Myanmar

Formerly known as Burma, Myanmar is often not on either the tourist or the traveller trail while visiting South East Asia. But it should be… the country offers so many spectacular landmarks and sights to see, food to eat and the people are unbelievably hospitable.

Any Instagrammer will tell you about the photos of the temples of Bagan with hot air balloons. An area with close to 2000 temples to explore, usually on an electric scooter. A site to rival Angkor Wat.

Then there is the vibrant downtown Yangon (formerly Rangoon); a must for anyone interested in exploring dynamic city life. Through to the breathtaking trekking at Inle lake.

Myanmar has the feel of what the rest of South East Asia would have been like over 20 years ago. When James was travelling the region back in 2001, he thought the only place that came close to it back then was Laos.

Obviously there is unrest in the country. It has one of the longest ongoing civil wars. And it doesn’t do so well when it comes to corruption (ranking 136th out of 176 countries). But this really shouldn’t stop you from exploring the main tourist areas and treading the safe traveller path down the middle of the nation. It is an amazing country and potentially our favourite on our travels to date.