We also used our agent to book at boat for us between Sittwe and Mrauk U. There is a public (government) boat that runs several days a week, but is not practical if you have a schedule to keep. There are a number of different kinds of boats one can take – a speedboat that is both very loud and rather dangerous (like other speedboats on rivers in SE Asia), tiny uncovered boats, and fancier, covered boats. Because we are staying at the Princess, we decided to splurge on the Princess boat.

On our first trip to Burma, we found that the agent could get us better prices for Balloons over Bagan.

Of course, travel agents can also arrange guides for you. We opt not to do that, as we seldom use guides, and when we do we’d rather hire one on the spot after we’ve had a chance to interact a bit.

Also on our first trip to Burma we arrived in Yangon on a national holiday, so Scott’s Market, the recommended place to exchange money was closed. Our agent changed money for us at a rate equal to that available at Scott’s Market.

Because we are heading to Mandalay soon after we land in Yangon from Bangkok, we may ask the agent to exchange money for us when they meet us at the airport to give us our tickets and vouchers and to get paid.

Technorati Tags: Bagan Burma, Burma, independent travel Burma, independent travel Myanmar, Mrauk U Burma, Mrauk U Myanmar, Myanmar, Pagan Myanmar, travel agents Burma, travel agents Myanmar

I received an email from a friend today asking about travel to Burma, as a colleague of his thought he wanted to set up a business meeting there. The email made me realize how few people know much about Burma.

Here is what I told him:

Yes, we were in Burma in Nov, 2009. Fascinating country. So fascinating, in fact, that we are going back there this November. I think it will be very difficult for your colleague to hold a meeting there this December.

1. All of Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand have economic sanctions against Burma. About the only major country that does not have economic sanctions against them is China.

2. Because of the economic sanctions, one cannot use credit cards within Burma. A few high-end hotels will take credit cards (by running them through Thailand, Singapore or Hong Kong) but will add an 8-20% surcharge for this. To pay for things, you have to hand-carry US dollars into the country (crisp, unblemished or they will be rejected). Some travel agents in Yangon have overseas bank accounts set up and you can send a foreign wire transfer to them for a deposit. But – you cannot tell the bank that the deposit is going to Burma or they cannot legally send it.

3. Burma has suddenly (with the recent release of ASSK) become a popular spot for more adventuresome travelers. While the tourism numbers are still very low, their infrastructure is stretched as far as it can go for this high season (Nov, Dec, Jan). We had difficulty getting the hotels we wanted for November when we were making reservations in May, and I hear from other travelers and from my agent in Yangon that the high end hotels are all basically full for this high season.

4. Visas: Burma has no visa on arrival. You must get a visa in advance. If there is any hint that a person is affiliated with the news media (for instance) the visa will be denied.

5. Internet access: High-end hotels have internet access, often wi-fi, though it is very slow. The problem is that the government blocks access to email accounts. Between the two of us, we probably have half a dozen email accounts with different providers. The only account we were able to access was a gmail account because the locals have devised a work-around to avoid the government blockade. Even with a personal VPN we were not able to get to our accounts. So none of the attendees would be able to access their work email while in Burma. The government changes its blockades as people devise new work-arounds (e.g., the use of proxy servers) so when we go back this time, we don’t know if we’ll be able to access a gmail account or not. In any case, one should just assume you will not be able to access email.

6. Satellite phones are illegal in Burma and may be confiscated.

There are lots of oddities in traveling to Burma. You pay for hotels, flights, admission fees is US dollars. You pay for purchases, taxis, food, etc in the local currency, kyat (pronounced “chat”). The official exchange rate is about 8 kyat to the dollar. Foreign aid, money to NGOs. etc comes in at this exchange rate. The actual exchange rate is currently about 700 kyat to the dollar. As a traveler, you exchange money on the “black market” (jewelry stores, hotels, etc). Indeed, if you ask to exchange money at the airport exchange counter, they will tell you not to exchange money there. And it is illegal for a foreigner to exchange money at a bank.

