Myanmar’s currency is the kyat, pronounced “chat”. Prices may be shown locally using the abbreviation of K (singular or plural) or Ks (plural) either before or after the amount and depending very much on who is doing the sign writing. The ISO abbreviation is MMK. Wikivoyage articles will use kyat to denote the currency. Pya are coins, and are rarely seen since their value has become increasingly insignificant with even the largest 50 pya coin worth less than US$0.01.

Foreigners are no longer required to pay in US dollars for hotels, tourist attractions, rail and air tickets, ferry travel and for bus tickets. As of September 2015, foreign currency instability and the weakening kyat means that many venues will state prices in US dollars, even though it is illegal to do so. Expat restaurants still often quote in USD despite actions from the Central Bank prohibiting excess dollar usage. It is illegal for a Myanmar citizen to accept (or hold) US dollars without a licence, but this law is mostly ignored and US dollars are generally accepted. Never insist though because it may be dangerous for the receiver.

Kyat cannot be legally exchanged abroad, though money changers in places with large overseas Burmese populations such as Singapore will often exchange anyway. Bring very clean, unfolded US dollars (or they will not be accepted by hotels, restaurants and money changers), and dispose of remaining kyat before leaving.

Even small imperfections can be cause to reject a US banknote. Keep all US dollars in impeccable condition, and do not fold them.

Credit cards and ATMs:

There are plenty of ATMs all across the country accepting international Visa and MasterCard. The bigger and more touristic the place the more ATMs it has. Upmarket tourist places (hotels, agencies, restaurants) are already accepting credit cards (and will surcharge accordingly). So you can even pay with mastercard in a store in the middle of Inle Lake for purchases value more than USD100. But nonetheless paper money is the only way to pay in most places.

If an ATM doesn’t work, try the next one. In case you are going to a remote area withdraw beforehand in a city. Usual withdrawal limit is 300,000 kyat with a processing fee of 5,000 kyat. Beside the ATMs, there are places where cash can be obtained with a credit card, but the rates are extremely uncompetitive (with premiums certainly no lower than around 7%, and with quotes of 30% and more frequently reported). In case you run out of money, ask your taxi driver to drive you to the CB Bank ATM.

EAT:

Burmese food is influenced by that of India and China, yet has its own uniqueness. Apart from Burmese food, other ethnic traditional foods such as Shan food, Rakhine food, and Myeik food are also distinct. Rice is at the core of Burmese food, and good vegetarian food is widely available. Burmese food is often extremely pungent. Similar to neighbouring Southeast Asian countries, fish sauce (ငံပြာရည် ngan bya yay) is a very popular condiment in Myanmar, and is widely used to flavour many dishes. Food is inexpensive at most restaurants (priced at 500-3,000 kyat per item at most local restaurants, but can go as high as 8,000 kyat at posh restaurants). There are many up-market restaurants in Yangon and Mandalay.

The majority of low-to-middle class restaurants use a cheap blend of palm oil for cooking. This oil may be unhealthy, and common roadside restaurants should be avoided if you are at the slightest risk for hypertension, heart disease, or other fat- or cholesterol-related conditions. Higher class restaurants may use peanut oil instead.

Specific dishes include:

• Curry – Burmese people have a very different definition of curry than other countries. It is very spicy compared to Indian and Thai options, and although you may find it served at room temperature in cheaper restaurants, in a typical Burmese home all curry dishes are served hot. Burmese curry does not contain coconut milk, unlike its SE Asian counterparts, and has a large quantity of onion or tomato depending on region and cook’s preference. Myanmar is the highest per-capita consumer of onions in the world. Quite often Burmese curries are cooked with lots of oil, much more than other regional curries.
  
• Samosa thoke (samosa salad) – A popular street dish of chickpeas, potatoes, tomato, cabbage, mint and a smashed samosa.
  
• Mohinga (pronounced mo-HIN-ga) – A dish of rice vermicelli with fish chowder, usually accompanied by coriander and chilli powder. Its taste can range from sweet to spicy, and is usually eaten at breakfast. It is considered by many to be the national dish, and is widely available throughout the country, albeit in different styles in different regions.
  
• Mote lin-mayar (Couples snacks) – Small tiny pancakes with chives, chickpeas or quail eggs.
  
• Spicky rice – Served plain or with tumeric or black rice
  
• Nan Gyi Thoke (pronounced nan gyi thou) – A special dish of rice noodle salad with chicken sauce. It is mostly eaten in mid-Myanmar.
  
