Following on from my previous post, we had over 12 hours to wait at Yangon airport before our flight. With my partner being very ill on the night bus, we decided to check into the hotel across from the airport. This was called Season's Hotel and was very overpriced at $50 for 8 to 12 hours! However we didn't have much choice and got some much needed sleep. Please note this hotel is very basic and dated but handy if needed.
We checked out about 4pm just over 3 hours before our flight so we could check in and get some food. Yangon's International Terminal is very small with limited seating and only one coffee shop. Don't plan to arrive too early at the airport as there isn't much there, even once you go through passport control, it is very limited.
Our flight was with Jetstar at a reasonable price of $148 for two people including 15kg luggage. Check in was swift and opened about 2 and half hours before departure.
Passport control and security checks were very quick and easy, just make sure you have your departure card filled in beforehand. At this side you have a choice of one restaurant and one cafe. We picked the restaurant which cost nearly 20,000 kyat for two waters, soup and a burger which seemed pricey! Food was ok.
We boarded the plane on time and left on time. The planes were fine, we got asked to sit in front of an emergency exit free of charge as the plane wasn't full. This meant we had lots of extra leg room. The trolley service selling drinks and food passes down once during the flight with several currencies accepted.
The plane landed on time at 11.45pm after the 1hr 30min time difference. Again on on this side passport control and luggage collection was quick.
Singapore airport offers you a lot when you arrive including a range of shops and places to grab some food and drinks. They also have several ATM's including an HSBC one that doesn't charge you a fee to use.
After that, we located the airport shuttle service and paid S$9 (singapore dollars) for a minibus to our hostel downtown.
4 out of 5
Showing posts with label Yangon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yangon. Show all posts
2016-09-25
2016-09-21
Mandalay to Yangon - Night Bus
Our final travel in Myanmar required transport from Mandalay to Singapore. The cheapest way for us to do this was a night bus to Yangon then a flight to Singapore. Flying straight from Mandalay was not direct and pretty expensive.
We picked the latest bus possible from Mandalay with Elite Express at 10.30pm. This took around 8 hours and cost 20,200 kyat per person.
We arrived at Mandalay bus terminal around 10pm for checkin and soon boarded the VIP bus. Again we were the only foreigners on the bus however this didn't matter as we only had one stop, Yangon.
The bus itself was clean with big comfy chairs and blankets. You get given a little snack box, bottle of water and can of coca cola. The chairs also have screens to watch films or listen to music. Films ranged from Despicable Me 2 to Iron Man 3 whilst the music were greatest hit albums apart from 16 pages of songs dedicated to Westlife (didn't realise how many songs they had)!
The journey was smoother than other trips in Myanmar but it was still be very bumpy. We stopped once near the capital for a 30 minute break around half 1. My partner was very unwell on the bus being sick a few times but the staff were very helpful even though they only spoke limited English. They allowed us to pull over one more time for my partner to get off for a few minutes.
After this, we managed to sleep and rolled into Yangon at 5.45am, ahead of schedule. The Yangon bus station is very hectic with lots of taxis. Make sure you know how much your taxi trip should be in advance otherwise you'll get ripped off.
We jumped in a taxi to the airport for 6,000 kyat between us which took about 30 minutes. Then only a 12 hour wait until our flight!
4 out of 5
We picked the latest bus possible from Mandalay with Elite Express at 10.30pm. This took around 8 hours and cost 20,200 kyat per person.
We arrived at Mandalay bus terminal around 10pm for checkin and soon boarded the VIP bus. Again we were the only foreigners on the bus however this didn't matter as we only had one stop, Yangon.
The bus itself was clean with big comfy chairs and blankets. You get given a little snack box, bottle of water and can of coca cola. The chairs also have screens to watch films or listen to music. Films ranged from Despicable Me 2 to Iron Man 3 whilst the music were greatest hit albums apart from 16 pages of songs dedicated to Westlife (didn't realise how many songs they had)!
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| Plenty of room |
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| Screens for everyone |
We jumped in a taxi to the airport for 6,000 kyat between us which took about 30 minutes. Then only a 12 hour wait until our flight!
4 out of 5
2016-09-05
Yangon to Inle Lake - Night Bus
They could only offer overnight bus tickets to Inle Lake with Taung Paw Thar Express for 20,000 kyat each. They said it was a vip bus with 2 + 1 seats and reclining seats. We decided to go for it.
We got a taxi to the bus station north of Yangon two hours prior to check in for the bus from advice by our hotel. At 4pm, it took nearly two hours in traffic and cost 10,000 kyat between 4 of us. At the bus station we checked in and boarded the bus and we left at 6.15pm with a full bus.
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| Our bus for the night |
A couple of negatives with the bus included the fact they didn't turn all the lights off and they had the standard local film showing on the highest volume! Make sure you have an ipod with you and maybe an eye mask.