Technorati Tags: Burma, flight reservatations Myanmar, flight reservations Burma, hotels Burma, hotels Myanmar, important things to know before planning a trip to burmamyanmar, money exchange Burma, money exchange Myanmar, Myanmar, planning a trip

Planning a trip to Burma isn’t like planning for a trip to any place else. All of the conveniences that I have come to rely on to book international travel – buying plane tickets online, reserving and paying for hotels online, etc are not possible in Burma. It reminds me in some ways of some of my first international trips when I had to go to the bank and purchase a foreign bank draft to mail to a hotel to hold a room. ATMs were not yet readily available, and we had to take cash and travelers checks to exchange for local currency. We paid for everything we could – hotels, meals, on credit cards.

When I was planning my first trip to Burma, I went about it in my usual way. I bought a guidebook (only the Lonely Planet has a relatively current guidebook) and read everything else I could find on Burma. I decided on a realistic itinerary for my first trip. I decided on hotels, knew what fights I needed, then tried to figure out how to book them.

I scoured the internet for ways to book the hotels I wanted. Since one cannot use credit cards in Burma – though some hotels will accept credit cards with a premium of 5%-20% – my goal was to book as many hotels as I could visa the web, paying in advance via credit card. Just one of the three hotels I wanted could be booked through a booking site in Thailand and I could pay in advance via credit card. The others I could book via the web or via email, but could not prepay, despite my best efforts. So I would have to carry in the cash to pay for them.

Flights were worse. There was no way to book them on the web… indeed, there was no way to get accurate flight times at that time (2009). I contacted a travel agent in Bangkok I have used in the past for intra-Asia tickets, but even Eddie could not get me intra-Burma tickets. A friend gave me another travel agent contact in Thailand – no luck there either.

Finally, I took the advice of some fellow travelers and contacted a travel agency on Yangon. Amazing! They could tell me the flight times, the prices, and book my flights for me. I was surprised to find that there were few choices in terms of flights times, and few flights were non-stop. Airlines run circular flights, so you almost always have a stop somewhere between where you got on and where you want to get off. I would carry the cash to pay for my flights to Burma and pay the agent on arrival. I discovered that the agency could make reservations for Balloons Over Bagan for me and give me a discount. By that time, I was beginning to understand that unlike other places in the world, travel agents in Burma could get hotel rooms for less than you could get them even through discount booking sites.

We had a marvelous trip to Burma. You can read my full trip report here:

My Fodors Burma Report

Technorati Tags: Burma, flight reservatations Myanmar, flight reservations Burma, hotels Burma, hotels Myanmar, Myanmar, travel agent in bangkok, travel arrangements within burmamyanmar 8211 lessons learned, travel booking Burma, travel booking Myanmar

Prices on the Oberoi website were well over $600 a night, far more than I was willing to pay.  And, it was concerning that many hotels in Kolkata were sold out months in advance for our early December dates.  A friend said he’d never paid more than US$200 a night there, and encouraged me to wait until the prices came down.

For months, I monitored the Oberoi website almost daily (and never saw any change in rates) and I monitored other websites.  I checked the “usual suspects”  agoda, hotels.com, expedia, Travelocity, and many others.  I googled for best rates several times a week.  The, just a couple of weeks ago, suddenly all of the websites showed our dates sold out.  Had I waited too long?  Was my price point unrealistic?

I redoubled my efforts and finally found two websites that showed availability for our three nights in early December, and at the best prices I’d seen.  After looking carefully at both websites, I chose the one that was based in New York City.  The other website did not give a physical address, which I found concerning.  The prices were within US$10 of each other for the full three nights.

The website I used was gtahotels.com The rate was $707 for three nights, including breakfast, tax and service.  The rate required pre-payment, but is cancellable for a full refund up to two weeks before arrival date.

While I didn’t quite meet my friend’s guideline of US$200 a night, I was quite satisfied.

In my long research, I stumbled across a page showing the average rate per night at my hotel for various dates.  I found that dates in November did sell for just under US$200 (but did not include tax and service – unclear if they included breakfast), but dates in December jumped by more than US$100 a night.

Technorati Tags: getting that last hotel8230, hotel, hotel reservation, hotel reservation issues, night, three nights, travel planning, traveling independently, us, website

I planned to make the wire transfer out of the bank at my brokerage (E*Trade). I conduct virtually all of my business with the brokerage and bank online. I found the web page about wire transfers, international transfers cost $25, which seemed quite reasonable. It looked like I could make the arrangements online. For security purposes, I had to request an authorization code they emailed to me. As I moved through the process, I suddenly realized they wanted to transfer money out of my brokerage account rather than my bank account.

