ACCOMODATION:
Basic Guest Houses are $4-10 single, $8-15 double. Mid range hotels about $20-50. 4-5 star $100 up.
If you want to pay by any method other than US$ cash, check with the hotel before arriving.
Hotel areas are Downtown, Kandawgyi Lake/Bahan Tsp., and up the roads to Inya Lake.
The famous and elegant Strand Hotel is a bit lonely down by the river, but its a good and interesting location.

Traders is reasonably priced in the centre of Downtown and Kandawgyi Palace has maybe the best spot in town right on the edge of Kandawgyi Lake (thats repetitive, kan-daw-gyi roughly translates as "lake-respected lady-number one").

Best areas to stay are Downtown for the ease of shopping and exploring, and around (Lake) Kan Daw Gyi (Bahan Township) for peace and quiet and ease of access to places of interest. The Embassy area, where the Pansea is, is pleasant and shady. Inya Lake area is quite a way from anything else, but there are a lot of Hotels in the area.

If arriving without a booking in high season (Dec-Feb) many of the cheaper hotels will be full.
Carry a list of hotels in your price range with phone numbers.
Use the hotel phone to call others, the manager will often help you with this.

On Arrival: As said on the Intro page, bring all you need in US$ cash to avoid problems.
No US$ to FEC change now required. See Introduction page for more.

US$ you can change to Kyat at your hotel or elsewhere. The hotel rate is usually less than elsewhere. There are many black market dealers who will approach you on the street in Rangoon, most commonly at Bogyoke Zei (Scott Market) and near Mahabandoola Park opposite the Foreign Exchange Bank, usually reliable. Your choice, be careful. Burmese don't like torn or stained dollar notes.

US$ can usually be used for payments, and change given back in US$, though this is actually illegal and totally ignored. Burmese are not allowed to possess foreign currency by a law which is only used as an excuse to arrest someone.

TAXI to downtown from Airport has gone up to $3-5 or 3-5000 Kyat. Or 3000-4000 Kyat when leaving.

Money:
Advice Number one. Bring all the US$ cash you might need with you to save lots of hassles.
And encountering sudden changes like with Travelers Cheques below.

Change money at your hotel/guest house, the rate is sometimes competitive, when they take it outside to a money changer, inhouse rates can be quite low (eg. 850 vs 1020 in 2003).
There are many black-market money changers who will give a better rate.
Almost opposite the Foreign Exchange Bank (Mahabandoola Garden St. opp. Park) there are a few Restaurants, you will be approached or just ask quietly there to change money for a good rate, its a bit furtive, but found to be reliable.
Be careful with money changers on the street here, get the Kyat in your hand and count it before handing over your Dollars
You will also be approached often at the Bogyoke Zei Market. Larger notes (US$50/100) get a better rate. Currency other than US$ can usually be changed also. eg. Thai Baht, Australia $, German, French, English, not sure about Euros.

Travellers Cheques: Used to be able to change them into US$ at the Foreign Exchange Bank (Mahabandoola Garden St. opposite the Park) but it seems now you cannot.(hearsay, Jan. 2004).

CREDIT CARDS: A few larger Hotels accept the major Credit Cards. There are no ATM's or banks that will do advances on Credit Cards.

International Arrival See Burma Introduction page.

Internal travel is by bus, train and air mostly. Burmese roads vary from from bad to truly awful.
BUSES. Most leave from the Highway Bus Station (Zaw Bwar Gyi Gone) on the main road near the airport, a long way from downtown.
Your hotel will probably buy your ticket for a small service charge, definitely a good idea.
Quite a few bus company booking offices are at Aung San Stadium, opposite the Railway Station.
Also in a shop in Mahabandoola Garden St. (opposite City Star Hotel). Buses go to all the main destinations.
Yangon to Mandalay ($5) is an overnight trip. leaves about 5pm arrives maybe 15-18-24 hours later.
For Yangon to Inle Lake a good trip is 18 hours.
To Mawlamyine 12++ hours. Kyaiktiyo 6++ hours. Pathein 5++ hours. Chauntha Beach 7++ hours.

Odd things happen. One Kyaiktiyo bus goes from the Highway Bus Centre (Zaw Bwar Gyi Gone), but coming back it deposits you at Hsinmalike Bus Station, be prepared.
The third Bus Station is Aung Mingalar in the very north near City Golf Club for some Buses to the South (Mawlamyine) and North (Thandwe), they are trying to move services from Zaw Bwar Gyi Gone to here but it seems to be not happening a lot. Downtown to the Bus Stations is 3000-3500 Kyat in a Taxi.

Your bus will provide loud Burmese pop songs all the way, only broken by some Burmese movies or football.
Earplugs can be a good idea, and a head/neck support for sleeping, the Chinese built coaches have headrest designed to push your chin onto your chest.

And if the aircon is working it will be full-on, carry a jacket/sweater, it can be cool late at night even in lower Myanmar ,Dec-Jan.