• Onnokauswe (pronounced oun-NO-kao-sui) – A dish of thicker noodles in a thick soup of coconut milk with chicken. It is served with a variety of condiments accompanying it, ranging from fried fruit fritters to solidified duck blood. “Khao soi”(“noodle” in Burmese), often found on the streets of Chiang Mai, is derived from this Burmese counterpart. It is also comparable to the more spicier Laksa often found in peninsular SE countries like Malaysia and Singapore.
  
• Shan food – The Shan are an ethnic group who inhabit Shan State around Inle lake, near the Thai border. Their food is marvellous. It can be found in Yangon easily.
  • Shan tofu – Made with mung beans instead of soya beans these yellow blocks are served fried or in a cold noodle salad.
    
  • Laphet thote (pronounced la-peh THOU) – A salad of fermented tea leaves and a variety of fried nuts. It is commonly mixed with sliced lettuce, and is eaten with rice. The dish comes from Shan State.
• Chinese food – Available in most citties and usually authentic; if plain.

DRINK:

Tap water in Myanmar is not safe to drink, likewise ice may be contaminated. Bottled water is readily available at many tourist sites. You can also safely drink from the many clay jars dotted around the country, or find safe drinking water in temples. Just look for the large steel tanks with cups tied to the spigots. Water in the clay jars is filtered and many Myanmar people use them. Owners of the jars fill them up with water as a way to make merit.

Similar to Chinese Tea, Yenwejan is usually provided free at restaurant tables. While not flavourful, it is boiled water, and so safe to drink (do not drink plain water – even in restaurants – unless it is bottled water). Dried tea leaves similar to Laphet thote’s tea leaves (except these are wet) are added to the boiled water to give Yenwejan Be sure to order it with Laphet thote (Customary/Good combination).

Alcohol is frowned upon by conservative Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims, but consumed widely, mostly among men. Myanmar Beer is most popular in the country. Other variants, including Mandalay Beer exist. However, many of such companies are government-owned and/or have links to the drug trade. Toddy juice (ta-YEI) is popular in central Myanmar, and is made from fermented palm sugar. An alcoholic drink popular in the Shan State is Shwe le maw, and is reportedly very strong. It is also possible to buy full strength Beer Chang imported from Thailand; exports to most countries are not nearly as strong.

Beware of alcoholic drinks served in the far northern states. The locals refer to it as alcohol which does not burn when lit, and it is widely suspected to be an opiate concoction rather than a fermented beverage.

There are a lot of nightclubs, including those attached to the five star hotels (e.g. Grand Plaza), and also local entertainment centres (e.g. JJs, Asia plaza).

Teahouses:

Teahouses are important places of social gathering and popular throughout the country. They look like restaurants but if you watch closely you will notice that people are drinking a lot of Chinese tea (free), light brown tea and are mainly snacking. Some teahouses also offer simple dishes as fried rice or noodles.

Once seated they will expect you to order coffee but that’s not what you should go for as it is almost always instant coffee. Order tea, a type of black tea with milk that differ in strength and sweetness:

• bone mahn: balanced
  
• cho seh: sweet
  
• kyaw p’daung: sweeter
  
• pan brown: bitter and sweet
  
• jah hseent: light, with milk, not strong
  
• pancho: strong
  
• bow hseent: less strong
  
• noe hseent dee: milk tea without sugar

You will completely mispronounce the tea names (second and sixth are relatively easy) and people might not get what you want at all since it’s rare for foreigners to order these teas. So it’s better to ask your hotel or any local speaking English to write down the names in Burmese.

Since you are a foreigner they will assume that you want your tea sheh – special – which means it will come with condensed milk. It’s also possible to order a tankie and so the tea will come in a big pot. A simple cup of tea costs 200-400 kyat. Small snacks like samosas, cakes or sweet balls are readily available at the table. If not ask. At the end you will only pay for the number of pieces eaten. Foodies should check out the type of snacks before deciding on a teahouse. It is not impolite at all to bring your own food as long as you order at least something.

