5 Reasons To Travel Myanmar
Myanmar! Or is it Burma? This beautiful, fascinating country is on many people's bucket-list, though unfortunately not on everyone's bucket-list due to the fact that it's not as famous as say, Thailand, and thus it's not on the famous, well-trodden backpacker route through South East Asia.
According to this 2007 report from the BBC, most countries and the UN know it as Myanmar, but the UK and the US don't 'recognise the legitimacy of the regime that changed the name'.
Coming from the UK, I grew up knowing it as Burma, but nowadays I follow my usual rule: I call it whatever the people of the actually country like to call it.
For example I call Saigon 'Saigon' like the Vietnamese, not 'Ho Chi Minh' like the Americans.
Unfortunately, we don't (yet) have any friends from Myanmar/Burma so can't ask what they like to call it... but as 'Burma' is the name decided by the British when it was one of their colonies.. I'm going to assume they don't like the name Burma?
Essentially, I don't really know, I assume it's Myanmar - if you know drop us a comment below!
That aside, what are the 5 reasons to travel around Myanmar which will make you want to pack your bags and go?
1. Bagan
You'll probably recognise photos of Bagan - we've heard that watching the sunrise and the hot air balloons there is the best sunrise in the world. Even better than watching the sunrise at Angkor Wat!
From the 9th - 13th centuries Bagan was the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan and over 10,000 Buddhist pagodas, temples and monasteries were built. Today over 2000 are still left and it seems every sunrise there has hot air balloons to complete the perfect photo: hundred of pagodas, the sunrise, hot air balloons and a jungle-ish terrain.
From the 9th - 13th centuries Bagan was the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan and over 10,000 Buddhist pagodas, temples and monasteries were built. Today over 2000 are still left and it seems every sunrise there has hot air balloons to complete the perfect photo: hundred of pagodas, the sunrise, hot air balloons and a jungle-ish terrain.
2. The People!
As I said earlier, Myanmar is not as popular with tourists and backpackers as Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Laos and Cambodia are. Thus the locals are often curious and kind when it comes to visitors to their country. Obviously this isn't the case with every single person in Myanmar, but lots of people say Myanmar is like Thailand was 10 years ago: filled with smiley, curious and friendly people.
Myanmar wasn't open to tourists for a very long time, which is part of the reason people are so curious.
Myanmar wasn't open to tourists for a very long time, which is part of the reason people are so curious.
3. Yangon
Those heading to Myanmar will probably find themselves flying in or out (or both) of Yangon. Set in the south it's a hub of busy people and beautiful religious structures. Which includes the famous Shwedagon Pagoda. You can get super cheap flights from Yangon to Bangkok (and from Bangkok you can get super cheap flights to lots and lots of places all across the globe).
Mandalay, which is a city near-ish to Bagan, is also a great place to check out with more beautiful pagodas and interesting architecture.
Mandalay, which is a city near-ish to Bagan, is also a great place to check out with more beautiful pagodas and interesting architecture.
4. The Food
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| Photo credit: Myanmar Tourism |
With a diverse environment and fertile soil, Myanmar has plenty of delicious, fresh ingredients all year round. Rice is a big component of most of their meals, as are meat, fish and veg. Vegetarians and vegans will find that it is relatively easy (and definitely delicious) to eat in Myanmar.
Traditional Myanmar dishes include gyin thohk (pickled ginger salad), deep fried stuffed tofu, laphet thohk (pickled leaf salad) and sticky rice with shredded coconut.
Traditional Myanmar dishes include gyin thohk (pickled ginger salad), deep fried stuffed tofu, laphet thohk (pickled leaf salad) and sticky rice with shredded coconut.
5. It's cheap!
Food? Some of the cheapest in South East Asia. Budget around $5/day. Accommodation? Also cheap, around $9/day/pp. Transport? Some of the cheapest transport in the world! - think 3 hour train rides for $0.15!!
Your wallet will love Myanmar just as much as you do!
Your wallet will love Myanmar just as much as you do!
Organising your trip to Myanmar
Myanmar is a large country bordered by India and Bangladesh to the North West, China and Laos to the North East, Thailand to the East and the Andaman Sea to the South. Despite all these overland options, it's not that easy (or cheap) to overland into Myanmar. Most people fly in.
Although trains cross the country and are cheap, the country is soooo big! But flights are also cheap and will save you heaps of time.
So with flights to book and tours to organise where should you start?
Myanmar is a large country bordered by India and Bangladesh to the North West, China and Laos to the North East, Thailand to the East and the Andaman Sea to the South. Despite all these overland options, it's not that easy (or cheap) to overland into Myanmar. Most people fly in.
Although trains cross the country and are cheap, the country is soooo big! But flights are also cheap and will save you heaps of time.
So with flights to book and tours to organise where should you start?
Flymya.com is Myanmar's no.1 trusted travel portal where you can not just book flights in and around Myanmar, you can also book hotels, rent cars, book tours and activities and so much more!
Personally, we love websites where you can do everything all at once, so for those travelling to Myanmar, it's the perfect website as you can organise absolutely everything on their site, not to mention learn more about beautiful Myanmar.
You can choose to book your flights, hotels and day tours on Flymya's separate sections or you can opt for one of their tour packages: they have everything from 1 day trips to trips that cover the whole country!
Personally, we love websites where you can do everything all at once, so for those travelling to Myanmar, it's the perfect website as you can organise absolutely everything on their site, not to mention learn more about beautiful Myanmar.
You can choose to book your flights, hotels and day tours on Flymya's separate sections or you can opt for one of their tour packages: they have everything from 1 day trips to trips that cover the whole country!
It's also a great resource to keep up-to-date with attractions and events. Their blog is well worth a read too.
Conclusion
So there you have it, 5 reasons to travel to Myanmar - have we convinced you? Let us know in the comments below! And if you've already been to Myanmar: what did you think? Didn't you just love it!
Photo credits not mentioned: Pixabay. This post is brought to you by Flyma
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