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| Lights on, volume up! |
It also stops three times, once after three hours around 9pm, then about 1am and another time around 4am. Thankfully these stops make you arrive a little later, we got dropped off at Shwenyaung at 6am.
From here, you have to get a taxi down to Nyaungshwe which cost 8,000 kyat between 4 of us. On the way you stop at the ticket office to buy Inle Lake tickets which costs 12,500 kyat each.
Thankfully our hotel let us check in at 7am with a room free! If your on a budget and looking for a double room I recommend Aung Mingalar Hotel for early check in.
3.5 out of 5
2016-08-30
Bangkok to Yangon - Flight
Before you do anything you must apply for an E-Visa for Myanmar (Burma). It costs $50 and takes a day or two for approval.
So do we fly or get the bus from Thailand to Myanmar? We decided a month in advance that we would fly as prices were only around £30 including free 15kg hold luggage.
The two main companies offering flights out of Bangkok daily to Yangon were AirAsia and NokAir at similar prices however you have to pay extra for luggage with AirAsia.
We booked tickets for the 10.25am NokAir flight from Don Muang airport in Bangkok. We decided to get a taxi not long after 6 to beat the rush hour traffic. We advise you not to get a taxi around Khao San Road and instead walk just a few minutes to the main road to flag down a taxi. You can alternatively book a minibus service with various travel agents.
After a couple of taxis wanted 500 baht upfront we finally found a taxi to use the meter. We knew the cost should only be around 250/300 baht. We also got the choice of going on the highway or not which costs 120 baht extra in toll charges. We did this however you don't need to at that time of the morning as the roads were very quiet.
All international flights leave from terminal 1.
Check in was available 3 hours in advance and was quick and efficient. You must have your Myanmar E-Visa approval letter printed off to show them. Passport control to get stamped out of Thailand took quite a while as they only had a few members of staff working. Try and go to the foreign passport control section furthest to the left as they had more staff counters available. Remember to fill in your departure card beforehand!
Don Muang airport had plenty of shops and coffee/food outlets including Boots, Starbucks and McDonald's. There is also a lot of currency exchange counters however you can't get Mynamar Kyat from any of them.
Boarding didn't take too long and we got a shuttle bus from the terminal to the plane. The outside of NokAir planes have a fun bird design!
The flight took 1hr 10min. You get given arrival and custom forms to fill in upon arrival at Yangon airport. You also get a small snack box with water and a muffin.
After landing at Yangon airport, immigration control was very quick for foreigners as the majority of people on the flight were from Myanmar. You hand all your paperwork in and after a few minutes you get stamped into Myanmar. At the airport you have a few currency exchange counters to get some Kyat and also there are some ATM machines available.
After going through customs with your bags you can easily get a taxi to downtown Yangon at the taxi counter for 8,000 kyat which takes about an hour in traffic.
5 out of 5
So do we fly or get the bus from Thailand to Myanmar? We decided a month in advance that we would fly as prices were only around £30 including free 15kg hold luggage.
The two main companies offering flights out of Bangkok daily to Yangon were AirAsia and NokAir at similar prices however you have to pay extra for luggage with AirAsia.
We booked tickets for the 10.25am NokAir flight from Don Muang airport in Bangkok. We decided to get a taxi not long after 6 to beat the rush hour traffic. We advise you not to get a taxi around Khao San Road and instead walk just a few minutes to the main road to flag down a taxi. You can alternatively book a minibus service with various travel agents.
After a couple of taxis wanted 500 baht upfront we finally found a taxi to use the meter. We knew the cost should only be around 250/300 baht. We also got the choice of going on the highway or not which costs 120 baht extra in toll charges. We did this however you don't need to at that time of the morning as the roads were very quiet.
All international flights leave from terminal 1.
Check in was available 3 hours in advance and was quick and efficient. You must have your Myanmar E-Visa approval letter printed off to show them. Passport control to get stamped out of Thailand took quite a while as they only had a few members of staff working. Try and go to the foreign passport control section furthest to the left as they had more staff counters available. Remember to fill in your departure card beforehand!
Don Muang airport had plenty of shops and coffee/food outlets including Boots, Starbucks and McDonald's. There is also a lot of currency exchange counters however you can't get Mynamar Kyat from any of them.
Boarding didn't take too long and we got a shuttle bus from the terminal to the plane. The outside of NokAir planes have a fun bird design!
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| Interesting plane design! |
After landing at Yangon airport, immigration control was very quick for foreigners as the majority of people on the flight were from Myanmar. You hand all your paperwork in and after a few minutes you get stamped into Myanmar. At the airport you have a few currency exchange counters to get some Kyat and also there are some ATM machines available.
After going through customs with your bags you can easily get a taxi to downtown Yangon at the taxi counter for 8,000 kyat which takes about an hour in traffic.
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| Downtown Yangon |
5 out of 5
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