I'm sorry to say that this will not be easy. Burma has become THE place to go, and things are pretty much booked up in advance. Prices have tripled since the last Lonely Planet edition which was published in Dec. Still, you will need the LP guidebook to do your planning. You will want to email inexpensive guesthouses for rates and reservations. Winging it doesn't work very well when all of the accommodations are full. You might do ok, you might end up sleeping on the floor of a guesthouse lobby or closet on tables at a tea shop. One person on Thorntree reported being unable to find a room in Mandalay and sleeping in the street. Many have reported flying out of the country early because of lack of accommodation.

The visa process in Bangkok can be in one day if you are willing to pay extra, or three days if not. It is generally less expensive to get your visa in advance n your own country (which would also mean you wouldn't have to stay in Bangkok). The cheapest flights are on Air Asia, but it is cheaper if you buy far in advance (like right now).

Cheapest way from Yangon to Bagan is bus. You can also take a bus to Kalaw (I assume that is what you mean) to trek to Inle.

Mrauk U, while wonderful, is unlikely to be in your future for this trip. The area has been closed because of ethnic violence. ALso, it is an expensive place to get to - requires flights and boat/ferry - no way to get there by road.

Frankly, you might want to wait a year to go, until some of the infrastructure catches up with demand, and until you have the money to make this trip work for you.

Thank you Kathie.
Unfortunately this is the only time available for me to go. When visiting the region in 2000 Burma was my favorite place so I don't want to miss out on it. Hopefully everything will work out okay.
Do you know if it is possible to leave the country via Tachileik?
Thank you.

Kathie has covered the landscape pretty well--although having just returned from 24 days in Burma, we did meet up with quite a few people who had made reservations not that long before their trip--and who found accommodations--most at MUCH higher prices than they would have had to spend if they'd reserved well in advance--or at very very low end places (servants' quarter w/o hot water--on the floor in a monastery, although these were during a huge festival). OFten people could only get a night at one place and a night at another, so a great deal of time was spent looking for a place to stay rather than seeing Burma. And people did decide to leave rather than keep having these experiences--AND finding out that they didn't have enough CASH --or PERFECT Bills with them. If money weren't an issue, I'd say you'd have a better shot at finding last minute places, but since it is, you'll probably lose out by doing it in a last minute way.

If you want to wing it, later in the year--May, June--the summer months--would probably be easier, but then, of course, you're facing the heat and the monsoons. Good luck.

It takes a special permit (takes 2 weeks to get approval) plus a mandatory guide to exit at Tachileik, and you have to fly into a city closeby. So the cost of exiting at Tachileik is much more (3x-4x) the cost of a flight.

520 is right, you'd have a better chance of winging it during low season.

Thank you Kathie and 520. Unfortunately this is the only time I have available to travel. Luckily my paws aren't too soft so I'd happily stay in the floor in a monastery. Thank you both for your time a consideration when answering my questions!

Accommodation in Burma is extortionate at present. Prices are rising weekly. We've just returned home two days ago from 3 weeks there, fortunately we did all our bookings in 2011, but the hotels still tried to screw us.

There is no infrastructure to spread the demand at present, so I'm telling friends to hold off for a year or two, the demands on tourism are just too frantic.

People are starting to feel ripped off and disappointed.

Go to Laos instead.

Maree, could you tell us which hotel tried to screw you and how? I know the infrastructure is under a lot of pressure, but I'd like to hear the details.