People who visit Myanmar, aka Burma, in 2014 will have a far different experience than I did in 1997. Yes, given the recent opening of the country, travel there is still an adventure. But to appreciate how far the country has come since the days of its hardest-core dictatorship, here's a look back.
When I traveled to Myanmar/Burma* in 1997, a military dictatorship known as the SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council) was at the height of its power. The country was completely cut off from the West, and ubiquitous billboards headlined "The People's Desire" warned citizens to:
--oppose those relying on external elements, acting as stooges, holding negative views
--oppose those trying to jeopardize stability of the state and progress of the nation
--oppose foreign nations interfering in internal affairs of the state and
--crush all internal and external destructive elements as the common enemy.
Needless to say, journalists entering the country were well-advised to list another profession on their visa applications.
The only English news came in the form of "The New Light of Myanmar", a government propaganda rag highlighting the various accomplishments of the generals illegitimately in charge. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was in the midst of a long-term house arrest, punishment for her party's win in a 1990 national election. The locals were extremely paranoid, with reason, as the government encouraged spying on thy neighbor (shades of Communist Europe). Talking politics with the Burmese meant first gaining their trust and then finding a quiet corner where one was not likely to be overheard.
Despite the intrigue and the political turmoil (or maybe because of it), I found Myanmar/Burma to be one of the most fascinating and complex places I have ever been. The people were gentle, the roads to Mandalay and Yangon and Bagan were captivating, and the countryside felt like something out of a Zen painting, complete with monks clad in orange, walking in front of hazy, watery horizons.
Thanks to new government policies, most travel publications are naming Myanmar/Burma* as one of the year's hot destinations. If you decide to go, remember, this is a country that has been closed off to modernity for some time. But the beauty of that is, if you go soon, you can still have the adventure of discovery before it becomes overrun with Starbucks, McDonalds, Marriotts and tourists.
*For an explanation of what to call the country, click here.
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| The temples of Bagan |
--oppose those relying on external elements, acting as stooges, holding negative views
--oppose those trying to jeopardize stability of the state and progress of the nation
--oppose foreign nations interfering in internal affairs of the state and
--crush all internal and external destructive elements as the common enemy.
Needless to say, journalists entering the country were well-advised to list another profession on their visa applications.
The only English news came in the form of "The New Light of Myanmar", a government propaganda rag highlighting the various accomplishments of the generals illegitimately in charge. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was in the midst of a long-term house arrest, punishment for her party's win in a 1990 national election. The locals were extremely paranoid, with reason, as the government encouraged spying on thy neighbor (shades of Communist Europe). Talking politics with the Burmese meant first gaining their trust and then finding a quiet corner where one was not likely to be overheard.
Despite the intrigue and the political turmoil (or maybe because of it), I found Myanmar/Burma to be one of the most fascinating and complex places I have ever been. The people were gentle, the roads to Mandalay and Yangon and Bagan were captivating, and the countryside felt like something out of a Zen painting, complete with monks clad in orange, walking in front of hazy, watery horizons.
Thanks to new government policies, most travel publications are naming Myanmar/Burma* as one of the year's hot destinations. If you decide to go, remember, this is a country that has been closed off to modernity for some time. But the beauty of that is, if you go soon, you can still have the adventure of discovery before it becomes overrun with Starbucks, McDonalds, Marriotts and tourists.
*For an explanation of what to call the country, click here.
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