Northern Thailand & Myanmar
Full Itinerary
Last February, I experienced one of the most fascinating travel journeys that I have ever had. I spent two weeks traveling, privately escorted with Cox & Kings through Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son in North Thailand, along with nine days in Myanmar.
I chose this destination because I am fascinated with Asia. I have made five trips there. Six years ago, I traveled to Cambodia and Vietnam but have wanted to go to Myanmar since 2001. I also traveled to Mae Hong Son in order to see the Padong Keren Hilltribe which also reside in Myanmar. I have been fascinated with the women and children that wear the heavy, tight necklaces, which are worn to show how much wealth they have. The more wealth they have, the more necklaces they wear. I have also known about the leg rowers on Inle Lake which is an amazing sight to behold and is probably the only place in the world where one can observe this.
I had many memorable moments on my trip. Probably the most memorable was hot air ballooning over Bagan. There were three balloons going up, at dawn. In each balloon was a pilot and eight passengers. We glided slowly in the still air and I was able to take aerial photos of the 4,000 pagodas, stupas and temples on the plains. Bagan was my favorite place in Myanmar. I highly recommend signing up in advance for this—an experience that a traveler to Myanmar must have.
Another memorable experience for me was to give an English language and math lesson to school children in a one room classroom, in Mae Hong Son, as I am a teacher. The children, poor as they were, were clean and dressed nicely in uniforms. The teacher, who spoke almost no English, was extremely proud of the few English words that the children knew and of the papers that they had done which she shared with me.
A third memorable moment were the two days that my guide and I spent in a boat on Inle Lake, exploring the way of life of the people who lived on the lake. I am a photographer and we came upon an extended family, on the lake.The parents, children and grandparents all came out of their house on wooden stilts and posed for me to photograph them. I told my tour guide that I would send the photos of the family to him and that hopefully, he would find them, when he went back to Inle Lake and give them the photos, which I did.
I was extremely taken by the warm and kind Burmese people. They had nothing material in the world but their smiles were priceless!
Cox & Kings did a wonderful job setting up my trip. I had the most amazing young man, Than Toe Win as my guide, who flew and traveled with me all over Myanmar, for the nine days that I spent there. He took wonderful care of me, a single woman traveling alone and I felt very safe. We were able to exchange cultural discussions the whole time that I was in Myanmar, on a one to one basis. I think that this was really the most marvelous experience that I have ever had.
If you travel to Myanmar, make sure that you take all new dollar bills. The banks do not accept old money. In many places, credit cards are not acceptable but rather cash is desired. Also, one needs to have deet spray for mosquitoes along with the malaria precaution.
Do not miss visiting the elephant training camp, in Chiang Mai and riding the elephant on a trail and in the river. It was pretty high up and scary, but nevertheless, a highlight of my trip.
Some of the destinations that I hope to travel to in the future include the Kingdom of Bhutan, Petra in Jordan and Cappadocia, in Turkey.
I chose this destination because I am fascinated with Asia. I have made five trips there. Six years ago, I traveled to Cambodia and Vietnam but have wanted to go to Myanmar since 2001. I also traveled to Mae Hong Son in order to see the Padong Keren Hilltribe which also reside in Myanmar. I have been fascinated with the women and children that wear the heavy, tight necklaces, which are worn to show how much wealth they have. The more wealth they have, the more necklaces they wear. I have also known about the leg rowers on Inle Lake which is an amazing sight to behold and is probably the only place in the world where one can observe this.
I had many memorable moments on my trip. Probably the most memorable was hot air ballooning over Bagan. There were three balloons going up, at dawn. In each balloon was a pilot and eight passengers. We glided slowly in the still air and I was able to take aerial photos of the 4,000 pagodas, stupas and temples on the plains. Bagan was my favorite place in Myanmar. I highly recommend signing up in advance for this—an experience that a traveler to Myanmar must have.
Another memorable experience for me was to give an English language and math lesson to school children in a one room classroom, in Mae Hong Son, as I am a teacher. The children, poor as they were, were clean and dressed nicely in uniforms. The teacher, who spoke almost no English, was extremely proud of the few English words that the children knew and of the papers that they had done which she shared with me.
A third memorable moment were the two days that my guide and I spent in a boat on Inle Lake, exploring the way of life of the people who lived on the lake. I am a photographer and we came upon an extended family, on the lake.The parents, children and grandparents all came out of their house on wooden stilts and posed for me to photograph them. I told my tour guide that I would send the photos of the family to him and that hopefully, he would find them, when he went back to Inle Lake and give them the photos, which I did.
I was extremely taken by the warm and kind Burmese people. They had nothing material in the world but their smiles were priceless!
Cox & Kings did a wonderful job setting up my trip. I had the most amazing young man, Than Toe Win as my guide, who flew and traveled with me all over Myanmar, for the nine days that I spent there. He took wonderful care of me, a single woman traveling alone and I felt very safe. We were able to exchange cultural discussions the whole time that I was in Myanmar, on a one to one basis. I think that this was really the most marvelous experience that I have ever had.
If you travel to Myanmar, make sure that you take all new dollar bills. The banks do not accept old money. In many places, credit cards are not acceptable but rather cash is desired. Also, one needs to have deet spray for mosquitoes along with the malaria precaution.
Do not miss visiting the elephant training camp, in Chiang Mai and riding the elephant on a trail and in the river. It was pretty high up and scary, but nevertheless, a highlight of my trip.
Some of the destinations that I hope to travel to in the future include the Kingdom of Bhutan, Petra in Jordan and Cappadocia, in Turkey.
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