I hear from so many travelers to Myanmar who want to make sure that their money goes to the people, and not to the government or croonies.  In the past few years, there has been a big boom in creative social enterprises in Myanmar, and I wanted to shine a light on them.  Find the best places to spend your money and make the biggest difference.

Transportation is a funny thing in Myanmar (Burma).  Slow, loud and dirty are adjectives you could use to describe most of them, and safety is pretty questionable as well.  But the sheer variety available makes for a fascinating combination of new and old methods you should check out for yourself during your next visit to the country.

Updated October 2017

Seeing hot-air balloons flying over Bagan is one of the iconic images of Myanmar / Burma.  The massive scale of the over 3000 temples on the Bagan plain mean that you can only truly witness the scale of it all from the air, and a slowly floating over is the best way of doing it.

For years, there has been only one company providing the experience.  Balloons Over Bagan and their red balloons can be seen in any number of a photo, including a bunch in my house.  However, in 2013, Oriental Ballooning began flying their balloons as well, bringing some much needed competition to the space.  I've flown with both, and I'll give you my take on them.

Updated Feb 2014

I'll start by saying that I'm not a huge fan of guidebooks.  In the age of the internet and nearly limitless access to information, the printed word is often out of date by the time it's still hot off the presses.  For example, the latest Myanmar Lonely Planet (11th ed.) was published in Dec 2011, with much of the research likely done 3-12+ months prior. As of May 2013, the information could be 2+ years out of date.

That said, I've had my Lonely Planet for Myanmar since my first big trip to the country in early 2012, and...