I hadn't planned on being Hillary's "advance man" when I booked my trip to Burma over six months ago ... but that's the way it turned out (in a sense). For those puzzled over whether to call this most traditional (less developed) South-East Asia country, Burma is what Great Britain and the U.S. governments use since they refuse to recognize the Myanmar name adopted recently by the country's repressive military government. The United Nations and most everyone else is ok with whatever the country wants to call itself.

I arrived in Yangon (Rangon) -- seems that every place in Burma (Myanmar) has at least two names -- on November 13 and departed for the U.S. on Sunday, November 27, just three days before the U.S. Secretary of State's arrival. Her visit was truly noteworthy--a signal that relations with the U.S. could be thawing and a recognition that Burma is on a road away from repression and towards a more humane and democratic government.

The first "shock" I had was the relative absence of the Burmese military. Everything I had read ... and recent documentaries cited how prevalent the military were. I had also read numerous sources telling how the local people would flatly refuse to discuss politics--far too dangerous to do so. Yet the new friend I met at the centrally located Sule Pagoda more than once told me how he was confident that his country was moving towards a "true democracy."

 I found the people incredibly friendly. They almost universally enjoyed having their photos taken by us crazy (and relatively infrequent) tourists. Poverty is often used as a descripter, yet most seemed to have basic needs met... so extended family ties and generosity keeps things in relative balance. 

Religion plays a huge role in daily lives; traditional Burmese people willingly donate 1/3 of their incomes for religious purposes. Many from poor backgrounds donate their time for religious service. 

Monks are very highly regarded in Burma, and virtually everyone has spent a portion of their lives as a monk or nun. This has economic ties since young novice monks and nuns receive free education up to a certain age.

Now that Hillary has visited a few more Americans have become a bit more aware of Burma. By far the most famous citizen of this country is  Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Prize for Peace for her work striving for democratic reforms despite being under house arrest for 15 years. During that time, the military maintained heavy security around her home, so it wasn't possible to get close; however, I had read that this had been greatly relaxed since her release from house arrest a year ago.

So I ventured to her residence for a photo:

Ironically, I experienced NO resistence at Aung San Suu Kyi's residence and was able to walk through the initial gate. However, I was NOT allowed to take a photo of the U.S. Embassy just a half mile away--a military guard frantically waved his hands to indicate that such a photo was not allowed. Strange since I'm a U.S. citizen.. and strange since it would have been absolutely no problem in the the old colonial section of Rangon taking photos of the British and Australian embassies... or the former U.S. Embassy.

Burma is a magical place with gold leaf covered stupas covering its tropical landscape... a great place to visit before throngs of tourists realize that its charms are accessible and that the terrain is incredibly safe and friendly. Infrastructure is being put into place to handle greater numbers of tourists, and I expect tourism will be on the rise in Burma...judging from seeing more agencies offering Burma tours now.

Trying to encapsulize the experience is pretty futile, so the most eloquent thing I can do is share some photos... so feel free to check any of the following links for details.

Burma Sampler -- an overview with some of the better pictures I took

Rangon

Golden Rock / Bago

 Mandalay

Bagan 

Inle Lake