A Retirees Guide to Southeast Asia, Myanmar, Singapore, Bali and Malaysia: The Retirees Travel Guide Series, #4

By Gerald Hogg

If you have read my third book "Same Same but Different" in The Retirees Guide series, you will know that when I returned from my adventures in Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Laos (book three in the series), that I settled back in Koh Samui. A few weeks after I returned from my trip, on Valentine's Day 2017, I met and later fell in love with a beautiful Thai lady called Jin. Within a few weeks of meeting we were on an extended driving trip around Thailand. On our return from our Thailand road trip we decided that we wanted to travel overseas for three months of the year, every year, to visit all of the countries we wanted to see together. Jin had never been out of Thailand before, and I wanted her to see some of the countries I had been fortunate enough to be able to visit over the years, either on holidays or when I was working at sea or in hotels around the world as a chef. We decided that for nine months of the year we would live on a budget that would hopefully still allow us to have a good life in Koh Samui, and also allow us to travel and explore Thailand, and at the same time save up for our next three months overseas trip. This book is a journal of our first overseas trip to Myanmar, Singapore, Bali and Malaysia by rail, road and air and sea. We stayed in some beautiful hotels, visited many local attractions, and ate in some fine restaurants well within the budget that we set for ourselves. We did this by checking out websites and advertisements to ensure that we got the very best value that our money could buy. By shopping around and surfing the internet, we managed to chance upon, a week's accommodation in Bali, as well as return flights from Singapore to Bali for less than US$600.00, and many other bargains that we managed to source, for accommodation, flights, and restaurants. I love shopping for bargains; I consider it a challenge not to pay the full price when travelling. The money we save enables us to travel and experience more out of life than we normally would if we paid the full asking price. Many people just book their travel and holidays through a travel agent, hotel chain, cruise ship companies or airlines without looking to see if there are better options available at cheaper prices. Being retired and on a pension it is important for me to stretch my money as far as I can, to enable us to travel more extensively. My motto is "You need to be frugal not cheap, look for deals and don't waste money, but don't miss out on great experiences or walk miles just to save a couple of dollars. Time is money, spend them both wisely".

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gerald Hogg
• Release date: Aug 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393028888

Gerald Hogg

Originally from the UK, Gerald migrated to Australia in 1974. Since then he has travelled the world working in hotels and restaurants, gold mines, cruise ships, Antarctic supply ships, custom patrol vessels, rig tenders, and oil tankers. In the capacity of his work as a chef, he has also lived in Jamaica, Bermuda, Singapore, the Falkland Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and the USA. He has now retired to Thailand where he lives on the island of Koh Samui and travels extensively throughout South-East Asia. To keep active and to pursue his love of travel Gerald has also written five travel books in his Retirees Travel Guide Series. Gerald has also written a novel The Deptford Mask Murders and his first book in the Thai Died series of books, Murder in Paradise.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Iwould like to thank all of the ex-pat retirees that I have met and interviewed who were so generous with their time during the course of writing all of my books in the Retirees Guides to South East Asia Series. In recounting your experiences, both good and bad, relating to your time either living in, or travelling throughout Asia, you have helped other like-minded retirees to plan and enjoy their adventures and avoid some of the problems that invariably happen when globetrotting, and also saved them money. I believe the best advice you can get is from someone that has actually been there, done that and bought the tee-shirt  Also a big thank you to Jin, who is the one who has had to put up with me while travelling and writing. It can’t be easy being in a relationship with a nomadic old farang, but she does it with love, encouragement and composure. It’s not often that you get a second chance at life when I was at a very low point I met Jin and she turned my life around and helped me to smile and enjoy life again. This book is because of you Jin, it would not have been written if I had not met you... Khob khun khrap. Phom rak khun.

INTRODUCTION

THE TROUBLE WITH RETIREMENT IS THAT YOU NEVER GET A DAY OFF.

Some people hate retirement , after fifty years of working most days of their lives, many find it hard to adjust to having so much time on their hands. I love being retired; my one regret is that I didn’t have the money or the foresight to retire when I was younger. George Bernard Shaw said that youth is wasted on the young, but for a lot of retirees retirement is wasted on the old. They suddenly have all of this time (and sometimes money) on their hands and have no idea what to do with it. They end up going about their lives as they have always done, living in the same town, going to the same pub or club, staying home watching endless reality programmes on the TV, basically watching other people living their lives, instead of living their own lives to the fullest. For me, retirement was an opportunity to do all of the things that I never had time to do while I was busy working and raising a family. In the two years I have been retired I have travelled extensively throughout the USA, the Caribbean and South East Asia, written three books, learnt to speak Thai (sort of), learned to windsurf (sort of), met and fell in love with a beautiful Thai lady, and I now live on the beautiful tropical island of Koh Samui in Thailand.

