I'm going on a SE Asia trip early next year and I am planning

>>1188266
I haven't been recently. Did about a decade ago when it first opened up.
It's definitely worth visiting, gorgeous country but fuck there's some ugly teeth there just be prepared for that

>>1188287
Haha, I'll bear that in mind. Any places/tips you have to recommend in particular?

I'm looking at Yanong, Inle Lake, Bagan and Kalaw for now, which I know are the main spots but they all look pretty incredible.

>>1188787
I'd go see the Golden Rock if you can, its quite beautiful particularly at night.

>>1188929
Nice, thanks for the tip. Where did you stay when you were visiting?

I would love to go here one day
https://youtu.be/MRWZ7-M4gCg?t=5m28s

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>>1189206
>>1188929
>>1188787
I was there in march last year for a month but I honestly didn't like Golden Rock too much. The trek up from the village below was pretty great but the rest wasn't too mindblowing. If you have time then sure why not but I wouldn't make it a priority. However I slept at the village below since it was too expensive for me to stay at the hill. Might be a completely different experience.

However, Mawlamyine was one of my favorite spots there. Super chill city, and visiting "ogre island" which is an island close to the city was pretty fun, we had a great guide named Jo Jo whos card is in the image i posted, initially we thought he was a scammer since he was ridiculously intense but he was really great. Win Sein Taw Ya which is also close to mawlamyine too is the worlds biggest reclining buddha, pretty much the weirdest shit I've seen. It's in a valley with a lot of other huge statues/stuff and the interior is some kind of museum of buddhist hell and heaven or something and the whole stuff has been in construction for a super long time so it's not really finished. Oh and they are building an even larger reclining buddha on the other side of the valley despite the first one not being complete.

If going to inle lake you should def do the trek from kalaw, one of the best treks I did in SEA. We took one that was three days but if i remember correctly you can do shorter ones. Kalaw is a super comfy mountain town with great vistas you can hike up to for sunsets

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>>1189243
Hpa-An is also great which has a great day tour with many cool caves and pagodas. Last thing on the tour is the bat cave which is an opening where shitloads of bats fly out during sunset (and really it was a tsunami of bats)

The train from Hsipaw (not too interesting town, there are some nice hikes and pagodas but not much more) to Pyin U Lwin was cool as shit, and Pyin U Lwin is an awesome city, if you go there you should definitely go to the falls nearby. They're not super easily accessible but that's part of the charm and you can swim in it. The botanical gardens are nice too

Mandalay is a pretty boring town really, we didn't like it at all, if you are short for time skip it entirely.

Myanmar was easily my favorite country in SEA in my six month trip and if you have the time take around a month for it. The major charm is that it's still relatively recently opened to tourists, so there aren't many of them. There are basically no scammers at all in contrast to thailand for example and everyone is ridiculously nice to you. You get most places that arent main spots for yourself, which is amazing.

oh and be sure to try Paan/beetlenut

here's a pic from the vineyard at Inle Lake

>>1189243
>>1189252
This is all really helpful, thank you! I'll research your tips and maybe get back with some questions. Thanks very much!

I'm starting a two months trip in february and wanted to go to myanmar, laos, cambodia and vietnam.
Do you think it's too little time and I should cut something?

Also how easy is getting around in myanmar? Is there a good bus network? I've been to indonesia, thailand and malaysia and it was no problem getting to places.

>>1191392
Bump from OP! I'd like to know more about this stuff too...

>>1191392
cambodia is garbage, look at the angkor wat for a couple of days then GTFO, it's like uganda

>>1192347
I don't know anything about uganda either. What's so bar about cambodia?

>>1192370
Cambodia is awesome, but it's not for everyone. I guess he doesn't like it being like the wild west - pretty lawless and you can get anything with money.

>>1192370
children enslaved as trinket sellers instead of going to school, almost everyone is trying to scam you because destitute, no culture because communists, everyone is stupid because communists killed everyone literate, no good food because no culture. no laws apply. staying there felt like a charity at best and like getting scammed at worst. extremely depressing place, aside from angkor wat their main attraction is two genocide museums.
it's also more expensive than vietnam and thailand

>>1192373
yeah i guess it's good if you're into child prostitution and high grade heroin

>>1189243
I'm guy you were replying too.
Thats a pity you didn't like Golden rock, I was there with a group of Burmese family friends so maybe the happiness effected my judgement somewhat.

>Mandalay is a pretty boring town really, we didn't like it at all, if you are short for time skip it entirely.
I found the same, I also would say the same of Thandwe, ngapali beach is kind of sterile and out of place for the country I felt.

>>1192373
Lup na barang. Cambodia is a corrupt despotic criminal state. Te laor.

