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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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The political situation has improved a lot in Myanmar/Burma (knock on wood that things will just continue to get better) which I think will also mean the country will open up to tourism. I think tourism will bring in much needed income and help the economy, BUT I hope it is managed carefully so people aren't exploited and the environment (both natural and cultural) isn't degraded.
Both of these countries were home to ancient civilisations, a tumultuous history, and are now just on the tourist map. Myanmar has Bagan, Cambodia has Angkor Wat - some people have said Bagan is more impressive. Myanmar has old Rangoon with the Shwedagon Pagoda, while Cambodia has Phnom Penh with it's Khmer architecture.
Both are exotic countries...outside these areas not sure about the other major attractions. I think Myanmar easily beats Cambodia for scenery, though: it has towering mountains, including the highest peak in SE Asia in the far north where it meets the Tibetan plateau. Shan state is much like Yunnan with hill-tribes etc. It's coastline is also long and no doubt as good as Thailand. Cambodia is topographically less interesting and only has a small beach.
The tourist infrastructure in both countries is still pretty basic but i'm sure things will rise. Personally, I find Myanmar a larger, more diverse, more interesting country. As for Cambodia, the only reason I'd go there is to see Angkor Wat.
I've been to both. Tough call, they offer similar things.
I'd probably say Cambodia, just because I loved Cambodian food more.
One thing that annoyed me about Myanmar, was money. I brought a ton of YEN, but you could only legally exchange dollars or euros, and they had to be brand new bills. The black market would take my yen or older dollars, but it was only available in Yangon, during limited hours, at bad exchange rates.
Many foreigners would have to exchange several thousand dollars in Yangon, before they went 'backpacking' up in the northern parts of the country. It was a bit ridiculous with the $ situation there.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,047,835 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by foadi
have lived in cambodia and have visited myanmar a couple times.
cambodia for me. although i am biased - cambodia isn't a secondary destination for me, it is usually my primary destination when flying to asia.
What about Cambodia do you love so much?
On paper it seems a rather dull place, I'd like to hear why people like it so.
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