FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Miracle. Mystery. Myanmar! (DTW-RGN/NYU, an RTW: DL F, PR J, 8M Y, 6T Y, TG F, UA F)
Old Dec 26, 2012, 11:04 pm
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SEA_lurker
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: either on a trans-Pac, or on an Amtrak
Programs: Amtrak (AGR) Select, AA Plat, DL Gold, Shangri-La Golden Circle Jade, HHonors Silver, BonVoy Gold
Posts: 67
Miracle. Mystery. Myanmar! (DTW-RGN/NYU, an RTW: DL F, PR J, 8M Y, 6T Y, TG F, UA F)

Why, out of the proverbial blue, this 10-months-late TR, about a trip that took place in Feb. 2012? There are a few reasons:

- Better late than never.

- To paraphrase glu800, an FT TR author par excellence, (begin quote) “I've been feeling a little reticent since coming back from”
Myanmar. “… Perhaps it's the post-vacation blues... most likely it's just laziness.” (I can certainly sign under that latter sentence.
– SEA_lurker) “…Regardless, I'm finally ready to begin writing my full trip report." (wisely said by glu800; thanks; end quote)
A combination of being overcommitted at work and overly exhausted to write outside of work during these past 10 months is
one reason for the delay.

- Few countries in the world parallel the unprecedented rapid pace of social, political, and economic change that Myanmar has
been experiencing this year. Accordingly, as I write this in Dec. 2012, those “Myanmar moments” of less than a year ago might
already be of historical interest – even though their utility to those of you who are heading to Myanmar soon may be quite minimal,
because of the rapidly changing conditions there.

- I happened to be flying UA Int’l F shortly before the UACO merger. The FRA-IAD-ORD part of the trip might be of potential interest
to FTers who love the history of, or simply have a soft spot for, pre-merger UA.

- I also flew LAS-YVR-MNL on PR, a route that has been canceled as of early 2013. A possible nostalgic interlude for any PR aficionados
out there who miss the thrill of catching the four-times-weekly A340 out of Sin City.

- Despite the explosive popularity of travel to Myanmar (aided, quite possibly, by all those $400 ex-RGN one-way F fares purchased recently by
numerous savvy FTers), the country’s international (8M) and domestic (e.g. 6T) airlines are not featured too often in FT TRs yet.

- Last but emphatically not least, my five days in Myanmar were a transformative personal experience, delivering far more than mere
sightseeing. I used to live in SIN, visited numerous SEAsian destinations, and hence I naively thought that I “knew” the region and
couldn’t be surprised by anything that’s on offer there; on this trip, I was pleasantly proven wrong.

I hope that the TR will inspire you, too, to discover (or re-visit) this inimitable Golden Land. And if you are waiting to use your $400
ex-RGN F-fare, please consider adjusting your travel plans to make it into RGN a few days earlier, so that you can experience the city
and, hopefully, the country.

Now, I offer my apologies in advance to the FT Mods for anything in this TR that might be (unintentionally) non-compliant with FT
forum policies. If that is the case, then please accept my apologies: my lack of familiarity with the forum rules is due exclusively
to the fact that I am merely an occasional lurker and I hardly ever post. I would be happy to hear your specific critiques,
and then to edit the TR for full compliance.

I post this TR with heartfelt thanks to the FT community for the innumerable insights that have been such a huge help
in my travels - over the past decade and going. Kudos to all of you.


Warning 1: I am an amateur when it comes to FT and I hardly ever write anything resembling a TR.
Please don't expect anything exemplary.
For example, I couldn't possibly match Seat 2A's TR quality, in a lifetime.

Warning 2: The photos were taken with an Olympus Camedia 5-megapixel camera that I bought in SIN in 2003,
and compressed by Photobucket.
Please forgive the graininess.

This TR is divided into two parts: 1) the Journey, and 2) the Destination.
Since the flight details and airline ops are of great interest to many FTers, the air-only section (the Journey) comes first.
If you are primarily interested in the Destination (Myanmar), please scroll down directly to the second section of this TR.

(continued...)

Last edited by SEA_lurker; Dec 27, 2012 at 12:27 am Reason: formatting line breaks
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