Myanmar (Burma)

After almost half a century of military rule, the National League for Democracy won a landslide election in late 2015 (the first democratic election since 1990, which result was overturned by the military), and as the country slowly opens up to the world after the dropping of numerous sanctions, it will soon be hailed as a traveller’s dream. Isolated for so long, Myanmar is a relic of a more traditional Asia, preserved in time and with little in the way of tourist infrastructure. But that will soon change, which makes your visit urgent if you wish to beat the crowds, to take a lazy river cruise, to meander through forests of pagodas, to appreciate the staggering ethnic diversity, and to engage with the country’s kind, curious and generous inhabitants before everyone else gets there. It can be a challenging place for travel, but also an especially rewarding one.