Myanmar has good hotel accommodation, particularly in major cities and the main tourist areas, though prices are substantially higher than in Thailand or Vietnam. Rooms with attached bath are available for under USD10 everywhere except in Yangon and with shared bath for anywhere from USD3–6 in most places. Almost every hotel licensed for foreigners has running hot water (though, in remote areas, availability may be restricted to certain hours of the day). Hotels, with a few exceptions, are usually clean. At the budget end, sheets and blankets may be threadbare and the rooms may be poorly ventilated. A few low-end hotels, particularly in Yangon and other large cities, specialize in cubicle rooms, small single rooms with no windows which, while cheap and clean, are not for the claustrophobic. Rates are quoted as single/double, but the rooms are usually the same whether one person or two stay in the room, making good hotels a real bargain if travelling as a couple. Except at the top-end, breakfast is always included in the price of the room.

The tourism boom in Myanmar has left its infrastructure struggling to cope with the increased numbers of visitors. Hotel rooms tend to sell out really fast, and those in popular tourist destinations often sell out months in advance. As a result of the lack of supply, prices have also increased substantially. You should make your hotel bookings well in advance of your planned trip to Myanmar in order not to be stranded when you arrive.

Myanmar has a problem providing enough electricity to its people and power supply is severely restricted everywhere. In many places, electricity may be available only for a few hours each evening or, in some cases, only every alternate evening. If you don’t want to spend your nights without a fan or air conditioning, ask if the hotel has a generator (most mid-priced hotels do). On generator nights, the air conditioning in your room may not work (the price is usually lower as well). Even if a hotel has a generator, there is no guarantee that it will be used to provide you electricity at the times you require, so be ready for blackouts at any time of day or night. Major tourist hotels in Yangon and Mandalay have near-uninterrupted electricity supply, but can cost anywhere from USD80–300 per night.

At the top-end, Myanmar has some excellent hotels including one or two great ones (The Strand in Yangon and Kandawgyi Palace Hotel in Yangon). The Myanmar government runs many hotels, including some beautiful colonial era ones (though not the two listed in the previous sentence). A percentage of all accommodation payments goes to the government, no matter where you choose to stay, and it is not possible to run a successful business in Myanmar without some relationship or payment arrangement with the military.

What to buy:

• Antiques. Purchasing antiquities and antiques in Myanmar is at best a legal gray area with the 2015 passage of the new Antiquities Law, and often illegal for any item over 100 years old. Penalties include prison and fines. It is recommended to avoid purchasing antiques as a tourist, unless you’re willing to get an export permit from the Ministry of Culture on your way out and you have enough knowledge to avoid the fakes. Replicas and fakes are rife in Bogyoke market and other anitque stores frequented by tourists. It is against the law to export religious antiques (manuscripts, Buddhas, etc.)
  
• Art. The Myanmar Art market has exploded, with local artists’ works going for good values in Yangon and Mandalay. Visit the numerous galleries in Yangon to get a feel for available works. Art is often related to Buddhism and the difficult socio-political situation, as well as more traditional Victorian-influenced subjects like markets, old women smoking cigars, tribal members, and monks. There is a lot of cheap/mass-painted and derivative works at Bogyoke Market.
  
• Gemstones. Myanmar is a significant source of jade, rubies and sapphires (the granting of a licence to the French over the ruby mines in Mogok was one of the causes leading to the Third Burmese War) and these can be obtained at a fraction of what it would cost in the West. There are a lot of fakes for sale amid the genuine stuff and, unless you know your gems, buy from an official government store or risk being cheated. Bogoyoke Aung San Market and the Myanmar Gems Museum in Yangon has many licensed shops and is generally a safe place for the purchase of these stones.
  
• Lacquer ware. A popular purchase, which is made into bowls, cups, vases, tables and various items, and is available almost anywhere. The traditional centre of lacquer ware production is Bagan in central Myanmar. Beware of fraudulent lacquer ware, though, which is poorly made, but looks authentic. As a guide, the stiffer the lacquer, the poorer the quality; the more you can bend and twist it, the finer the quality.
  
• Tapestries. Known as kalaga, or shwe chi doe. There is a long tradition of weaving tapestries in Burma. These are decorated with gold and silver thread and sequins and usually depict tales from the Buddhist scriptures (the jatakas) or other non-secular objects from Burmese Buddhism (mythical animals, the hintha, and the kalong are also popular subjects). The tapestry tradition is dying out but many are made for tourists and are available in Mandalay and Yangon. Burmese tapestries don’t last long, so be warned if someone tries to sell you an antique shwe chi doe!
  
• Textiles. Textiles in Myanmar are stunning. Each region and each ethnic group has its own style. Chin fabrics are particularly stunning. They are handwoven in intricate geometric patterns, often in deep reds and mossy greens and white. They can be quite pricey, perhaps USD20 for the cloth to make a longyi (sarong).