Introduction
Myanmar (Burma) is a bewitching land of golden pagodas, natural wonders and smiling faces that are basking in a newly-opened tourism industry. A destination for the curious traveller, a getaway to Myanmar lets you visit an ancient collection of more than 2,000 temples and pagodas that stud verdant plains, witness the perilously perched Golden Rock at Kyaiktiyo or take to the waters to discover floating villages and atmospheric river cruises.
Hospitality in Myanmar is a trademark of the culture. A deep-rooted belief in Buddhism and longtime isolation from consumer culture have both contributed to preserving a kindliness of spirit in the local people that is truly welcoming. With no indigenous word for tourist, travellers are greeted quite sincerely as ‘guests', and if there's only one thing you take with you from your time here, it will likely be memories of its gentle, friendly people – considerate, inquisitive, humorous and helpful. But there’s much more to Myanmar than a wave of positivity; as Kipling once wrote, the country is ‘unlike any place you know about’.