Mobile phone - Laptop
Just forget it ! Whatever your telecom company
it will not work in Myanmar except if your telephone accepts CDMA standard. In that case you can rent a Cdma Sim card.
In any case, there is absolutely no roaming, so you will not have acces to your normal phone company.
Urgent update - 20 novembre 2010
The sale of pre-paid Sim card for mobile phone has been suspended since few days, and we absolutely do not know when it could resume.
Back to the former situation, your mobile phone is useless here - it is real holidays ):
Renting a mobile phone and a Sim card (July 2011)
Starting end of July 2011, it is now possible (only at Yangon's airport) to rent a CDMA mobile phone and a SIM card.
Where : arrival hall at Yangon's airport (they will add soon an outlet at Mandalay's airport.
Procedure : You have to rent a CDMA mobile and/or a SIM card (if by change you already have a CDMA phone).
You need to deposit for guaranty 100 USD for the phone set and 100 USD for the SIM card.
Renting fees :
The CDMA phone cost 2 USD a day (you are not obliged to rent it if your telephone accept CDMA Sim card).
The SIM card cost 2 USD a day.
So if you rent the telephone + the Sim card, your cost will be 4 USD /day
Call fees.
After that, you have to buy a recharge for your Sim card. It is very easy to find everywhere and the cost is 10 000 or 20 000 or 50 000 kyats.
Back to the airport :
You have to go back to Yangon's airport to get bax your deposit and give back the phone set.
The renting cost (2 USD per day for phone + 2 USD per day for Sim card) will be deduct from your deposit.
Make a call abroad
Theorically, you make an IDD everywhere in Myanmar. Pratically
it is very difficult from Inle and Bagan, but you will be
able to make IDD call from almost all the hotels without any
problem in Mandalay and Yangon.
It is always easier to call from Myanmar to abroad, than from
abroad to Myanmar, especially Inle area where it is almost
impossible to get an outside call.
Receive a phone call from abroad
Possible in Yangon, but you should avoid afternoon time (Myanmar time) as it is very difficult to get a connexion from abroad in the afternoon.
Mandalay, it is even more difficult than Yangon.
In other cities in Myanmar, forget it, it is almost impossible to receive a phone call from abroad, unless you are very lucky.
Many places still have manual switch board with burmese speaking staff..
Cost of a phone call : DANGER
Be very carefull while making a phone call abroad.
One minute cost between 5 and 10 USD and they charge you after 10 seconds even if your call did not go through.
The phone bill can be very high !!!!!
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Internet - Email
Currently, the situation is far better than few years ago and it is very easy to find in the main cities a cyber cafe.
There is cyber cafe in a lot of cities in Myanmar, even sometimes in the small city like Taungoo, Bagan, Monywa, Taungyi etc...
It is now quite easy to send an email and to receive it (see below).
In Yangon, the best and most
modern is located at the Dagon Center on Pyay Road (second
floor).
You can surf on Internet (most of the web site, except some
banned one). The cost is around 1500 to 3 000Kyat per hour (around
1,5 USD).
The connection is usually far better (and cheaper) in a cyber cafe than in the business center of your hotel (except if there is free wifi).
Email
Yahoo mail & Hotmail are still banned.
Gmail is the ONLY mailbox you can use in Myanmar. All other email accounts are banned in Myanmar.
SO if it is important for you to stay connected, you must open a Gmail account before coming here.
Wifi access
Things are changing fast and now a lot of hotels are proposing WIfi acces to their customers, usually free of charge.
So you can bring your laptop and connect to Internet. It is usually
quite slow, but enought to connect to your mail box (Gmail ONLY).
Electricity
220
250 V, a lot of surge problem and black out.
If you want to connect your digital camera, transformer, ... it is really better to buy a small surge protector. It cost almost nothing but you can save your electronic equipment..
Black out is very common and most of the hotels have their own generator. It is the best way to destroy your transformer....
Photograph of the main electricity plug in Myanmar :
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