I went back and couldn’t find a link to make the transfer from my bank account. I could always transfer money from my bank account into my brokerage account, if necessary. So it was time to talk to someone. I had a very helpful conversation with a service rep. He said I couldn’t make that transfer online from my bank account, but he could do it for me. As I started to give him the details, he stopped me and said, I can only make this transfer if this transfer is into a foreign bank account with your name on it. Oops – this wasn’t going to work. In order to make an international wire transfer to an account I did not own, I would have to create a signed set of instructions, have my signature notarized and mail it to them. I decided to talk with my local bank.

My local bank (US Bank) said, sure, they could do it. Their price was higher, $50. But I just needed to bring in the instructions and they would do it. I asked about a premium on foreign exchange and they said there would be none. Mentally, I was comparing the cost of putting a transaction like this on a credit card, vs. the wire transfer. The amount of the transfer was about $1600. My Visa card would charge 3% ($48) or my American Express card would charge 2.5% ($40) so the cost of the wire transfer ($50) was fairly comparable. However, when I received the statement from my bank on the actual cost of the wire transfer, the exchange rate I received was 1.65% ($27) over the listed exchange rate on the day it was made.

Also, once I got the confirmation from Glenburn on the amount received, some bank that it passed through added an additional charge of $7. So all told, it cost $84 for the wire transfer, which works out to 5.25% of the amount transferred. The cost of the wire transfer worked out to be about twice the cost of putting it on my credit card.

When I make the final payment in October, I think I’ll do it through E*Trade so I have a direct comparison of costs.

Technorati Tags: bank, brokerage account, credit card, hotel reservation issues, international wire transfer, international wire transfers, local bank, making a deposit on our hotels, making hotel reservations, transfer

Next to reserve is transport. The Glenburn package includes transport from your last accommodations to Glenburn and from Glenburn to your next accommodations or, in our case, the airport at Bagdogra. So we need transport from the airport to Gangtok and from Gangtok to Mt. Padim at Pelling.

After hearing about the helicopter transport, that’s what we wanted to do. We asked her to make those reservations. Apparently, this is not an easy process. I guess it’s hard to get a response back from the Sikkim Tourism Authority that offers this service. Eventually she did get a response, but the response was that they wouldn’t open reservations for our date until October or so. The other thing we learned is that the luggage limit on the helicopter is 15 kg. per person. Given that we need to carry clothing for a range of weather, we decided we didn’t want to be stressed about a luggage limit.

Also, there is the issue of the Sikkim permit. If we go by ground, we can have the permit issued at Rangpo as we enter Sikkim. By helicopter, we need the permit in advance. Usually, people get the permit in Kolkata, but we won’t be in Kolkata before we go to Sikkim. Another thing to consider is that the helicopter can be grounded by bad weather, so you need a back-up plan. So going by ground seemed most practical even though the drive is 4 – 5 hours.

One more decision to make – did we want an Innova or a Sumo for our transport? I quickly Googled those vehicles. One of the things I’ve learned in my travels is that if we are traveling distances or over bad roads, we want the most comfortable vehicle we can get. The Innova, while a few dollars more, clearly looks to be the more comfortable vehicle.

With that decision, we asked for a final invoice; Glenburn requires a 50% deposit to hold reservations and we would need to do a wire transfer to their bank account in Kolkata.

Technorati Tags: hotel reservations, india, luggage limit, making hotel reservations, making our hotel reservations in sikkim, Sikkim, sikkim permit, sikkim reservations, sikkim tourism, sikkim tourism authority

The Elgin properties in Sikkim are still our first choices, including The Elgin at Norkill and The Elgin at Pelling.

Alternative options we looked at were the Bamboo Resort in Rumtek and Yangsum Farm near Richenpong.

We also considered other stops, such as Kalimpong and considered staying in Darjeeling at The Elgin or The Windermere as well as outside of Darjeeling.

Technorati Tags: changes and final decisions on where we stay in sikkim, darjeeling, elgin properties, fellow fodorite, Glenburn Estates, hotel reservations, India Travel, making hotel reservations, Sikkim, stay

It’s been a while since my last post here. I have to admit that I got caught up in planning my next trip to my favorite part of the world, SE Asia. Finally, I decided to visit Burma. I won’t go into all of my machinations about whether or not to go, as that debate spanned some twenty years, but I do want to tell you about my experience booking this trip.

