Burma forum

internet in burma (myanmar)

sarahandclau

newbie
Posts: 2

Posted from within Vietnam.

does anybody know how easy it is to send/receive e-mails in burma?? are there many internetcorners?? i heard that many providers are forbidden, so what would be a good mail address to use???
thanks a lot!!!

#1 Posted: 20/12/2006 - 21:47
andorj

newbie
Posts: 1

Was there in June and sending e-mails was no problem. It cost us about $1.00 to send to one address when we were in Bagan and also in Yangon. Getting on to your email provider may be another problem. Tho we did once get on to Yahoo. Believe it or not it took about 30 minutes for us to log on and also took knowledge of some secret internet address to try and bypass the govt. block. Another problem you will have is unreliable electricity. When we did finally get on Yahoo the electricity went out - get use to it it happens a lot - so you can understand why people don't bother and wait til they return to Thailand to e-mail and send snail mail, too. Whatever happens it is a trip of a lifetime! p.s. try posting on Thorntree they have real experts.

#2 Posted: 25/12/2006 - 03:16
exacto

mahout
Posts: 1797
Located in:
Private message

from what i understand, there are internet cafes and they are just as cheap as elsewhere in the region. they are useful for a bit of web surfing, but most of the yahoo and hotmail-based email websites are blocked. there are frequent, even daily workarounds, but like andorj says, it makes everything so slow and painful that it is better to just wait until you are back in thailand or wherever your next stop may be. if you like playing online games, the cafes in burma can at least accomodate that. regards.

#3 Posted: 28/12/2006 - 11:18
peaceinBURM-
Anow

longtail driver
Posts: 10

I was there in December 2009 and I didn't find internet particularly painful at all. I expected the worst, but it was actually okay! gmail no problem, facebook no problem either. BUT the big problem is the 'screenshots' that governmental-linked internet cafes do sometimes (like, ever 5 minutes? not sure!). to identify government-linked internet cafes is a bit tricky. just don't write anything sticky during your stay

#4 Posted: 17/3/2010 - 23:22
andyman3000

newbie
Posts: 2

Posted from within Vietnam.

Internet is very slow in most places. Wifi doesn't exist in any hostel. Sending emails is no problem, but forget getting anything else serious done (like booking flights) unless you are in big cities. Access tends to be faster in the morning. You can get pretty decent connection speeds at "The Castle" internet cafe in Yangon. If you are experiencing problems accessing certain websites, try using https instead of http. This is how you get Gmail working at least.

#5 Posted: 30/4/2011 - 15:02
riverspot

motodop
Posts: 25

No problems with internet - just a bit of patience required from you young things accustomed to huge bandwidth .... the real benefit of a less speedy internet is that it will provide a reason for leaving your Facebook fiddling and getting out and meeting some really friendly people.

#6 Posted: 12/7/2011 - 19:56
SBE

mahout
Posts: 1734
Located in:

Private message

I think it varies. I was in Bagan for 10 days and the internet only worked twice the whole time I was there. Reason: Some VIP general was planning to pay a visit and the internet was apparently considered a "security risk".

Hotmail and Yahoo are difficult. Gmail is usually OK but the best way would probably be to get some less well known email provider. I think it would be far less likely to get blocked by the govt censors...just a hunch. Send the new email addy to your contacts before you go.

#7 Posted: 13/7/2011 - 02:26