I'm going to Myanmar!

I saw this picture in the Wall Street Journal a few years ago, and Myanmar was suddenly at the top of my list of places to go. There's nothing like a poor third world country to make me all giddy!

Even though I'm relatively adventurous - I've traveled to Australia and Honduras by myself - I'm not brave enough, or maybe that's stupid enough, to go to Myanmar on my own, you know, because of all the killings and stuff.  And since Traveling Blond 1 was too immersed in a big career promotion to go on an adventure with me this year, when I saw that the World Affairs Council of Houston was organizing a trip to Myanmar, I jumped on it!

Lucky for me, when I sent an email to one of my oldest and dearest friends, Carmen, to see if she could go, she also jumped on it. We've been trying to travel together for a few years now.  She had hoped to join me on the above mentioned trips to Honduras and Australia, but scheduling didn't work out. So here we are, leaving in two weeks for a two week trip that will take us throughout one of the poorest countries in the world which used to be one of the richest.  Sounds like what they'll be saying about the US in the future!

Just so you know, this still counts as my 2012 vacation. That's important to me for 2 reasons. The first is, I decided when I turned 30 that I would leave the country at least once a year, and I technically didn't leave the country in 2012, so this trip has to count. And second, I already have my 2013 leave the country trip planned. In September I'm taking a trip to Rome, which hopefully, both Traveling Blond 1 and Carmen will be able to join me on, as Larry and I plan to finally get married while we're there.