When Burma first opened to tourism over two decades ago, they allowed only group tours to enter. At first there was a strict limit of 7 days in the country. As time went on, the rules loosened gradually, but even today by far the majority of travelers to Burma go as part of a tour group. If you aren’t going as part of a tour group, they would prefer that you have a travel agency just book your itinerary for you.

I wanted to travel according to my own plan so I really had to work to get the travel arrangements I wanted. I usually book all of my own flights and all of my own hotels over the internet. For Burma, this was a real challenge. Because most email is blocked in Burma, emails to hotels may never be received. E-mailing is often an exercise in frustration. I was able to book one hotel directly via e-mail; another I found a Thai booking site where I could reserve and pay by credit card in advance – a great advantage in a country where credit cards are basically unusable. And my third hotel I was able to book via a phone call to The Leading Hotels of the World.

Air tickets were harder. There is no way to book intra-Burma flights online. Indeed, it was impossible to find a current timetable, let alone one for a month or two away. Eventually, I found a posting of what flights flew last week. I have a travel agent in Bangkok I’ve used for booking intra-Asia flight when needed. I wrote to him, and after several weeks of trying, he told me he was unable to book my flights. At that point, I emailed a travel agent in Yangon. They were able to tell me the times of the flights and book them.

And no one told me that there are no non-stop flights among all of the major cities. Of our three internal flights, two had stops on the way. And there are few choices about when to fly. It is not uncommon to have only one flight a day between two of the four major destinations in Burma. So our time in each place was a little different than we had originally planned.

Still, we did eventually get all of our hotels and flights and we had a wonderful time.

But I learned that a country that would prefer that you not travel independently can make it difficult for even the most stubborn independent traveler!

Technorati Tags: Bagan, Burma, Inle Lake, Mandalay, Myanmar, Rangoon, Yangon

Have a plan B, and do your research so you know your options. Don’t expect that airline personnel will necessarily know the best alternate routes to your destination or that they will know which other airlines fly to your destination.

Utilize your status with frequent flier and hotel programs

When there is a problem, consider what kind of leverage you might have. Being a member of the airline or hotel loyalty program is helpful, but it’s even more helpful if you are a premium member. If you have often stayed at a particular hotel, you can use that as leverage. When I say leverage, I don’t mean making threats “I’ve been staying here for years – if you don’t take care of this right now I’ll never stay here again!” If I were the hotel manager I have to admit I’d be saying to myself that I could only hope the nasty customer wouldn’t return!

Instead, take the approach that you have been a good customer and that you are sure the hotel wants to take care of the problem. Take the approach that you are working together to take care of the problem.

Airline problems are often due to weather delays or equipment delays. Conventional wisdom says to try to take flights early in the day so you can catch a later flight if necessary. Of course, that is not always possible. On my way to a meeting in Montreal, we landed in Washington DC for the connection to Montreal. There were thunderstorms in Montreal so the flight was delayed. It was getting late, and I expected we might not fly that night. I called an airport hotel, the Hyatt, and they had no space. At the time I was a diamond passport member, so they assured me they would find a room for me.

Soon, it was clear to me that the plane would not fly. I went to the Red Carpet Club and asked that they book me on the earliest flight out the next morning. I utilized my Red Carpet Club membership, my United Premier Executive status and my hotel loyalty program status, all of which paid off. I had a good night’s sleep and my flight to Montreal in the morning was as smooth as can be. The flight was overbooked – so if I hadn’t gotten my reservations as early as possible the previous afternoon, I wouldn’t have gotten on that flight.

How can you make your delay more pleasant?

We were flying from Kuching, Malaysia to Bangkok via Kuala Lumpur several years ago, when our flight out of Kuching was delayed. I wasn’t too worried, as I figured that there must be frequent flights from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok, so we could just get on the next flight. Fortunately, we were flying in Business Class on Malaysian Air, so I knew they would accommodate us.

When we arrived in KL, I went to the Malaysian Air desk to get on the next flight, only to find that it was 5 hours later! My guess about how frequent the flights must be was way off. I checked on some other connection options, but turned up nothing. So what could I do in the Kuala Lumpur airport for all that time? Go to the Business Class Lounge.

