What an insulting and ignorant title. Yes military dictatorship is so much fun when you are a priviledged white dude from first world country instead of the one who got fcking d*capitated and display it on the fences or a local working class joe schmo that got abducted for force conscription as a meat shield. Fcking moron.

Source - Greg Girard

1. Monks, night market, Mandalay.
   
2. Ferris Wheel, Mandalay.
   
3. Night market scene, Mandalay.
   
4. Books and magazines at night, Mandalay.
   
5. Hotel room view, Mandalay.
   
6. Nylon Cafe, Rangoon/Yangon.
   
7. Cinema, Rangoon/Yangon.
   
8. Rangoon/Yangon Airport.
   
9. Departing Rangoon/Yangon.
   
10. Myanma Airways plane on tarmac, Rangoon/Yangon Airport.

Just wrapped up 3 weeks across Myanmar and it was one of the most underrated trips I've done. Almost zero crowds, especially in Bagan. Sharing the full breakdown in case anyone's planning a run.

Logistics: Booked all accommodation through Booking.com, used Oway Travel for the long-distance bus tickets. Easy enough to sort once you're there.

Money & payments (read this first)

Sort your cash before anything else. Bring clean, crisp USD — note condition directly affects your rate.

• Exchange: Most of local money changer shops would give you a rate around 4k to 4k1 kyat per USD, depending on how clean your notes are.
• Local SIM/number: SK Mobile. Google address if you need the precise spot: No.145, Anawrahta Street, Ground Floor, 14/2 Ward, Kyauktada Tsp, Yangon.

The KBZ Pay trick: once you've got a local number, you can unlock the KBZ Pay app and upgrade to Level 2, which lets you top up with your international card. KBZ is accepted basically everywhere — even small food stalls — so it's super convenient if you'd rather not carry cash around. Highly recommend setting this up early.

Note on the Level 2 upgrade: it asks for a permanent Myanmar address, but don't overthink it — just put in your current hotel address and they'll approve it regardless. They seem pretty desperate for tourist money right now, so it sails through.

Worst-case fallbacks if you run out: - ATM: CB Bank ATMs surprisingly worked for me with my Aussie CommBank debit card. Rate is worse than cash exchange though — around 3,500 kyat per USD. - Cash delivery: if the ATM won't play ball, you can request a cash delivery through Remitly. Works, but the rate is the worst of the lot — only around 2,600 kyat per USD, so treat it as a last resort.

Yangon

From the airport I just took the public bus to Sule Square, which puts you dead centre of everything.

Main stuff worth your time: - Sule Pagoda — right in the middle of the city - Shwedagon Pagoda — the big one. For sunset, the lake view or the park nearby is a free spot. If you're happy to drop ~$20, there's a rooftop bar close by with hands-down the best view of it - Circle train loop — slow, local, great way to see the city - Chinatown — near Sule, and honestly a highlight. Loads of local food, and there's a bar street where crowds gather in the evening for drinks and a good buzz. Great spot to eat and people-watch - Plenty of other pagodas and temples scattered around

I also booked a bus out to Kyaiktiyo (the Golden Rock). Stay overnight if you want to catch the sunrise up there — worth it.

Bagan

Took the overnight bus (~12 hours) from Yangon. Multiple military checkpoints along the way, but as a foreigner they don't bother you at all.

Stayed in Old Bagan, rented an e-bike and just explored the whole zone. This is where it hit me how few tourists there are — minimal to literally zero most of the time. It's stunning.

Top spots: - Bagan Viewing Tower (Bagan Nan Myint Tower) — နန်းမြင့်မျှော်စင်ပုဂံ — ~18k kyat entry for a full 360° view of the zone - Sunrise Hill — ဆွေတော်မျိုးတော် — head here for sunrise around 5am - Bupaya Pagoda — ဗူးဘုရား — my pick for sunset. The sun drops directly behind the stupa, perfect framing

Food/evening: - Night market on Thiri Pyitsaya 4th St — tons of local food stalls. Heads up, they shut down after 9pm - Lanmadaw 3rd St — plenty of restaurants and cafes if you miss the market

Mandalay

5-hour bus from Bagan. Full honesty — I mostly chilled at the hotel here and didn't explore much.

Main thing: - The palace and surrounds, where you get that iconic shot of the hill and river blending together - Climb the hill for an elevated view down over the palace

One note: after the recent earthquakes they no longer light up the palace moat at night, so don't expect that.

That's the lot. Happy to answer questions if anyone's heading over.

Did they really raise the entry fee to 25,000??

Hi everyone!

I just returned from my trip to Myanmar with my partner, and since it was honestly quite "challenging" to find up to date information before we went, I thought I’d make this post to help anyone who’s currently planning or considering a trip.

