Sailing Among Myanmar’s Islands of Mystery

I arrived on a chaotic pier in the border town of Ranong, Thailand,

feeling as if I was about to throw up as I watched three-story fishing

boats chug by. I had persuaded my two younger brothers and eight

girlfriends to fly across the world and pool a large chunk of money so

we could charter a live-aboard boat. The plan was to sail for six days

through the Mergui Archipelago, a chain of 800 islands off Myanmar’s coast that’s become the holy grail of sublime, empty beaches.

It sounded simple enough. But I had major, gut-wrenching anxiety because

this trip, which cost us almost $10,000 in cash and wired funds (not

including the cost of the flights there) was so off the grid that it

couldn’t have been organized by a mainstream outfitter that would have

sent a representative there an hour in advance, holding a piece of

cardboard aloft with our names on it. I was on a pier waiting for a man I

didn’t know to take me on a boat to another boat that we would live on.

Continued here:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/travel/setting-sail-among-myanmars-islands-of-mystery-explorer.html?nl=travel&emc=edit_tl_20130316&_r=1&

Thanks for sharing! Interesting article.