Burma

Myanmar or Burma out of defiance? Should you visit or should you boycott Burma travel?  Renamed as Myanmar by the military dictatorship in 1989, the question of whether Burma Travel is ethically right remains hotly contested.  Toppling the civilian government in 1962, Burma has been held static, isolated and ostracized by the vice-like grip of its military dictatorship but the Burmese people are everything the regime is not.  They are the victims and where tourism can have a positive impact.  Whether or not you decide to visit one of the world’s ultimate adventure travel destinations is a question only you can answer.

Geographically the largest country in Indochina, Burma is sandwiched between Thailand, Laos, China, Bangladesh, India and the Bay of Bengal the latter merging with the Andaman Sea as its 1,930km’s of coastline tapers off to become Thai territory several miles north of Phuket.  Burma is one of the world’s most exciting adventure travel destinations, providing extraordinary travel experiences.  The plains of Bagan over which 4000 pagodas are scattered, the city of Mandalay, the winking wonder of Rangoon’s Shwedagon Pagoda and the deserted tropical beauty of the Mergui archipelago, but most of all the Burmese people.

Go trekking through remote villages untouched by tourism or how about adventure trekking to the edge of the Himalayas?  Try cycling in Bagan through the ancient ruins, temples and pagodas or take to the air in a hot air balloon for an utterly ethereal experience. Drop down to the islands of the Mergui Archipelago and find deserted, pristine beaches lapped by the Bay of Bengal.  Burma today offers the ultimate in off-the-beaten path adventure with boats, trekking, cycling, hot air balloons and elephants but the greatest adventure of all is the encounters that you will have with the Burmese people themselves.