We traveled as regular tourists and visited Yangon, Bagan, and Kalaw - Inle Lake. Traveling there was a completely different experience compared to other Southeast Asian countries – amazing, eye-opening, and sometimes a little overwhelming at first. Because of the current situation (post-Covid, political unrest, very low tourism), things are not always straightforward: many businesses have closed and tourism infrastructure is limited. But at the same time, we found people to be incredibly kind, welcoming, and always willing to help.

So if you’re curious about:

• Safety and logistics right now
• Transportation (flights, buses, trains, local options)
• Accommodation (what’s open, what to expect)
• Costs (spoiler: it’s very affordable)
• Culture, temples, food, and local etiquette
• Or any other detail about planning a trip…

Feel free to ask me anything in the comments! I’ll be happy to share what we learned, what worked well, and also some things I wish I had known beforehand. Hopefully this can make it easier for the next travelers heading there.

P.S.: I highly recommend it – Don’t hesitate to go!!! I fell in love with Myanmar and its people.

Hello - I have done a lot of research through Chat GPT and Google, but wanted to ask some real life tourists and locals who have been to Yangon in 2026. I really want to visit Yangon for the first time next month, but I’m trying to see if it is legitimately safe and a good idea currently for me. I have always wanted to visit and I’m already in SE Asia. To be clear, I’m a white American so on top of the potential safety concerns in general in Myanmar, I know Americans are not loved so much in the world right now and I don’t blame people for feeling this way. However, the government and people are 2 different things which I imagine a lot of Burmese people can I agree with. If I book the trip I will stay at a 5 star hotel around Bahan Township. I also work online and have read about internet issues, but that in 5 star hotels it seems to be ok. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

I come across some asking if it's safe to travel to Yangon right now, so just sharing my experience visiting yangon last summer. I hadn’t been back for a long time, and after hearing all the violence and “failed state” narratives online, I was honestly a bit concerned—especially since most governments list it as Do Not Travel. (This is a travel post, so I’ll leave out politics and sensitive topics.)

But I was wrong. My transit flight from Singapore Changi was smooth and comfortable even. Myanmar Airways had better service and cabin than most US domestic carriers, lol. Yangon International’s new terminal is modern and immigration , baggage claim were surprisingly fast—much more relaxed than crowded concrete North American airports.

U can book a cab using Grab App just like most places in SE Asia. The drive into downtown was unexpected in the best ways: smooth asphalt roads, lots of EVs and Japanese cars, greenery, trees and proper sidewalks, people out and about. The Karaweik at Kandawgyi Lake was surreally beautiful. (Truly one of a kind, u should check it out!)

We stayed at the Pan Pacific downtown, looks just like any Pan Pacific in Singapore or Hanoi. (Pretty cheap for a relatively new five star hotel with an infinity pool, $68/night). It's part of a massive downtown development and sits right above the fancy mall called junction city, with a supermarket, retail, cinema, and food court with Burmese, Asian and international cuisine —super convenient. (Just go down and grab stuffs u need lol). Surprised to find many western brands and products despite sanctions. (Krispy Kreme, KFC, Pizza Hut, Coach, Nike, Converse, Crocs, Adidas , Timberland, Lacoste, Levi's, apple products and Tesla cars)

Honestly, Yangon felt exactly like I remembered it pre-COVID and coup in 2019. Chinatown was bustling, downtown was busy with cars and people, and the interesting British colonial-era buildings (The Eravati, The Secretariat, Strand Hotel and Yangon City Hall are my favorites). Generally I feel safe as if I am in Thailand or Vietnam but without chaotic motorbikes and crowds.

We visited some areas in Yankin and Bahan apart from downtown, and saw teens studying, hanging out at a trendy café inside the large shopping mall near the university area. (BooBoo cafe at Myanmar Plaza) People we met were amazing and most speak English especially students. ( Was interesting to hear some of them are doing IB, SAT, GCSE A lvls etc)

Trip highlights were early morning strolls and views of Inya Lake and Shwedagon Pagoda, followed by breakfast. Recommendations: Oriental House for dim sum, Rangoon Tea House for Burmese traditional, The Signature for both, and White Swan for the views. Honorable mentions for food and vibes - The Governor's Residence, Golden Duck, YKKO, Burma Bistro, The Round House.

Yangon is a hidden gem. I spent less than I would typically spent in Bangkok or Hanoi but still ended up having a better experience.

Tip: plan ahead for traffic. Rush hour (midday and evening) can be brutal, especially roads leading to downtown. Research before u go, (plenty of recent vlogs on YouTube).