Here is a real advantage to flying a premium class even on relatively short international connections.

The Business Class Lounge at Kuala Lumpur Internation Airport is lovely. We sat down and looked around. They have comfortable seating, lovely food, good champagne, and a spa! I have to say that was the most relaxing time I’ve ever had waiting for a flight. We had arrived hungry and cranky from a delayed flight that caused us to miss our connection, and by the time we left the lounge to take our flight to Bangkok we were relaxed and content. We filled our time with a visit to the spa, champagne and good food.

Next : Managing illness or minor accidents while traveling

Technorati Tags: airline reservation problems, hotel reservation problems

When one hears of the hazards of travel, people think of really awful things – plane crashes, tsunamis, typhoons or hurricanes, earthquakes, or being caught up a violent insurrection. But most hazards of travel are much more mundane: delayed or cancelled flights, lost luggage, a hotel that doesn’t have your reserved room, food poisoning or a broken ankle.

Managing Airline and Hotel Problems

Ask for what you need

Most of the hazards of travel can be managed quickly and easily given a bit of flexibility on the part of the traveler. Things to remember… being pleasant and in a problems-solving mode will get you much farther than being angry, demanding and nasty. I know that people in the US often say that nothing will happen unless you get angry. This is not true in Asia. And frankly, I don’t think it’s helpful in the US or Europe. Getting angry or making a scene is considered a major embarrassment – to you.

You reduce your chances that people will work with you to solve the problem. I am not suggesting that you be meek and not ask for anything, but ask for what you need politely and firmly. Be willing to negotiate. Ask for something they can give you. So, if your luggage has not arrived with you, demanding that they produce your luggage immediately is of little use. If your luggage were there they would have given it to you. Instead, ask for what they can provide. “I need to buy X and Y and have my clothes laundered at my hotel.” “I need you to deliver my luggage to me at this hotel as soon as it arrives.” Utilize others to help you with the problem. The concierge at your hotel may well be willing to call and follow up with the airline, for instance. Note that if you are traveling in a premium class, there will often be an airline employee designated to give you special assistance.

If you check into a hotel and need (and were assured of) a non-smoking room and there is not one available, be persistent. Let them know you must have a non-smoking room. What kind of room do they have available that is non-smoking? I have had hotels move me to another type of room to accommodate me. In one case, I could have that room for only one night, and had to move me to another non-smoking room the next night, so they discounted my whole stay. I was pleasant but insistent, and the night manager was very helpful. He went and checked on various rooms so that we were not delivered to a non-smoking room that smelled of smoke.

Let the process work

I remember arriving in Yogyakarta, Indonesia after a transpacific flight, a few hours trying to nap in the terminal at Changi, and going through customs and immigration in Jakarta. We arrived exhausted and wanting nothing more than to get to our hotel and take a shower… and our luggage did not arrive with us. The representative from the hotel who met us, just shrugged and said “Garuda always does that. You luggage will get here this afternoon.” Somehow I did not find that reassuring. I was not yet experienced enough in the ways of international travel not to fret, but the woman was right – Garuda often left people’s luggage in Jakarta and our luggage did arrive that afternoon.

What are your options?

I was trying to book a flight from Kuantan, Malaysia to Singapore. I had booked the last non-stop flight on Silk Air from Singapore to Kuanatan before low season started, so I knew there would be no non-stops to get me back to Singapore. As I expected, the agent routed me though Kuala Lumpur. But as she worked on the reservations, she said to me that there are no seats available on the flight from KL to Singapore. I found that hard to fathom. I had her check several options for me, then asked her, “what are my options?” “There are some first class seats on that flight.”
“And how much more are the first class tickets?”
“Twenty dollars.”
“I’ll take it.”

It would never have occurred to me that “no seats” meant no seats in economy. That flight turned out to be one of my most memorable first class fights. It was on a brand new Boeing 777, configured for three classes of travel. As we boarded, a flight attendant bounded down the aisle to lift our carry-ons into the overhead bin. The fight was just under an hour, but we were served a hot duck entrée and Dom Perignon. We joked that we easily drank the price difference in champagne.

In our next post we’ll talk about having a Plan B!

Technorati Tags: airline reservation issues, airline reservation problems, hotel reservation issues, hotel reservation problems