
Bagan is the most visited place in Myanmar by foreigners, apart from Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. Almost all travel itineries include Bagan. Going to Bagan is easy, either Bus, boat, train or air.
By Air
Perhaps the easiest and most convenient way to travel to Bagan is by Air. All local airlines have daily flights to Bagan. Some airlilnes run more than one flight a day. These flights usually follow the rout Yangon-Bagan-Mandalay-Hehe-Yangon (or in the opposite direction). Thus it is convenient to plan
Night Life in Yangon
Night life in Yangon, for a foreigner, is quite dry and boring. Even for us who are long time residents of Yangon feel night life in Yangon is becoming more and more boring. There are very few bars and night clubs. Very few restaurants and tea shops open until midnight, due to government restrictions (in the past, many tea shops and restaurants open the whole night, especially in the China Town). Anyway, for those who have money, people still can enjoy a bit of night life, although one will feel
Culture Shock – Beware of your Feet
I met many foreigners (mostly westerners) who do not feel anything to put their feet on the table while sitting on the chair. This seems a normal habit to them. They don’t feel like it is a strange or rude thing to do it. And I know they don’t mean to be rude. However, in the eyes of a Burmese (Myanmar) man, it is a strange behavior. Indeed, in the eyes of a Burmese, it is really a very rude thing.
For Burmese (Myanmar), head is the most sacred part of the human body while feet are the most
Culture Shock – When a Myanmar do not say NO
Many a time, foreigners (especially western foreign expats working in Myanmar) will notice that things they ask from Myanmar friends are met with affirmative answers but never materialized. For example, a westerner expat might invite his friend to a dinner party. The Myanmar friend is not free on that day. Normally, a westerner will simply decline to the invitation and tell his friend that he cannot come because he is not free. In case of Myanmar friend, he would probably say yes, even though
Culture Shock – The Story of “YES”
I worked for a French Company for over 10 years. When I talked with my boss and other French friends, I used to prompt the conversation with YES, not with “ah ha”, “I see”, “really” etc. like in western way.
After some times they came back and asked me if I have done their requests. I was puzzled. “I have never promised to do that thing for you”, I told them. But you said, “YES a few days ago” they countered.
This kind of incident happened not only to me but also to my other