Lonely Planet Myanmar (Burma)

Simon Richmond, David Eimer, Adam Karlin, Nick Ray, St Louis Regis

Description

Lonely Planet Myanmar (Burma) is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Be dazzled by Buddhist architecture in Yangon, explore Bagan's amazing plain of ancient temples, or hike to the floating gardens and markets of Inle Lake -all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Myanmar and begin your journey now! Inside Lonely Planet Myanmar (Burma) Travel Guide: Colour maps and images throughout Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss Cultural insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - history, religion, politics, cuisine, environment, wildlife, architecture, responsible travel, festivals, sport, traditional crafts, dance, theatre, music, literature, cinema Over 60 maps Covers Yangon, Southern Myanmar, Bagan, Central Myanmar, Yangon-Mandalay Highway, Temples of Bagan, Eastern Myanmar, Inle Lake, Mandalay, Northern Myanmar, Lashio, Myitkyina, Western Myanmar and more The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet Myanmar (Burma) , our most comprehensive guide to Myanmar, is perfect for both exploring top sights and taking roads less travelled. Looking for more extensive coverage? Check out Lonely Planet Southeast Asia on a Shoestring guide. About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and phrasebooks for 120 languages, and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, video, 14 languages, 12 international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more, enabling you to explore every day. Lonely Planet enables the curious to experience the world fully and to truly get to the heart of the places they find themselves, near or far from home. TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 winner in Favorite Travel Guide category 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves, it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia)

Sujets

• Myanmar
• Burma
• Birmanie

Informations

• Publié par: Lonely Planet
• Date de parution: 01 juillet 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781787010697
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 40 Mo

Extrait

Myanmar

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to Myanmar
Myanmar's Top 10
Need to Know
What's New
If You Like
Month by Month
Itineraries
Before You Go
Regions at a Glance

On The Road

Yangon
Sights
Activities
Tours
Courses
Festivals & Events
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Southwestern Myanmar
Thanlyin & Kyauktan
Bago
Pathein
Chaung Tha Beach
Ngwe Saung Beach
Southeastern Myanmar
Southeastern Myanmar Highlights
Mon State
Mt Kyaiktiyo (Golden Rock)
Mawlamyine
Around Mawlamyine
Ye
Kayin State
Hpa-an
Around Hpa-an
Myawaddy
Tanintharyi Region
Dawei
Myeik
Myeik (Mergui) Archipelago
Kawthoung
Bagan & Central Myanmar
Bagan & Central Myanmar Highlights
YangonMandalay Highway
Taungoo (Toungoo)
Nay Pyi Taw
Meiktila
YangonBagan Highway
Pyay
Thayekhittaya (Sri Ksetra)
Magwe
Bagan
Nyaung U
Old Bagan
Myinkaba
New Bagan (Bagan Myothit)
Around Bagan
Mt Popa
Salay
Pakokku
Monywa
Around Monywa
Temples of Bagan
Old Bagan
North Plain
Central Plain
Myinkaba Area
New Bagan Area
South Plain
Nyaung U Area
Eastern Myanmar
Eastern Myanmar Highlights
Inle Lake & Around
Nyaungshwe
Inle Lake
Taunggyi
Pindaya
Kalaw
Thazi
Kyaingtong & Border Areas
Kyaingtong (Kengtung)
Mong La
Tachileik
Kayah State
Loikaw
Mandalay & Around
Mandalay & Around Highlights
Mandalay
Around Mandalay
Amarapura
Inwa (Ava)
Sagaing
Mingun
Paleik
Northern Myanmar
Northern Myanmar Highlights
Mandalay to Lashio
Pyin Oo Lwin (Maymyo)
Pyin Oo Lwin to Kyaukme
Kyaukme
Hsipaw
Lashio
Mogok
Mandalay to Lashio
Myitkyina
Indawgyi Lake
Bhamo (Banmaw)
Shwegu
Katha
Kyaukmyaung
Shwebo
The Far North
Putao
Western Myanmar
Western Myanmar Highlights
Rakhine State
Ngapali Beach
Kan Thar Ya Beach
Sittwe (Aykab)
Mrauk U
Around Mrauk U
Chin State
Mt Victoria (Nat Ma Taung)
Mindat
Kalaymyo (Kalay)
Tiddim
Rihkhawdar
Falam
Hakha

Understand

Understand Myanmar
Myanmar Today
History
People & Religious Beliefs of Myanmar
Aung San Suu Kyi
Government, the Economy & Human Rights
Eating in Myanmar
Architecture & Arts
Environment & Wildlife

Survive

Responsible Travel
Package Tours
Goods & Services
Social Interactions
Charity & Donations
Volunteerism
Environmental Concerns
Directory AZ
Accommodation
Customs Regulations
Electricity
Embassies & Consulates
Etiquette
GLBTI Travellers
Insurance
Internet Access
Legal Matters
Maps
Meditation Courses
Money
Opening Hours
Photography
Post
Public Holidays
Safe Travel
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Travel Agencies
Travel with Children
Travellers with Disabilities
Visas
Volunteering
Women Travellers
Work
Transport
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Health
Before You Go
In Myanmar
Language
Behind the Scenes
Our Writers

Special Features

Temples of Myanmar
Welcome to Myanmar

It's the dawn of a more democratic era in this extraordinary land, where the landscape is scattered with gilded pagodas and the traditional ways of Asia endure.