>>1192347
You didn't like the S-21 and killing fields in Phnom Penh? I'd say they are worth going for alone. Did you go to the northeastern parts like Ban Lung, Stung Treng or Kratie? Those we're much more chill. As was Koh Rong.

I mean Siem Reap aside from angkor is absolutely horrible, there are more tourists than locals and the only locals there are scammers more or less. Phnom Penh has some scammers etc but not more than any large city in SEA.

>>1192376
Don't you think you're being a bit too harsh..? Where in cambodia did you go exactly

>>1192516
>burmese family friends
oh man that's pretty cool, were they living there or just coming for the trip with you?

>>1192654
Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. S-21 and Killing Fields are interesting but depressing, probably worh hstopping by on the way to Vietnam. Maybe other parts aren't awful but they probably don't compare to thailand or vietna.

Why is everyone shitting on Cambodia? I found it quite nice. The food was good, everything is cheap, and contrary to what I expected far less scammy than for example Vietnam or Thailand. I thought the people were very hospitable and kind. Maybe I just got lucky but nobody tried to scam me.

Cambodia was ok, angkor war was probably the only awesome thing there. The country is still abit fucked up. I dont regret the trip, you can see everything it has to offer in two weeks maybe even less. But its not a country that i would visit twice.

>>1192694
>S-21 and Killing Fields are interesting but depressing
ya it's depressing as fuck but that's what is so good about it

>>1192700
>But its not a country that i would visit twice
pretty much exactly what i thought. I liked it but yeah...

>>1193053
yes it's good but you don't want to stay for the begging children and cripples unless you have some kind of charity complex

>>1189252
>>1189243
How safe is Burma right now?

I've been hearing some shit on the news about it, but is that some random corner going nuts?

I went in Jan 2014 and Oct 2015. The first time I went to Yangon, Inle Lake, Bagan and Mandalay.

Bagan is the most beautiful place. Absolutely must see. Rent a moto and ride around the old temples, some you can go into, but take care with them, they are falling apart. They are UNESCO but there is no rules or protection put in place. I know it sounds silly but Weatherspoons cafe has amazing burgers, really.
Lake Inle is beautiful for a boat ride in the morning mist. They also have vineyards.
Mandalay has the old palace but not much else (unless you are there for NYE, which is a great street party).
Yangon is a shithole, a cross between Mumbai and Bangkok. Gotta go see the big golden pagoda though, it's pretty amazing. The People's park is nice to walk around too. People will ask to take your photo if you are white.

I left my heart in Mandalay, that's why I planned to go back. Tight little 19 yo with an angelic smile and mocha skin who spent two days with me in my hotel room while my friends did actual tourist stuff. She wanted to escape, her dad was ex-junta, but I fell for her. We kept in touch. But a week before I was due to come back she told me not to come, she was getting married. So I changed my flight to Yangon and went south. The overnight buses were hellish, but an interesting experience. I didn't get much out of Mawlamyine, but I continued south to a beach town called Maungmagan where there were virtually no foreigners. One day I'm sure it will be a bustling tourist town, but last year it was empty. I befriended the only other person in my hotel, an american chick. We took some acid, she gave me her copy of Autobiography of a Yogi, and we talked about the universe and life and sat on the beach and ate fresh seafood for 3 days. That was a really amazing time, something I hope I never forget.

10/10 country I can't wait to go back.

>>1191392
It's enough time to do all four countries, but only just. You should wing it, just move tot he next place when you feel like it. Buses and trains don't need advance booking. And if by the end of 2 months you haven't gone to the last country, then too bad. It will be there when you get back.

Buses go all over Myanmar (or at least to all the places you will want to go) every day. The more you pay the smaller and nicer and faster the bus.

>>1193207
Very safe, only some areas that you should stay away from and you probably aren't allowed to go there anyway.

>>1193207
Well I mean there's been fighting in areas that are off limits for tourists for several years. it's safe as it's safe to go to the Philippines, just don't go to the bad parts and you're fine. The rest is as I've said, absolutely no scams at all and just people genuinely interested in tourists. It's almost weird

>>1193506
what the hell is this love story man that's really awesome. Did you know she was getting married before?

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>>1193687
The time together was awesome. Besides fucking all day we also walked around the mall and held hands and she let me ride her scooter.

I had no idea she had a dude, not that I should have expected her not to. She was amazingly cute and desperate to leave the country. The story she told me was (and it could have been completely fabricated for all i know) that her dad beat her, so her and her boyfriend ran away, then they got arrested at the Thai border and sent back, then her dad ordered they got married. I never heard from her again. Pic related

>>1193506
Wow.

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>>1193735
You know, I was impressed with your beautiful story up until you decided not to share the good pics.

>>1193735
This is incredible man

One last OP bump... any more suggestions?