After three months of being stuck in Yangon and elsewhere, people were told yesterday (June 24) they could travel freely around Myanmar again. But bus companies, hotels, and travellers have told Myanmar Mix it’s not quite that simple for foreign nationals.
In a Facebook post, the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism gave the green light to foreigners who want to travel domestically following a mix of restrictions across states and regions to stem the spread of Covid-19.
People assumed this would mean no more mandatory health certificates or surprise 21-day quarantines, although the announcement only specified that conflict areas were still off limits and the travel ban would remain for people from Yangon’s Insein township, which has recorded a relatively high number of Covid-19 cases.
We called bus companies Hello Express, OK Bus, Elite Express, Mandalar Minn, Lumbini Express, Shwe Mandalar and JJ Express. Of these, only JJ Express said it would accept foreign passengers provided they had recommendation letters from their employers and local township authorities.
“We’re not accepting foreigners because the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism hasn’t notified the company yet,” said a Lumbini Express sales assistant who declined to give her name. “We couldn’t accept them even if the situation was really bad because we would get in trouble if customs or immigration sees a foreigner in the vehicle.”
Aung Myint Swe, the gate manager for Shwe Mandalar at Aung Mingalar highway bus station, said his firm was “waiting for the notification from the government.”
“We will have to continue restricting access because the government hasn’t officially sent us a letter saying we can allow foreigners on board,” he told Myanmar Mix.
Four foreign nationals—two British, one New Zealander, and one Croatian—confirmed JJ Express was accepting foreigners; they used the service to travel from Yangon to Mandalay on June 19 and then drove rental motorbikes to Hsipaw, where they are currently staying.
They are carrying each a Form C, an invitation letter from their employers, and a letter from their local township administrators, which they were asked to present at their hotel, La Residence, one of the group’s members told Myanmar Mix.
Most buses are running on near regular schedules again, according to the bus firms. As measures against the virus, buses have partition screens around the driver, spray disinfectant after every trip, run at half capacity and require masks for passengers, said the firms.
Cutting off bus travel has made things difficult for travellers such as Sophia Simon, 33, an Austrian NGO worker who can not get a bus back from Bagan.
She left Yangon in a private car on June 19 and stayed overnight in Bago region’s Pyay township, where she booked a hotel on an online app and checked in without the need to show any documentation other than her passport.
Staff were surprised to see the booking, said Simon, who recommends that travellers call ahead in case the hotels have forgotten to temporarily remove their business from online booking apps.
When she reached Bagan, staff at the hotel she booked asked her to provide “papers”—to which she presented Form C (a document on visa and residence information of the foreign national), and an invitation letter from her organisation, along with her passport, which has a valid visa. She was not, however, required to show a health certificate.
She was asked to fill out a form detailing her recent travel history, which staff told her would be sent to the government. She was also asked to eat breakfast in her room rather than the usual rooftop area, but staff did not give a clear explanation why, as, she said, local travellers were eating there.
The hotel did not allow Simon to extend her stay of two nights, so she moved to another Bagan hotel, whose staff also told her she could stay only for the nights she had booked.
Simon then parted ways with her travelling companion and tried to book a bus to Mandalay at five different counters at a Bagan bus station, but was told foreigners were not allowed.
As the train line is closed until July 1, she said, taxi drivers offered to take her to Mandalay for a non-negotiable rate of 110,000 kyats (US$79).
“Though it’s been said travelling is possible again, the information is either too new for people, or they prefer to wait until July 1,” she told Myanmar Mix. “I would suggest to everybody who wants to travel in the country: organise your own private transport or wait until July and book all your tickets in advance.”
Hotels interviewed for this article also gave a mixed picture of requirements for foreigners.
A Hilton Naypyidaw receptionist told Myanmar Mix they require a “health certificate and a certificate that shows whether you have been quarantined if you were recently abroad. Or if you have been staying in Myanmar for a while, you need a letter of recommendation from the township office.”
Thet Mar Aye, assistant director of sales at hotel group Amata Garden Resort, said their My Hpa-An and My Bagan residences are open.
“The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism has announced that documentation isn’t needed, but we think it’s better to be carrying all necessary documentation such as a health certificate, a letter of recommendation, and a certificate proving you have passed quarantine because many our current guests have been asked along their way to our destinations,” he said.
Meanwhile, a receptionist at Kalaw Heritage Hotel said they do not require documents other than passports. “Shan state does not require you to bring any documentation but it is out of our control if you are stopped and checked on the road,” she added.
Myanmar Mix spoke to Keinnara Lodge in Hpa-An for this article. We reported that its parent company, Memories Group, requires foreigners to show a medical certificate in order to stay. However, this was incorrect and based on a misinterpretation. Memories Group hotels do not require foreigners to show a medical certificate in order to stay.