Small annoyance is a new scam at some Bus stations where the boys who load the buses will ask for 500-1500 Kyat for a bag that has to be stowed away. Go straight to the office and complain, they will be told not to, after all you are paying at least twice the local rate for the same pain. Not a sign of things to come I hope.

TRAIN. Yangon to Mandalay is the most common trip (716km, 16+ hours). The express trains are spacious with reclining seats, sleepers are availble (book well in advance). Its slow and rocking.
Dagon Mann is a private train with some seats for foreigners goes to Mandalay three times a week at 3:15pm. Its also easy to take a train to Pyay and Mottama (for Mawlyamine).
Train Booking office is in Bogyoke Aung San St. (opposite Sakura/Hitachi Tower).

BOAT. Along the Yangon river waterfront there are four main passenger jetties servicing long-distance boats towards Pathein, Pyay, Bagan and Mandalay. Buy tickets from the Inland Water Transport Company (IWT) at the back of Lan Thit St. jetty. Boat travel is very slow and boats can get stuck on sandbars when the rivers are low.

5 million people are spread over a wide area, divided into Townships for administration purposes. The Pagodas, the river and the lakes provide relief from the rough dustiness of getting around.
The streets are dark and almost empty by 10pm. Any entertainment still has to close at midnight.
The old tiny blue slow Mazda's taxis are less common, regular car taxis with signs are found everywhere .
There are no meters and no aircon, bargain a price first, usually about 800-1000Kyat ($1.20) for short to medium trips, eg. Downtown to Schwedagon Pagoda.

Many taxi drivers get lost outside the downtown area , carry a map.
Taxi drivers are now licensed, showing their ID in the car, costs them 7000 Kyat a year, came about because of complaints from tourists about freelance drivers with a couple of suspect guys in the car.
And they obey traffic lights now too since the new fines of US$50/100 for running a yellow/red light.

There are lots of buses and pick-up trucks going who knows where, not designed for tourists.
Walking around town is easy and interesting. Just keep to shaded side of the street. Take care crossing the street, pedestrians have no rights, pedestrian crossings are ignored by motorists.
Trishaws (Sai-Kar) can be found on the outer edges of the city, they are not allowed in the central area in the daytime.

There is a metropolitan Train service but not very extensive. You can take the "circle line" train from the Central Rail Station and do a loop through the suburbs and villages in 2.5 hours.
One tourist has been seen self-propelling herself on a bicycle.

CAR RENTAL: No Avis/Hertz etc. You can hire a car and driver. Ask around and negotiate a lot. They used to hang out around Sule Pagoda when the MTT office was there. Ask your hotel.
2004: Foreigners can now I believe hire a car and drive it themselves, but I don't know where from.
A reasonable choice for 2-3 people if you don't want to fly and you know how bad bus travel is. e.g. Two guys hired a car and driver for 15 days for US$350 to see Inle Lake, Mandalay, Bagan etc. but had to say goodbye at Pyay because the Indian driver was not allowed to go further into Rhakine State.
U (Mr.) Myo Myint is a driver working from the Beautyland Hotel. Approximate rates are $40 for 1 day Yangon sightseeing, $500 for 15 days including Inle lake, Mandalay, Bagan.

MOTORCYCLE RENTAL: None. Not allowed. But there are more motorcycles on the street now, apparently special licenses for delivery people and such. Unique was the the young backpacker guy I saw at Inle Lake who had somehow bought an ancient English motorcycle and was riding around the country.

Thein Gyi Zei (Market) is Rangoon's K-Mart for household goods, clothes, accessories etc.
If you can find the long sheds, in the side streets on the east side of Schwedagon Pagoda, they have a fascinating array of temple goods. This is where the locals buy them.
The FMI Centre (next to Bogyoke Zei) is for the fashionable and wealthy.
There are lots of areas for certain things.
Hi-Fi, TV, Cameras are around Anawrahta/Mahabandoola Garden St area. Also a Nikon shop at Aung San Stadium with up to date digital and SLR gear. Not cheap.
Film processing. Kodak shop in Traders Hotel. Shops in Anwrahta St (cnr. Sule Pagoda Rd) also. Slide (E6) film processing at OO, Mahabandoola Garden St., 50m south of Anawrahta St.

Books. Pagan Bookshop (37th St. between Merchant and Mahabandoola St's) is a tiny shop with lots of interesting old english books about Burma, Budhhism, more recent paperbacks etc. Burmese books too.
Browse the many book street stalls around Pansodan and Merchant St's. Quite a lot of ancient english books.
Inwa Bookshop (Sule Pagoda Rd, opp. Traders Hotel). Mainly glossy coffee-table books for tourists and books in Burmese.
Mandalay Bookshop. www.mandalaybookshop.com & www.mandalaygallery.biz

Surprisingly you can find genuine Alpine, JBL, Mission etc. products at sometimes very cheap prices,( these appear to be coming from Singapore mainly) Some shops south of Thei Gyi Market.

