Present day travel to these newly opened destinations, where the infrastructure will take months if not years to improve, will certainly offer a real challenge to those who choose to avail themselves of the opportunity. But with that challenge comes the grand reward. Each stepping stone to reach journey’s end will be full of unique and exciting experiences.
Mruak-U is a prime example. It requires a flight from Yangon to Sittwe, leading to a 6-hour boat ride up river to the town. Impressive a site as it is, the traveler should also include a journey further up the road to another landing dock and boat ride up river to the Laytoo Chin villages where the generations-old farming methods and means of self-preservation remain fully in tact. It is here where the villagers are as interested in the traveler as is the traveler in them. A rare opportunity, for this moment in time, to reach a site that has yet to be affected by the scores of tourists who will soon arrive and place their own mark on the region.
Another prime opportunity is to visit the Elephant Camp outside of Kalaw and thereafter, trek down to Pindaya with a nighttime sleep-over en route. One may choose a village stay or within a monastery. Inle Lake and some of its choice sites offers another fine selection for the itinerary, with Bagan being a must visit as well.
First Cabin is offering the Burma Explorer within its Special Offer selection of tours; the itinerary of which includes an array of exciting sites and regions to visit within Myanmar. Certainly the time is opportune to be planning a visit before the onslaught of tourism begins to reach into the back-country, which will inevitably change the grandeur of the experience.