7 once-in-a-lifetime experiences at the new destination Mergui Archipelago

The mysterious Mergui Archipelago, off the east coast of southern Myanmar and Thailand, is the newest destination in Asia to open up to luxury travel. With 800 largely uninhabited islands scattered across a broad swathe of the Andaman Sea, the large region was once the rest and recreation playground for Burma’s British colonial holidaymakers dating back to the time of the poet Kipling. But for most of the second half of last century it was strictly off-limits to all. It is only in the last few years that foreigners have been able to explore the ‘forgotten islands’, initially on liveaboard charter dive boats, and now, from high-end island resorts. So far, half a dozen barefoot luxury resorts have opened, with more slated for development. 

With Myanmar’s ‘one island-one resort’ rule, as well as environmental protection guidelines and bureaucratic hurdles, it is still not easy to get to the remote limestone and granite islands,…