Burmese days

As you know, my intended next destination was Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand. But everyone has the right to change their mind once in a while! Two reasons really. Firstly, the weather in the north is really rainy at the moment, especially for trekking. There have been mudslides in some areas. Also, friends are going to be in Chiang Mai towards the end of the month so could be a good time to be there then. I find myself about to head to the Myanmar Embassy to pick up my tourist visa for travelling in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma).
Rudyard Kipling wrote that itis 'unlike any place you know about'. It's supposed to be like stepping back in time where there are no 7-Elevens, Atms (dream on) or phones. Frredoms for its people are severely lacking- there is only one state controlled tv channel which runs from 5pm until midnight although electricity often goes off way before that.  It's a land rich in history (it was a British colony until it was 'liberated' by the Japanese during World War Two) and  in natural resources (gas, precious stones and heroin). One of the reasons the economic sanctions against it (imposed by the West)  have not worked is that two of its biggest backers are China and India. Thailand also gets much of its gas from Burma.
The political situation is one I'm sure many of you are familiar with. It is a military dictatorship where democracy is only a dream of its people. Aung San Suu Kyi won elections in 1990 (awarded the Nobel Peace Prize the following year) for the NLD (National League for Democracy) but has spend most of the last 20 years under house arrest. It advises against going to her house in the Lonely Planet unless you want ' a swim and being arrested by the military junta'. I don't think I'll bother! One American swam to her house in 2009 and spent the night. She was charged with consorting with a foreigner and given another 3 years on her jail sentence!

Should you go? This is something I've had to think through and whilst much of the high end tourism supports government hotels and ventures, there are plenty of ways of avoiding this and the LP has lots of advice for people like me who want to visit this beautiful, off the beaten track, country. My flight is booked now (land borders pretty much don't exist) so I'll be able to blog more when I'm back from a personal perspective. I plan to spend a couple of days in Yangon (Ranggon) before heading to Mandalay and Bagan (from where you can see 4000 Buddhist temples). And Inle Lake if I have time in my 11 day journey.