In a word, Myanmar is succulent. For starters, there’s the lush landscape, fairy-tale temples and pagodas, strings of young monks in red robes with their begging bowls at sunrise. Farmers in ox-drawn carts share the road with modern-day teenagers on motor scooters. And everywhere, warm and beguiling people. Full of commonalities and contrasts, the country is at once wild, sacred, exotic, mysterious, bustling, peaceful and, at certain times of day, bathed in a truly magical light. For a photographer like me, that makes the country absolutely intoxicating.

Bordered by Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand, Myanmar encompasses more than 402,000 square miles, making it the second-largest country in Southeast Asia.

One of the first questions many visitors ask is, what is the official name of the country — Burma or Myanmar? In 1989, the oppressive military government in power changed many names that dated back to Burma’s colonial period, including the name of the country itself from Burma to Myanmar. The renaming has been a hotly contested issue ever since. Political and ethnic opposition groups refused to recognize Myanmar as the official name because they contested the ruling military government’s authority to rename the country. Today it seems either name is acceptable, though I tend to like the exotic ring of Burma.

Warm and friendly as the Burmese people might seem to visitors, they can also be a somewhat contentious lot. During Burma’s independent years, from 1948 until the early 1960s, many of the country’s ethnic groups were embroiled in one of the world’s longest-running unresolved civil wars. Following a coup in 1962, Burma became a military dictatorship whose consistent and systematic human rights violations enraged the Western world, particularly the United States. Travelers were discouraged from visiting Burma because it would put money into the pockets of the corrupt officials. But, as is often the case, this made life difficult for the Burmese people, who struggled to survive.

The military regime officially ended following a 2010 general election, and a nominally civilian government was installed. This, along with the release of Burma’s famous human rights activist, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other political prisoners, improved the country’s human rights record and led to the easing of trade sanctions. In 2011 the United States relaxed curbs on foreign aid and in 2013 announced resumption of diplomatic relations, and travel from the United States to Burma boomed.

Because I wanted to capture the essence of Burma with a camera, I chose to travel with a Burmese photographer, Win Kyaw Zan, who through his own tour business, Asia Photo, leads tours throughout the country. Since he’s a photographer, I knew he could get me to the right place at the right time of day, and since he speaks excellent English, he’d make the perfect translator.

My trip started in the country’s largest city, Yangon. Known as Rangoon back in the era of the British Raj, the big, hectic, energetic city boasts almost 5 million residents. Since the change of regime, hotels are popping up like mushrooms, including the Novotel Yangon. However, one of the loveliest places to stay is not a modern structure but a property built in 1934 as the Rangoon Rowing Club. Renovated and modernized using lots of golden teak and honoring the original architectural style, the property is now the 4-star Kandawgyi Palace Hotel. The main building and cottages are set in a mango grove on the shores of Kandawgyi Lake, a welcome departure from the breakneck speed of downtown Yangon.

In the late afternoon we headed off, cameras at the ready, for Yangon’s most dazzling attraction, the famous and muchphotographed Shwedagon Pagoda. The most sacred Buddhist pagoda in the country, Shwedagon was completed in the seventh century, but the stupa was rebuilt and heightened in the 15th and 16th centuries. The site glitters with gilt paint and elaborate detail. Visitors must leave their shoes at the front door and follow the Burmese custom of walking clockwise around the magnificent complex. On Sept. 24, 2007, 20,000 monks and nuns — the largest protest in 20 years — marched at the golden Shwedagon Pagoda in protest of the oppressive government. This demonstration led to the regime change that followed.

Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon © Ellen Clark

The next morning, we were up early to catch a plane to Bagan, an ancient city on the banks of the muddy Irrawaddy River, where about 2,000 ancient pagodas and temples, surrounded by lush foliage, cover a 16-square-mile area. In its heyday, Win explained, Bagan had more than 10 times as many religious monuments, but many were destroyed when the city fell to the Mongol hordes in 1287; and many have deteriorated, collapsed or been covered by dirt and bushes over the centuries. But you’ll still find plenty that are a joy to visit.

Sulamani Temple, built of red brick in the 12th century, features walls decorated with murals from the 12th to 19th centuries. Outer arches allow the sun to shine onto the central core, casting a lovely glow ideal for photographing. At Ananda Pagoda, also built in the 12th century and one of the largest, best-preserved and most revered of the city’s pagodas, huge, carved teak doors separate interior halls from cross passages; a Buddha covered in gold stands at each of the four entrances.

Even a photographer can take only so many temples and pagodas in one day, especially when the temperatures soar. My mind started to wander to a swim and a cold drink, so we headed back to the Bagan Hotel River View. Overlooking the Irrawaddy, the hotel grounds are beautifully landscaped with tropical foliage and mature trees — a wonderful opportunity to view centuries-old temples from the lawn of a hotel with all the 21st-century amenities.

The next day’s itinerary included a flight to Mandalay, but not before experiencing one of the highlights of my first trip to Burma: viewing the temple- and pagoda-covered landscape from the basket of a hot-air balloon at sunrise. The absolute best.

Later, as the aircraft wheels hit the runway in Mandalay, the old Frank Sinatra song “On the Road to Mandalay” ran through my head. We dropped our luggage at the hotel and set off to one of the most photographed events in Mandalay, and perhaps all of Burma, sunset at U Bein Bridge.

At about three-quarters of a mile long, U Bein is touted as being the longest teak bridge in the world and was built two centuries ago. At sunset, the sky gradually goes from golden to fiery red as locals walk and bicycle home from work across the bridge. The silhouettes of bicyclists, monks, fishermen, and women carrying baskets on their heads, all set against the brilliant sky, make a stunning photograph. As Win pointed out, you’ll find the best vantage point from the water; dozens of slightly rickety wooden outboards are for hire along the riverbank. For an agreed-upon fee, the driver will gladly buzz around the bridge, getting you in the perfect position to get that award-winning photo.

A hot-air balloon over the temples of Bagan © Ellen Clark

On my last day, a bigger wooden boat took us to one of Burma’s ancient imperial capitals, Mingun, the site of Hsinbyume Pagoda with its gigantic bell. Weighing 90 tons, the bell is said to be the largest ringing bell in the world. The pagoda itself reminded me of a huge, white, over-the-top wedding cake. After making a donation to the local monastery, Win convinced a few young monks to act as models. Posing in their red robes and holding their black lacquer begging bowls among the white, frosting-like swirls of the pagoda, they made for some lovely photos.

Win summed up today’s Burma: “Since the country just opened with the new regime, this would be the only country that has no downsides of travel.” He may be just a tad prejudiced; but if my trip is any indication, Burma provides a rich travel experience like no other. I can hardly wait to return.

Myanmar Info to Go

Yangon International Airport, Myanmar’s primary international airport, is located in Mingaladon Township, about nine miles north of downtown Yangon. As part of an upgrade project begun in April 2003, the runway was extended to 11,200 feet to accommodate bigger aircraft such as Boeing 747-400s. In 2011, the government expanded the airport by 40 percent, which increased its capacity from 2.7 million to 3.8 million passengers annually. There are no non-stop flights from the United States to Myanmar, but most of the major Asian carriers fly there with one or more stopovers. Unless you have someone meeting you, the only way to get from the airport to downtown Yangon is by taxi at a cost of $10–15, depending on the area.

Read more about Balloons Over Bagan.