I am trying to get to Myanmar the beginning of December. Two questions. First, I will be out of the country by December 15. Will it be overrun with tourists at that time, or does the crowds only really develop right around Christmas/New Years?
The most important question is what to see. From looking at LP, it seems like it is a compelling country to visit---so compelling, that it is impossible to see it all in 14-17 days, or even a fraction of what there is to see. I am not sure exactly how to handle things with the common tourist areas (the big four) and smaller towns which might be more interesting for someone like me who likes photography and likes to get off the beaten path a little.
Right now, without doing much research, I am leaning towards only seeing the big four and adding a few collateral side day trips to an interesting small town or two near the big four, but not going too far off the tourist trail. As an aide, I am a firm believer that even in a city with tourism, it is not too hard to get away from the main sites to see how regular people live.
The other possibility is to not do the big four, and instead choose to do a region or two--Southern Myanmar seems interesting as well as Eastern Myanmar. But...for this being my first trip, it might be better to see the highlights on the first trip and then dissect an area more the second trip or see an area later on as part of a larger trip (such as Northern Thailand and Eastern Myanmar)
So, this is a long winded way of me asking...for a first timer, do you think I will be better served seeing the big four with a few small day trips to lesser traveled areas, or just seeing 1 or 2 of the big four and then going off the beaten path?
The primary motivation of the trip is photography and to expose myself to something different, outside suburbia USA.