If you have read my third book Same Same but Different in The Retirees Guide series of books, you will know that when I returned from my adventures in Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Laos (book two in the series), that I settled back in Koh Samui. A few weeks after I returned from my trip, on Valentine’s Day 2017, I met a beautiful girl called Jin. Within a few weeks of meeting, we were on an extended driving trip around Thailand. On our return from our Thailand road trip, we decided that we wanted to travel overseas for a month every year, to visit all of the countries we wanted to see together. Jin had never been out of Thailand before, and I wanted her to see some of the countries I had been fortunate enough to visit over the years, either on family holidays or when I was working at sea or in hotels around the world as a chef. We decided that for eleven months of the year we would live on a budget that would still allow us to have a good life and travel around Thailand while saving up for our next overseas trip. This book is a journal of our first five-week overseas trip to This book is a journal of our first five-week overseas trip to Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore and Bali, by road and air, train and sea. We stayed in some beautiful hotels, visited many local attractions, and ate in some fine restaurants well within the budget that we set for ourselves. We did this by checking out websites and advertisements to ensure that we got the very best value that our money could buy. By shopping around and surfing the internet, we managed to chance upon, a week’s accommodation in Bali and return flights from Singapore to Bali for AU$500.00, and many other bargains that we managed to source, for accommodation, flights, and restaurants. I love shopping for bargains; I consider it a challenge not to pay the full price when travelling. The money we save enables us to travel and experience more out of life than we normally would if we paid the full asking price. Many people just book their travel and holidays through a travel agent, hotel chain, and cruise ship companies or airlines without looking to see if there are better options available at cheaper prices. Being retired and on a pension it is important for me to stretch my money as far as I can, to enable us to travel more extensively. My motto is You need to be frugal, not cheap, look for deals and don’t waste money, but don’t miss out on great experiences or walk miles just to save a couple of dollars. Time is money, spend them both wisely., by road and air, train and sea. We stayed in some beautiful hotels, visited many local attractions, and ate in some fine restaurants well within the budget that we set for ourselves. We did this by checking out websites and advertisements to ensure that we got the very best value that our money could buy. By shopping around and surfing the internet, we managed to chance upon, a week’s accommodation in Bali and return flights from Singapore to Bali for AU$500.00, and many other bargains that we managed to source, for accommodation, flights, and restaurants. I love shopping for bargains; I consider it a challenge not to pay the full price when travelling. The money we save enables us to travel and experience more out of life than we normally would if we paid the full asking price. Many people just book their travel and holidays through a travel agent, hotel chain, and cruise ship companies or airlines without looking to see if there are better options available at cheaper prices. Being retired and on a pension it is important for me to stretch my money as far as I can, to enable us to travel more extensively. My motto is You need to be frugal, not cheap, look for deals and don’t waste money, but don’t miss out on great experiences or walk miles just to save a couple of dollars. Time is money, spend them both wisely.

Gerald Hogg, Koh Samui, Thailand, July 2020

CHAPTER 1: MYANMAR.

MODERN MYANMAR'S HISTORY IN A NUTSHELL

Myanmar has a similar colonial background to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines but their colonial rulers were not the French or the Spanish, they were my fellow countrymen the British. Burma had been invaded and colonised by the British in the 1830s, as a means to open up the lucrative trade route to China. At the same time, Great Britain under the reign of Queen Victoria also ruled Burma’s vast neighbouring country India. During their time in Burma, the British have a lot to answer for; King Thibaw was the last ruling monarch of Burma, he died in exile in India after the British deposed him in 1885. Then to rub salt into the wound in 1886, the British being the colonial imperialists that they were decided to make Burma a province of India. Indian citizens were hired to fill many of the Burmese Civil Service positions, and many other Indian citizens also moved to Burma to start businesses and reap the benefits of taking over someone else’s country. As would be expected this didn’t sit very well with the Burmese people and resistance and guerrilla movements sprung up around the country. Fighting and political unrest continued over the next 40 years and in 1937 Burma was finally offered some autonomy by the British Empire, with Great Britain granting Burma a constitution and a parliament of its own while still maintaining a presence and strong influence within the country. Five years later in 1942, during the Second World War, the Japanese army invaded Burma, and the British colonial army was forced to retreat to India. Before leaving the British troops destroyed most of the infrastructure that they had built over the many decades of their colonial rule to hinder the Japanese occupation. Japan occupied Burma for three years but not without heavy losses from all sides with fighting continuing with the British and Indian armies from across the Indian border.

