lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

372TRANSPORT GETTING AROUNDDEPARTURE TAXMyanmar locals payK500, but foreignerspay $10 departure tax,which is not includedwith your air ticket.Have the US dollarsin hand when leavingthe country. You payat the window in theentrance hall, beforeyou check in. Kyat arenot accepted. There isno departure tax fordomestic flights.Aung San Rd) Daily to/fromSingapore.Thai Airways (airline codeTG; %01-255 499; www.thaiair.com; Sakura Tower, 339 BogyokeAung San Rd) Daily to/from Bangkok.Vietnam Airlines (airlinecode TG; %01-255 066; www.vietnamairlines.com; SakuraTower, 339 Bogyoke Aung SanRd) Five times weekly to/from Hanoi and twice weeklyto/from Ho Chi Minh.TicketsAirlines offer discounted ticketsvia the internet dependingon how far in advance youbook. Good deals are oftenavailable from Bangkok,Kuala Lumpur and Singaporeon budget airlines such asAir Asia and Silk Air. If you’reflying around the region, lookinto Bangkok Airways DiscoveryAirpass.Once in Myanmar you canonly buy international ticketsfrom travel agents or airlineoffices in Yangon.Reconfirming TicketsIt’s important to reconfirmyour outgoing tickets fromMyanmar a few days in advancefor all airlines otherthan Thai Airways and SilkAir. If you’ve forgotten whattime your flight is, the insideback page of the MyanmarTimes lists the week’s internationalflight schedule.GETTINGAROUNDMuch of the mountainousareas of Myanmar near theborders is closed, due toconflicts with minority groupsor sometimes due to dodgyinfrastructure. We havehighlighted these places inthe destination chapters butsituations could change, withroutes opening (or closing).In unrestricted areas,travel methods are remarkablyopen to visitors. No setitineraries are required andyou can pick and choosehow you go as you go – takinga bus, plane or train, orcrammed pick-up, or hoppingonto a giant ferry thatdrifts at ox-like speed.Speaking of which, localtransport also comes pedpowered,often with trishawsgreeting you for rides aroundtown and rental bikes awaitingyou at nearly all accommodation.There are horsecarts too.It’s worth trying to go byland in Myanmar. Airlineshave higher fares – thus moretax money that reaches thegovernment (see p 21 ) –than a bus, not to mentionhigher carbon emissions.Many places that are restrictedactually can be visitedwith permits provided by thegovernment’s Myanmar Travels& Tours (MTT) and a guide.Sometimes this takes severalmonths of advance planning.So don’t expect to cross ChinState’s rough highways byshowing up and asking.The bulk of this book, ofcourse, focuses on placesyou can go on your own withoutany pre-planning. See themap on p 380 for transportroutes that were open atresearch time. Reachingsome isolated towns such asKengtung or Sittwe requiresjumps by air or boat.AirMyanmar’s domestic airservice features a handfulof overworked planes thathave busy days, sometimeslanding at an airport, leavingthe engine on, unloading andloading, and taking off in 20minutes! This doesn’t yield aspot-free safety record (seep 367 ).Between the main destinationsof Yangon, Mandalay,Heho (for Inle Lake), NyaungU (for Bagan) and Thandwe(for Ngapali Beach), you’llfind daily connections. Inmany other places, there arespotless, largely unused airportsserving, well, no flightsother than visiting dignitarieson occasion.As with internationalflights, domestic flightsinvolve immigration andcustoms checks.Airport CodesMany posted flight schedulesaround the country onlyuse domestic airport codes,shown in the following table.AIRPORT CODEBhamo BMODawei (Tavoy) TVYHeho (Inle Lake) HEHHomalin HOXKalaymyoKMVKawthoungKAWKengtung KETLashio LSHMandalay MDLMawlamyine MNUMyeik MGZMyitkyina MYTNay Pyi TawNPTNyaung U NYU(Bagan)Pathein BSXPutao PBUSittweAKYTachileik THLThandwe (NgapaliSNWBeach)Yangon RGN