Courtesy Classic Journeys
LA JOLLA, Calif. – Known for luxury adventure tours, Classic Journeys will begin incorporating volunteer missions into their trips. Myanmar will be the inaugural destination to include voluntourism options in its itinerary.
The country recently opened its doors to tourists, but many of the country contains infrastructure needing repairs. The new itinerary allows travelers to not only immerse themselves in the Burmese culture, but also to choose from two mission opportunities.
Groups can opt for the day-long well building project, which helps provide easily accessible clean water for a village that would otherwise have to walk miles to attain some. The project employs three to five local team builders to help volunteers dig the well and pour the concrete.
The second volunteer opportunity is a four-day long street building project. Participants will work together to build a 300-foot-long and 6-foot-wide street in a countryside area of Myanmar where dirt paths become muddy and impassable during the rainy season.
Other parts of the itinerary take groups to Myanmar’s gold-encrusted Shwedagon Pagoda and Bagan’s 2,000 pagodas and temples. The trip also includes several experiential experiences, such as meeting floating farmers, lacquerware artisans and ethnic tribes-people in village markets.
Classic Journeys plans to add more of volunteer mission options to other trips in 2013. For more information, visit www.classicjourneys.com/myanmar.