Supermarkets: A few small western style supermarkets around. Most popular is City Mart (cnr. Anawrahta St & 47th St). Another on the north side of Aung San Stadium and at Dagon Shopping Mall.

Sule Pagoda. right in the centre of Downtown. Lots of activity with people doing devotions.

Botathaung Pagoda. Just off Strand Rd. east of Strand Hotel,Botathaung Tsp. Only small but highly revered for containg a hair of the Buddha. Interesting riverside activity, boats that travel the river systems are loaded here, also a transit point for people crossing the river in small boats, 20 in a boat (20 Kyat). Have been told foreigners cannot take these boats, not sure if its true.

Kan Daw Gyi (Lake) is pleasant for a stroll. There is an ancient flying fox over the water if you're game.
It's Yangon's Lovers Lane, couples meet here told hands and sometimes kiss, shock, horror. At 2005. with the new ugly fence built all the way around the lake, foreigners have to pay 1000 Kyat to enter, lots of open space is now developed into commercial and government ventures, sorry to say its lost its relaxed pleasant feel when you have to pay an armed guard to enter.

The Riverside has interesting activity. The famous Strand Hotel is down there. There is an indoor/outdoor seafood restaurant on the other side of the road a bit east, fenced off with a guard, but just walk in.

UPDATES:
2004: Internet and email changes. See Internet below and on Introduction Page. More Karaoke Beer Stations.
2002: More nightlife, discos, restaurants with bands, but everything still closes at midnight.
1999:There is precious little nightlife of a western variety, a few mostly empty nightclubs, Burmese movie houses, a few Mandalay Beer houses. The city is empty and dark by around 9pm.
Liveliest place after dark is Chinatown area, shops stay open and plenty of good food, (a bit west of Thein Gyi Zei Market). One Japanese restaurant in Pansodan St. stays open all night, good food too.
1998: Schedagon Pagoda was covered (bamboo mats) for renovation and new gold.Should be finished in 2-3 months
Electricity supply was much worse. Footpaths are covered with new generators outside every second shop.
Most hotels are almost empty. One large hotel closed.

Telephone Info:Country code=95. Rangoon [Yangon] Area Code=1. then the 6 digit phone no.
Note: "Tsp."means Township i.e. an area or suburb
Downtown Post Office is on Pansodan St. Just north of Merchant St.

COURIERS: DHL is in Yangon, for local and international parcels. One depot is at Traders Hotel (Sule Paya Rd).

Meditation Centres:
Quite a few are used to having foreigners stay. Many will cater for English speakers. So its a lot easier now than in the 1970's when keen meditators had to fly to Calcutta or Bangkok after seven days and come straight back to finish the course.
There are two main techniques familiar to westerners, though they are quite similar. Vipassana (Insight) meditation in the tradition of U Ba Khin and the Mahasi Sayadaw tradition.
Courses are usually ten days minimum, and up to three months
A few places
Dhamma Joti. Nga Hhta Gyi Pagoda Rd, off Nat Mauk Rd. Bahan Tsp. (The road beside the Japanese Emabassy, east side),not far from Aung San Museum. (Vipassana, S.N.Goenka). Tel:549290, 546660
Chanmyay Yeiktha Meditation Centre. 655A Kaba Aye Pagoda Rd. Tel:661479
International Meditation Centre. 31A Inya Myaing Rd. Tel:531549
Mahasi Meditation Centre. 16 Thathana Yeiktha Rd. Tel: 541971
Panditarama. 80A Schwetaunggyaw Rd. Tel:531448.
A large new place "Mogok Vipassana Centre" is being built on Natmauk Rd. (north side of Lake Kan Daw Gyi), named after the now deceased "Mogok Sayadaw".

Also from some hotels and shops (about $1 each) and from Uniqcom Business Services (535 Merchant Rd, downtown. Tel:95-1-370256 Fax:95-1-370256.) for 400 Kyat per page. Their email is: uniqcom@mptmail.net.mm They also have a website www.goldenlandpages.com with lots of local knowledge. They also print and write CDs etc.
Receiving email can only be done by having it sent to an approved address (where it is censored of course), so you cannot log on to get your web-based email (Hotmail etc) or use an email client program (Eudora, Outlook Express etc).

WARNING:
Myanmar electricity is very dangerous. Bring quality protection with you. The nominal 220V can be from 300-100.

Major hotels should have regulators, step-up transformers and generators, but smaller ones may not.
Electronic Spare parts can be found in the Anawrahta St - 22nd St. area.
You cannot buy small transformers, you have them rewound. You can buy the common plugs, capacitors, transistors; nothing too exotic.

Coffee ! Myanmar coffee is thick and strained through a cloth, leaving a lot of grit in it, or a very fine powder added to hot water. Its sometimes hard to find. Quality is not very good. Addicts can buy ground coffee from the City Marts (cnr. Anawrahta St & 47th St. and at Aung San Stadium and Dagon Shopping Mall) and at the Duty Free Shop which moved to 653A Mya kan Tha, Road 1, Karmaryut Tsp, off Pyay Rd. and make their own.