While they were in power the Japanese declared Burma an independent nation and Aung San becomes Burmese Minister of War and Ne Win was appointed Chief of General Staff of the pro-Japan Burmese army. In March 1945 when it became obvious that Japan was going to lose the war, the Burmese army, led by Aung San, realised where Burma’s future lay and swapped sides to back the allied British army. Burma was eventually retaken by the British forces with the help of the Burmese army at the end of World War Two.

The Burmese were obviously fed up with all of these countries using their country for their own means and gratification, and In January 1947 the British Government, under Prime Minister Atlee, conceded to the Burmese demand for independence. During the following elections, Aung San's Anti Fascist People's Freedom League overwhelmingly won 248 out of 255 parliament seats. Three months later on the 19th July 1947, Aung San and five of his closest advisors were assassinated.

For the next 35 years civil wars, coup d'état attempts, military dictatorships and civil unrest dominated Burma and the country was in disarray and a mess both economically and politically. By March 1988 the people of Burma had had enough and massive demonstrations against the government were staged in Rangoon which quickly spread across the country. Demonstrations and unrest continued for several months, but in August 1988, the army used force against demonstrators in Rangoon, resulting in a reported 4,000 people being killed and 12,000 injured. A month later on the 18th of September General Saw Maung took over the ruling power of Burma. Burma changed its name to Myanmar in 1989 after a military coup toppled the ruling Burma Socialist Programme Party, at the same time the name of the capital was changed from Rangoon to Yangon. The political and social unrest didn’t stop there, in July 1989 the co-founder of the Burmese opposition party National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, was placed under house arrest in Yangon, resulting in more demonstrations. After two years in May 1991 parliamentary elections were held with Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy collecting 82% of the vote, but the ruling party of General Saw Muang would not allow her to form a government. In October of the same year, Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Aung San Suu Kyi was eventually released from house arrest in June 1995 but was subsequently rearrested. Aung San Suu Kyi was released once again in 2010 and is now the countries Prime Minister.

Myanmar is a much more stable country under the new leadership though not without courting more controversy and upheaval, the latest problems being the persecution and ethnic cleansing of the minority Rohingya Muslims, with tens of thousands, allegedly killed and up to 700,00 Rohingya Muslims being displaced and seeking refugee status in neighbouring Bangladesh in 2018.

ESSENTIAL THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU VISIT MYANMAR.

EMERGENCY SERVICES:

Unfortunately, emergency phone numbers differ from town to town in Myanmar. Emergency Phone numbers for Yangon and Mandalay are:

Police: 199

Ambulance: 192

Fire: 191

*EMBASSIES:

British Embassy Yangon: 80 Strand Rd, Yangon, Myanmar. Phone: [phone] or [phone] Fax[phone]. www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-rangoon. Email: [e-mail]

Australian Embassy Yangon: Vantage Tower, 623 Pyay Road, Yangon, Myanmar. Phone: Phone [phone] Fax: [phone]. www.myanmar.embassy.gov.au. Email: [e-mail]

U.S. Embassy Yangon: 110 University Ave Kamayut Township, Yangon. Phone: + 95 1 536 509 Fax: [phone]. www.mm.usembassy.gov:

* Myanmar visa: You can apply for an eVisa online or at a Myanmar embassy in your home country if there is one, (see useful website pages). The visa costs US$50.00 which seems very expensive and maybe one of the reasons why Myanmar does not get its fair share of tourists in South East Asia. Approval process may take up to three working days and the applicant will receive the eVisa approval letter via email. You then need to print out the approval letter and present it with your passport at immigration on your arrival in the country. The visa is granted for a period of 28 days from your arrival in the country and is for a single entry only.

* Myanmar as a retirement destination: Myanmar does not have a dedicated Retirement Visa in place. Anyone wishing to live in Myanmar must do so by applying for a tourism visas which are only valid for 28 days. The tourist visa can only be extended for a further 14 days. This brings the total length of anyone staying in the country to 42 days. You would then need to leave the country and go through the whole procedure again, which makes it virtually impossible to retire in Myanmar. But to be brutally honest, in my opinion, there are many better retirement options available in South East Asia. The rules regarding visas can change at any time so please do your own research.

