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"Myanmar’s political isolation has meant tourism has been slow to develop. Wa Ale opens as something new: a collection of slick safari tents that slip easily into the surrounding jungle, 55 nautical miles west of the mainland. This 9,000-acre private island adrift in the Andaman Sea honors rather than impedes its natural surroundings (20 percent of Wa Ale’s annual net profits go towards its conservation mission, the Lampi Foundation). Centuries-old strangler fig trees muscle up beside 11 smart tent-villas, while a pair of reclaimed-wood treehouses hover in the lush rainforest canopy. A warm sea breeze blows through the mesh windows, and mosquito nets are draped across grand four-poster beds. Bathrooms, meanwhile, have open-air showers and dark teak decks running between tropical shrubs. The only soundtrack is the clicking of thousands of cicadas through the heat of the late afternoon, and the muffled thud of macaques and squirrels acrobatically dashing on top of the main pavilion. It’s here that barefoot adventurers in board shorts and panama hats share tales of diving, kayaking, and hiking excursions at night as they feast upon barbecued seafood skewers, slow-roasted lamb shoulder, and spicy papaya salads in zingy, lime-infused satay sauce. This a wild corner of southeast Asia where time has stood still. A Bali or Boracay before the hordes arrived. Those repelled by the excessiveness and hyper-development of those islands will be mesmerized. FLASH POINT Join one of Wa Ale’s resident naturalists on a hike at sunset. +95 942-380-0224; waaleresort.com. From $395 per person per night." - CNT Editors
