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Chantilly
Travel Q&A and You
"THE WORD ON Burma" [Travel Q&A, June 26] is misleading in several ways. First, notwithstanding the U.S. State Department bulletin, travel in Myanmar is very safe and the instances of bombing in the markets were directed at the government and specifically not at tourist venues.
Tourists are greatly prized in Myanmar, as they are the only potential source of income for many subsistence-level businesses. Street crime is essentially nonexistent, and the chance that a tourist will "stray" into off-limits areas of the country is nil, since these off-limits areas are substantial distances from the cities and the roads in have roadblocks closely managed by the government. In roaming around Yangon, the only limitation I ever faced was the occasional government compound with its guards and the blockaded area around the residence of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Second, all of the large tour companies have an accommodation with the ruling military junta such that a significant portion of the tourist dollar goes to support the junta. To not support the junta, a tourist has only to use smaller local travel agencies and less luxurious hotels. Not only will this save travelers incredible amounts of money, but they will actually meet the people of Myanmar (of which the Burmese are only one tribe of 130 or so). The luxury tours isolate tourists in air-conditioned buses and whisk them from sight to sight and purposefully isolate them from the locals.
Third, credit cards and travelers checks are not accepted in Myanmar. Cash is the only method of payment. If you do find a luxury hotel or other venue to cash your travelers' check or give a cash advance, you will pay as high as a 20 percent fee.
For useful information on travel in Myanmar, go to http:/
By the way, the price for a cruise on the Irriwady for $1,900 for three days is grotesque when you can get a clean hotel room with air-conditioning and breakfast anywhere in Myanmar for less than $15. Myanmar is the lowest-cost travel venue in Southeast Asia; I traveled through Myanmar for three-plus weeks in February with my adult son and our joint expenses were much less than $1,500 for the entire three weeks, including in-country air flights.
Lewis Lorton
