@rivaltribal, @herbie47 and anyone else who has input please. On "getting away from tourists in Myanmar...." Can you recommend additional villages, areas and markets, etc. that have not yet appeared on the tourist group itinerary? We like action and busy places, just not tour groups. (We like our fellow ThornTree-ers, of course!) Post above is EXACTLY the type of thing we're looking for but haven't seen many specifics in reading hundreds of posts. Thank you!
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rivaltribal
.#10.....which 'post above'...?
Getting away from bulk tourists / tour groups...??...head down to the very south around Dawei etc...head north to Myitkyina by train or flight and boat downriver to Mandalay, or fly further north to Putao (requires MTT permit)...go up to south Chin State or north Chin state, take river trip down the Chindwin from Khamti/Homalin...even Mrauk-U, and lots of other areas that don't get large amounts of tourists...
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herbie47
Well anywhere really away from Yangon, Bagan, Kalaw, Inle and Mandalay. Hsipaw dodes have a fair few tourists now but its still fairly unspoilt but check the security situation, 2 tourists got injured by a bomb recently just outside Hsipaw. Depends what you want, I enjoyed Shwebo and Pakokku which are quite large towns. Also Kyaukme moning market was great. Problem in these places is rooms are basic and poor value. Did not have time to get to Mindat. Have not been to the south yet, maybe later this year I will.
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bytelife
The tourists got injured by a landmine; which is different from a bomb though also a bit of a nasty surprise on a leisurely hike towards Kyaukme.
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herbie47
The tourists got injured by a landmine; which is different from a bomb though also a bit of a nasty surprise on a leisurely hike towards Kyaukme.
Really the early reports said a bomb.
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bytelife
Lots of landmines in some area's in Myanmar; the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor ranks Myanmar third after Colombia and Afghanistan for the highest casualty rates in the world. It recorded 3,745 casualties between 1999 and 2014.
Europe has made substantial funds available to clear these landmines; but so far they haven't started yet. My bet is many governments will declare the Northern Shan state an unsafe zone for tourism - there seems to be more trouble there than in Rakhine state which is relatively quiet.
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herbie47
Lots of landmines in some area's in Myanmar; the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor ranks Myanmar third after Colombia and Afghanistan for the highest casualty rates in the world. It recorded 3,745 casualties between 1999 and 2014.
Europe has made substantial funds available to clear these landmines; but so far they haven't started yet. My bet is many governments will declare the Northern Shan state an unsafe zone for tourism - there seems to be more trouble there than in Rakhine state which is relatively quiet.
Why is this not reported more, in countries such as Laso and Cambodia there are warnings about landmines and unexploded bombs but its the first I have heard about it in Myanmar? I have been to Hsipaw and Kyaukme twice, last time this year. Never seen or heard of any trouble. Hsipaw and Kyaukme are not in the unsafe areas but nearby is. Rakhine state there was a lot of trouble, seems quiet now although still on UK unsafe to travel list, which means probably no insurance cover.
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bytelife
This stuff is only reported in the local news. There were also some locals who stepped on a landmine near Kyaukme a week or so after the tourists but that never hits the international news. The fighting in Northern Shan state has flared up since last winter so there is not much awareness in the tourism industry yet; and they probably want to keep it quiet for obvious reasons.
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Thorn Tree
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