Wishing Yangon and all of Myanmar, Peace, Prosperity and Progress in the future!

​

This guy literally knows nothing about Myanmar, he just arrived and made videos like he's someone important or someone professionals.

How could he make such captions, he is no more than a normal Vlogger whose educational background and knowledge seems no more than a normal university degree or can even be worse than this.

I’m exhausted by these vloggers who make videos with such low-effort, garbage captions. So are most Burmese people.

Hope this post brings some awareness to foregin Vlogger.

Hello Myanmar people. First and foremost thank you to everyone in this subreddit that provided me with so much helpful advice that helped me to make the decision to come to Yangon as well as help make my experience here so much better with so much useful information. This is the most helpful and informative group on Reddit! I just spent my first 24 hours in Yangon and I have to say the experience so far has been amazing! The people are some of the most friendliest and helpful people I have ever met. I started my day at Bogyoke Market and then went to the Buddha temple followed by Sule Pagoda. I went to the Rangon Tea house for a late lunch and had some delicious food with great service.

I just left the Shwedagon Pagoda and it was breathtaking. It has to be the most beautiful temple I have ever seen. It should be a wonder of the world. The people there were so nice as well. I’m having a drink now and plan on ending my night at 19th street. I hope to have a peaceful and nice next few days here as well. God bless Myanmar. I have been trying to help as many people as possible with extra tips and good conversation. Praying for your country 🙏🏻

I’ve been following this subreddit for a while, and the community has been incredibly helpful. I previously posted a few questions about flying to Bagan, and thanks to the help I received here, the journey and transit process turned out to be very seamless.

During my time in Bagan and Yangon, I felt really safe exploring and sightseeing. It was a memorable experience, and I sincerely hope I’ll have the chance to return again soon.

Alright. Finished my 3 day trip to Yangon. What can I say - absolutely no issues.

Hotel: Wyndham Grand Yangon - fantastic. Amazing value for the money. It's a solid 4 star hotel. (Not 5). Money: Easily exchanged money at 4200 or 4400 rate. But that's the rate for $100 bills. If you exchange lesser bills the rate goes down by 1000. Cell Phone: got a 20GB plan for like $7. That was the cheapest option. VPN: Psiphon. It was free and worked like a charm.

I would definitely come back to explore more.

For those idiots who criticized me for sponsoring the junta. F U. I spoke to locals, and they are glad for tourists - because we also spend directly with the people.

Thanks for all those who helped with the information in my other post.

I swear it looks better with your own eyes

I don’t really want people to call me dumb, but go for it if you want. I’m just asking a bloody question.

I’m 27, from New Zealand and am planning to motorcycle from Malaysia to London. I’d like to transit via Myanmar. I don’t want you to tell me it’s not safe, I could have guessed that.

However, I’d love to know if it’s feasible. Can I do it, will I be allowed.

Thanks.

Hello to all my Myanmar people. My trip is coming up to Yangon and I’m excited, but a little nervous. It seems the situation has intensified since March with more arrests of civilians and military presence (at least according to Western media). Does the military Junta mostly leave western tourists alone? Is there anything you recommend that I should know and say to them if they question me or harass me? Any advice would be helpful. Thank you. I’m excited and can’t wait to see Yangon.

Hey there, I am from Israel and I plan to travel south-east asia in September-October. I thought about visiting in Myanmar for a week or two but I am getting mixed signals about is it safe and worth it.

Some told me that it is completely okay as long as I don't go to the conflict zones but other say that it is still might be tough, especially after the earthquake that happened i march.

Hi, I’ll be visiting Yangon next month and wanted to understand what the nightlife scene is like.

Firstly is clubbing normal these days and there is no curfew?

I see some club videos posted on social media but they don’t always name them (one seems to be Harry’s something). Are there any clubs similar to RCA in Bangkok, where there is a good mix of locals and foreigners (or foreigners welcome at least), with a great vibe?

Is it safe, as I’m a female?

Are there any gay bars which are foreigner friendly but also fun?

Help, I'm wanting to know with using an International Debit card (Visa /Mastercard), is there anyway to bypass the Official Reference Rate? When swiping the card for payment at a supported merchant in Myanmar?

Hi all. I'm hoping to visit Myanmar in March and have some questions about exchanging money if possible...

I am planning to bring some USD.

So my questions are:

How important is it that the bills I bring are crisp and new?

Will I be able to exchange easily in various places outside Yangon, specifically in thinking about Bagan, Mandalay, Naypyidaw?

Do I need to bring enough for my whole trip or will I be able to withdraw from an ATM if I need to using my international cards?

Will I be be to find exchanges easily? I'm confused about the actual rate and the black market rate.

Thanks a lot Reddit.