world: burma

Burma has long been the fabled land of Southeast Asia where Rudyard Kipling and George Orwell sailed the Ayerwaddy from Rangoon to Mandalay.

But over the last few decades Burma has been under the control of a crushing military dictatorship. And so the question becomes whether to travel to Burma or not, whether that continues to support the regime in power.

I firmly believe that only by interacting directly, by being there and understanding the country can the full story be known and told.

The most religious place I have been, Buddhism forms the backbone of the culture, the land dotted with tens of thousands of Golden Stupas.

Buddhism also instructs the character of the people. Shy and reserved at first, beyond that they are warm and full of humor.

And they are politically aware. From bicycle rickshaw drivers to baggage porters at the airport, I have been told in hushed and furtive tones many times by people all over Burma, they struggle for freedom.