Why Myanmar?

Before I dive into the details of the start of the trip, let me take a step back and provide a premise. This trip has been in the works for over a year now as my girlfriend’s family had been discussing a December 2012 trip well before the winter of 2011.  With Myanmar becoming one of the hottest travel destinations of 2012 and considering how adventurous and how well traveled her family is, it seemed to be the perfect match.  They were kind enough to extend an invitation to me which I was eager and grateful to accept.

The cast of our journey includes my girlfriend Samantha and I, her parents Terri and Bob, her sisters Lindsay and Debra and Lindsay’s husband Mike.  As our trip got closer and I would tell people where I was going, I would typically get some sort of response followed by one question.  That follow up question was always how did you choose Myanmar?

Map of Myanmar

As I mentioned above, Myanmar has become one of the hottest destinations to travel to during 2012.  The reason behind this is they are basically opening their doors to the world.  For the past 30 – 40 years, Myanmar has been ruled under a military law and it was not so easy or safe to travel around the country.  (Forgive if my facts are not 100% correct right now as I am not an expert on the country yet).  However, this all came to an end in 2011 and the gates of the country opened up allowing for an influx of tourists.  In fact you might have read, Obama visited Myanmar in November and was the first sitting U.S. president to do so. 

Given that Myanmar is so undiscovered, it gives travel enthusiasts the ability to see a country in its raw form.   Tourists can get a firsthand view into the culture of Myanmar before it becomes overrun and commercialized like so many countries before it.  It is bound to be an adventure which is one of the main reason’s Bob chose it for the destination.  I hope you enjoy reading it.