Beaches and baroque architecture of Brazil or Buddhist temples and pagodas of Myanmar
Armchair travel is fun but it can be even more fun when you can realize that dream and reality is at time less apart than you may think. If you’re trying to decide where to go for your summer vacation, close your eyes, spin around and pin your finger on a map in front of you.
I tried that and on my first try came up with Brazil and on my second try landed on Myanmar. OK, two countries, far apart on different continents, and I sure can’t see them both on the same trip so how about making a decision which one of the two I should visit.
If you had done little prior research on neither of the two countries chances are you would not know how to compare one versus the other in terms of what to see and do there and how much will it all cost to go there on a vacation.
I quickly learnt that Brazil beaches are legendary and in fact its entire coastline of several thousand miles contains no shortage of fantastic beaches. Aside the sand there are also great cities like Rio de Janeiro and Salvador to visit on the coast, rich in finest Portuguese baroque architecture, and whatever the Brazil tour you can think up you should include a side trip to the Amazon River. The country is vast, distances and travel times long.
But I also discovered Myanmar tour sounds just as enticing. There are incredible beaches at Ngapali though the resorts may be less lavish than those of Brazil. On another hand, Myanmar is full of phenomenal and unspoiled Buddhist monuments such as those at Bagan and Mandalay. Then there is the peaceful Inle Lake and the ancient Rakhine capital of Mrauk-Oo in include in one’s Myanmar tour.
No matter what the respective attractions, what will either trip cost has to be taken into account. While Brazil is relatively near to the United States, the cost of airfares is at present pretty high. Although Myanmar is in Southeast Asia and one has to fly all the way on the other side of the globe, there are many discounted airfares available to Bangkok, the main access point for Yangon, the capital of Myanmar.
And what about daily travel expenses? Brazilian real is currently one of the strongest currencies in the world, so to tour Brazil can be very expensive. Myanmar is, however, a very cheap country to travel in, with plenty of inexpensive hotels and cost of meals in restaurants and other travel expenses is fractional compared to Brazil.
I have decided. I am going to Myanmar! How about you?
