Trip Planning

What goes into self-planning a trip to Myanmar?
Lots and lots of internet research!!! 
Myanmar is a country that is changing so fast, that all guidebooks are woefully out of date.  Yes, guidebooks are usually a couple of years behind.  I heard once that it's a 2 year process to publish a book? Don't quote me on that though.  Anyhow, so I've been spending inordinate amounts of time combing the internet for blog posts and trip reports from 2014. 
Despite ragging on guide books, we still will be bringing one, mostly for the maps and blurbs about the various historical sites. 

A big difference between this trip and the India/Nepal trip is the cost.  Myanmar is not a cheap country to visit, when compared to other similarly less developed countries.  We are trying to keep our costs down by minimizing internal flights.  Internal flights are ~$120 USD one way, so you can see how fast it adds up!!!  Alternate forms of transport are bus, very rickety trains, and boats (sometimes).  I am not too keen on taking too many 10 hour bus rides.  Yes, buses are a good way to see the countryside and how the locals live.  But, they're crowded, loud, and there's nowhere to walk around.  The trains actually sound worse, as the tracks are apparently very poorly upkept.  Taking a boat is an option for some legs, except it'll take almost twice as long as a bus.  And we are on a rather tight schedule. 

So, we shall see how the balance between budget and comfort ends up!!  I'm leaning towards more comfort because I'm getting old and soft in my old age ;)