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South east asia - Myanmar
Sophsicle
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Hi.
I’m going to South East Asia in January of 07 and hoping to see Cambodia, Vietnam and maybe Thailand.
I have a lonely planet guide on South East Asia, but am perfectly aware that LP sometimes has different views on places than other people tend to have.
To my disgust I realised that I had never heard of Myanmar (at least, I never knew of it under that name as it was previously known as Burma) and I am now really interested to hear of people who have been there recently and have first hand information on how they found the ‘Myanmar experience’. I get the feeling it would probably be one of the lesser touristy countries in South East Asia (especially when you compare it to places like Thailand). So if anyone could shed some light on the country, I would love to hear it.
Cheers,
Sophie

Sailor
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I went to Myanmar because so many people I met while traveling in SE Asia said it was their favorite country. Now it’s one of mine and one of the countries I would most like to return to. I loved it. Yes, you are going to hand some money to a corrupt government, but you’re also going to put it in the hands of hardworking everyday people. Change the minimum amount that you have to and use USD for the rest.

Go.

Sophsicle
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thanks so much sailor.
I was interested in finding out what it is that Myanmar offers that is unique from the rest of the other South east asian countries. Why is it the country you would most like to go back to? I’m curious to find out specifics if you have the time.
Cheers,
Soph

sammohanty
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If you cannot get any readers to respond, then let me know and I will put you in touch with one of my guys who is from there. I will ask Kyaw or his wife if it is ok and you can write to them directly.

I am leaving from US and traveling for 11 days
London, Brussels, Basel, Paris, London
Requesting help with Transport, Itinerary, Sights
Sophsicle
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Thanks Sammohanty, that’s really kind.
I’ll keep this post up for a bit longer to see if anyone writes back and if not, I’ll get in touch with you.
Cheers,
Soph

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I only had two weeks in Myanmar and didn’t have time to see everything that I wanted to see (although The Golden Rock will never be on my itinerary!)

I loved Myanmar because it was so untouristed. yes, some places were full of tourists, like Bagan and Shwedegon, but the rest of the country was great. Travel is slow; you can’t cover as much ground as you could say, in Europe.

I’m not much of a shopper, but damn would I like to go back to Mandalay and pick up some stuff.

Also I really liked Yangon. It was great to wander through the market and actually pick up things and look at things with no one bothering you.

I’m always trying to stay one step in front of McDonalds in my travels.

sammohanty
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Are you ok with Sailor’s response or do you need further information.

I am leaving from US and traveling for 11 days
London, Brussels, Basel, Paris, London
Requesting help with Transport, Itinerary, Sights
Sophsicle
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Thanks heaps for your response Sailor.
I really appreciate your offer Sammohanty but I’ve just hooked up with some friends of a friend who’ve been there and they’ve given some great info as well. Thank you so much for the offer though. Very thoughtful.
Cheers everyone.
Soph

sammohanty
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Hello Sophie,
This is what Kyaw wrote to me:

I’m glad to hear there are still some tourists/foreigners who love to visit my country.

[Kyaw]

Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda (Golden Rock)
It is a 7.3 meters pagoda on top of a big "Golden Rock". The massive golden boulder is right on top of the Kyaikhto mountain.
Legend say that the boulder maintains its precarius balance due to a precisely placed Buddha hair inside the pagoda. Once there was a King who received the Buddha’s hair in the 11th century from a hermit.

[Kyaw] Bagan is one of my favourites in my country. It used to have more than 4 million pagodas in one city. The city was built around 1044. A lot of Buddism culture you can see there.

Shwedagon pagoda is in Yangon. It’s more tyhan 300 ft high full of gold. View is amazing.

[Kyaw] Mandalay is the place where my wife is from. It used to the capital of Myanmar before English occupied our country. You can see a lot of tapestry work and art works there.

Also I think there are a lot more good places your friend missed. Places like MayMyo(hill station town – weather is like Europe) about 40/50 miles from Mandalay and Inle Lake, an inlad lake. You can see one-legs rowers. Mount-Popa, Ngapali Beach(like Nepal in Italy), MoeGoke, a city of world’s best Ruby and Jade mines(foreigners not allowed to go there).

I am leaving from US and traveling for 11 days
London, Brussels, Basel, Paris, London
Requesting help with Transport, Itinerary, Sights
Sophsicle
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Thank you so so so much Sammohanty. That was really great of you to do that for me.
I really appreciate that information. It has me much more excited about the upcoming trip and has given me more of an idea of where I’d like to visit.
Tell your friend that I said a very warm thank you.
WIth lots of gratitude,
Soph

sammohanty
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Any time !!!! Kyaw will be happy to hear that. He is one of the smartest guys in my team. Believe me when i say that, I have 48 people in my team including 4 project managers and he bypasses everyone in the development arena.

Eurotrip has been very beneficial to me since many years and I always feel obligated to give out some help.

I am leaving from US and traveling for 11 days
London, Brussels, Basel, Paris, London
Requesting help with Transport, Itinerary, Sights