Myanmar

Lakes, Rivers and Hill Country

Inle Lake in the Shan Hills is a place apart, a shimmering expanse where fishermen balance on one leg to row and floating gardens stretch to the water's edge. Boat trips weave through stilted villages, busy market towns and ancient stupas rising straight from the lake. Further north, the cool hill station of Kalaw offers a base for trekking through terraced farmland and Palaung and Pa-O villages, while the Ayeyarwady River connects the country's heartland on slow, atmospheric boat journeys.

Coastline and Tropical Escapes

The Myeik Archipelago in the far south is a scarcely explored chain of over eight hundred islands fringed with coral reefs, white sand beaches and jungle-covered hills. Ngapali on the Bay of Bengal is Myanmar's most established beach, a relaxed strip of palm-lined shore with calm waters ideal for swimming and snorkelling. The relative quietness of these coastlines compared to neighbouring Thailand gives them a genuine sense of discovery for those who make the journey.

Food, Markets and Everyday Life

Burmese cuisine is a rewarding and underappreciated part of travelling here, built around mohinga fish noodle soup, fragrant curries cooked low and slow, and a remarkable array of tea leaf salads and fermented accompaniments. Morning markets across the country buzz with colour and activity, from the five-day rotating markets around Inle Lake to the busy street stalls of Yangon's Chinatown. Sitting in a traditional tea shop over a glass of sweet milk tea and watching city life unfold is one of Myanmar's quieter but most memorable pleasures.