* The People of Myanmar: Myanmar has a population of around 53 million people; with around 68% of the population belonging to the majority Bamar ethnic group. There are more than 135 different ethnic groups in Myanmar, each with its own language or dialect, history and culture. The prominent national ethnic races after the Bamar are Chin, Shan, Karen, Rakhine, Mon, Kayah and Kachin. You will notice that many of the people from Myanmar paint their faces with a yellowy white paste. The paste is called Thanaka and has been used in Myanmar, and across other parts of Southeast Asia, for centuries. The name is taken from the trees from which the paste comes from. A lot of people think that they wear this for religious reasons...not so:  Thanaka is used to protect the skin from sunlight and also cool the skin in hot weather. Thanaka is also used by women as a natural cosmetic, to keep their skin looking youthful similar to the expensive face creams used in other parts of the world. This practice has been used for centuries and over the years wearing it has become a way to express national pride in Myanmar.

* Myanmar Weather: Myanmar has a tropical climate that it’s hot and humid all year round, similar to many other Southeast Asian countries. The rainy season stretches from June to October; and the dry seasons, are divided into two periods: November to February and March to May, which is usually the hottest time of the year. Probably the best time of the year to visit if it fits in with your travel plans is November to February when the weather is dryer and the climate is more moderate.

* Vaccination requirement: You are not legally required to have any vaccinations when you enter Myanmar unless you’re coming from some African countries where Yellow Fever is prevalent. Having said that being a country fairly new to tourism many people adopt the It’s better to be safe than sorry approach, and have vaccines for Hepatitis A, B and C, Diphtheria, Polio, Tetanus, Japanese Encephalitis B, Rabies, Tuberculosis, Yellow Fever, Typhoid, and Malaria. If you’re considering going to remote and rural areas there is also a risk of contracting Malaria and Dengue fever. Check with your doctor which vaccinations are required for any South East Asian countries you will be visiting. Some vaccinations will depend on specific areas you will be visiting. For Myanmar Hepatitis A, Tetanus and Typhoid should be a minimum vaccination requirement. (See useful website page).

* Myanmar currency: The Kyat (pronounced Chat) is the currency used in Myanmar and is made up of notes of K5, K10, K20, K50, K100, K200, K500, K 1,000, K5,000, and K10,000. The Kyat is normally abbreviated as K or Ks, one Kyat subdivides into 100 Pyas. Some larger hotels and restaurants may accept US Dollars, but you may not get a favourable exchange rate. There are many ATMs in Yangon and other tourist towns; the maximum you can withdraw at any one time is 300,000 kyat, which is about US$200. Note that the ATM will charge 5,000 Kyat (US$3.25) minimum fees per transaction, not including the fee deducted by your own bank. So consider bringing US Dollars with you to exchange and shop around for the best exchange rate, as US Dollars are the most widely accepted foreign currency in Myanmar.  MYANMAR TRIP TIP...Make sure that if you take US dollars with you that they are in pristine condition and not worn or torn; you will have problems using them as most banks and currency exchange outlets will not accept them.

* Myanmar electric outlets: The power plugs and sockets are of type C, D, F and G, with the standard voltage 230 Volts.

MYANMAR TRIP TIP...In Myanmar plugs can vary from place to place some have UK 3 flat pin, some have 2 round pin, some have 3 round pin best to pick up a Universal Travel Adaptor before you leave, that way you will have a socket for any country you visit in the world.

* Myanmar language: The official language of Myanmar is Burmese. Over 80% of the overall population of 53 million people in Myanmar speak Burmese; the other 20% speak one of the other 100 ethnic languages. English is now taught in many high schools as the main second language. In Yangon and any touristy and beach areas of Myanmar English is often spoken, especially in the larger hotels and restaurants frequented by tourists.

MYANMAR TRIP TIP...Download a Myanmar/ English translator app to your phone, tablet or laptop computer before you leave home and practice some handy phrases while travelling.

* Religion: Theravada Buddhism is practised by 88% of the country's population Christian 6.2%, Muslim 4.3%, Animist 0.8%, Hindu 0.5%, other 0.2% make up the other religions.

* Drinking Water: Tap water in Myanmar is not considered safe to drink. It's recommended you only drink bottled water if you prone to stomach problems avoid having ice in your drink as it could have been made with tap water. Unlike most other countries in South East Asia, not all hotels in Myanmar offer free bottled drinking water in your room.

MYANMAR TRIP TIP...If buying water from a small local store make sure the seal on the water bottle is