Golden Wonders
‘This is Burma', wrote Rudyard Kipling. ‘It will be quite unlike any land you know about.’ Amazingly, over a century later, Myanmar retains the power to surprise and delight even the most jaded of travellers. Be dazzled by the 'winking wonder' of Shwedagon Paya. Contemplate the 4000 sacred stupas scattered across the plains of Bagan. Stare in disbelief at the Golden Rock at Mt Kyaiktiyo, teetering impossibly on the edge of a chasm. These are all important Buddhist sights in a country where pious monks are more revered than rock stars.

The New Myanmar
In 2015, Myanmar voted in its first democratically elected government in more than half a century. Sanctions have been dropped and the world is rushing to do business here. Relaxing of censorship has led to an explosion of new media and an astonishing openness in public discussions of once-taboo topics. Swathes of the county, off-limits for years, can now be freely visited. Modern travel conveniences, such as mobile phone coverage and internet access, are now common, but largely confined to the big cities and towns, where the recent economic and social improvements are most obvious.

Traditional Life
In a nation with more than 100 ethnic groups, exploring Myanmar can often feel like you've stumbled into a living edition of the National Geographic , c 1910! For all the momentous recent changes, Myanmar remains at heart a rural nation of traditional values. Everywhere, you'll encounter men wearing skirt-like longyi, both genders smothered in thanakha (traditional make-up) and betel-chewing grannies with mouths full of blood-red juice. People still get around in trishaws and, in rural areas, horse and cart. Drinking tea – a British colonial affectation – is enthusiastically embraced in thousands of traditional teahouses.

Simple Pleasures
Thankfully, the pace of change is not overwhelming, leaving the simple pleasures of travel in Myanmar intact. Drift down the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River in an old river steamer or luxury cruiser. Stake out a slice of beach on the blissful Bay of Bengal. Trek through pine forests to minority villages scattered across the Shan Hills without jostling with scores of fellow travellers. Best of all, you'll encounter locals who are gentle, humorous, engaging, considerate, inquisitive and passionate – they want to play a part in the world, and to know what you make of their world. Now is the time to make that connection.

Mahamuni Paya, Mandalay | SUWATCHAI PLUEMRUETAI / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Why I Love Myanmar
By Simon Richmond, Writer
It doesn't matter whether this is your first or 51st visit to Myanmar: you won't fail to notice the energy, hope and possibilities for the future that hang in the air. Exiles are returning, joining others in rising to the challenge of bringing their country into the 21st century at the same time as preserving the best of the past. Myanmar has many problems to fix but its people remain as stoic and charming as ever. Slow down, sit, listen and connect with them – it's the best way to appreciate what's truly golden about this land.
Myanmar's Top 10

Shwedagon Paya
Is there a more stunning monument to religion in Southeast Asia? We don’t think so. In fact, the sheer size and mystical aura of Yangon’s (Rangoon's) gilded masterpiece may even cause you to question your inner atheist. But it’s not all about quiet contemplation: Shwedagon Paya is equal parts religious pilgrimage and amusement park, and your visit may coincide with a noisy ordination ceremony or fortune-telling session. If you’re looking for a reason to linger in Yangon before heading elsewhere in the country, this is it.

PATRICK FOTO / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Top Experiences
Inle Lake
Almost every visitor to Myanmar makes it to Inle Lake and for good reason: vast and serene, the lake is large enough for everyone to come away with their own, unique experience of life here. If you’re counting days, hit the hot spots: the temples, markets and floating gardens. With more time, you can explore the remote corners of the lake, visit the fishing villages around it, or hike in the nearby hills. Whatever you do, the memories of gliding across Inle’s placid waters will stay with you forever.

OCTOBERSONATA / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Top Experiences
Bagan
Despite damage wrought by the 2016 earthquake, the 3000-plus temples scattered across the plains of Bagan remain an awesome sight. Most of the 11th- to 13th-century vintage temples have been renovated, as Bagan is an active religious site and place of pilgrimage. Yes, there are tour buses and crowds at the top sunset-viewing spots, but they can be avoided. Pedal off on a bike and have your own adventure amid the not-so-ruined temples, or float over the incredible scene in a hot-air balloon.

NICK FOX / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Top Experiences
Sagaing
A place of pilgrimage for Myanmar Buddhists, Sagaing is an easy day trip from Mandalay. Its stint as a royal capital may have been brief (just four years) but it established itself and endures as an intellectual centre of gravity for Buddhist traditions. The town is dominated by low hills covered by numerous white and gold stupas – a spectacular sight in themselves. But also take time to visited the cave monastery Tilawkaguru, filled with some of the most impressive preserved cave paintings in the country.

CHINNAPHONG MUNGSIRI / GETTY IMAGES ©


Top Experiences
Mawlamyine
A virtual time capsule of the Raj, Mawlamyine has changed little since the colonial era. The former capital of British Burma, Mawlamyine’s mix of historic architecture, imposing churches, hill-top temples and a busy harbour remains so timeless that you can still see why writers George Orwell and Rudyard Kipling drew on the city for inspiration. Surrounding Mawlamyine are tropical islands and deep caves, as well as villages where the area’s unique Mon culture remains strong, yet visitor numbers remain mysteriously low, allowing all the more space for you.

Win Sein Taw Ya | R.M. NUNES / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Top Experiences
Myeik Archipelago
About 800 barely populated islands with white-sand beaches sitting in a turquoise sea, some of the best diving in the region, roving sea gypsies and barely a hotel or tourist to be seen. It’s hard to believe that a place like the Myeik Archipelago still exists in Southeast Asia. Accessing these gorgeous islands takes time and is not cheap, but those who make the investment will get to live out every beach junkie’s fantasy in one of the last unknown areas of Asia.

ETHAN DANIELS / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Top Experiences
Mrauk U
The temples, monasteries, ruined palace and crumbling city walls of the former Rakhine capital o