PROLOGUE: WHY ARE WE GOING?

My knowledge of the world between China and India has always been shrouded in fog, pierced only by the limited light brought on during the Vietnam War days.  Events and news reports emanating from this area were mostly not understood. I was not grounded with any knowledge about the area. However, our 2015 trip to Vietnam and Cambodia started to change all of that. That trip was an incredible learning experience…an aha moment. It piqued our interest as we spent several days on the Mekong River, the artery that nurtures many ethnic groups and countries along its 2,700 mile path from China to the Gulf of Thailand. The river and its tributaries touch China, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Coincidently with that trip, news about Burma’s upcoming, pseudo-democratic election later that year was a frequent topic.  Other than North Korea, Burma has been the most isolated nation in the world. Starting in 1962, a military junta governed and isolated the country from the rest of the world. They were motivated primarily by a drive to build a Burman nation, independent, and divorced from the era of British colonialism, World War II involvement, and incursions by adjacent nations and empires.  The military regime’s viciousness and brutality was without bounds.  The people were benighted by shuttered schools, and the removal of teachers, professionals, and intellectuals who were expelled or locked up in dog kennels as political prisoners.  (To get a sense of life during this regime, I would recommend the 2011 movie, The Lady).  Only on rare occasions were outsiders granted one-day visas to enter the country.  Consequently, the country raced from being one of the richest to the poorest country in the world, from providing oil, rice, teak, and much more to the world, to the bottom of the economic barrel; all while ignoring the technological and economic evolutions taking place in adjoining countries.

Britain colonized Burma by way of three British-Burmese wars between 1824 and 1875 to insure its regional footprint and check the expanding French presence.  Instead of administering Burma as a separate colony, they decided to manage it from India and brought in educated Indians to lead the various government and management positions.  They viewed the Burmese populace as backward and not up to the task.  This slight is the core of the Burmese dislike of the British. Despite these strong feelings, the country enjoyed economic prosperity and leading into World War II was one of richest countries in the region.

While the British were deeply reviled by the Burmese people, they were the driving force behind the economic success.  John Furnivall, the British, colonial administrator from 1902 to 1931 coined the term plural society to describe how things worked in Rangoon (now known as Yangon).   Society consisted of a medley of people from different nations, religions, cultures, languages, as well as natives, living together and thriving economically by trading in the marketplace, under the benevolent administration of the British. Despite all the buzz, the different groups never integrated, but instead retained and strengthened their separate identities.  So the hatred of the British and the drive for independence was always present and increased over time, dormant at times to ensure survival, but waiting for the opportunity to cast off the yoke of British rule.  In its desire for independence and autonomy, in the 1930’s, General Aung San emerged as one of the heroes of the country.  In 1948, he successfully negotiated an agreement with the British, in which Burma gained its complete independence from Britain and the Commonwealth.  Unfortunately, a few months later Aung San was assassinated by one of his rivals.

Independence did not eliminate cultural and economic conflict. Consequently, in 1962, General Ne Win orchestrated a coup in which the military took total control of the country and all its ethnic groups.  This began a 45-year period of darkness.

A flame of resistance prevailed and gained momentum over time.  They rallied around Aung San Sun Kyi, daughter of General Aung San.  She effectively inherited the mantle of ‘liberator’ from her father.  During her years of struggle against the military rule, she was suppressed with house arrest, and complete isolation from her husband and sons. Her plight was promoted by her husband in England and the international community, and consequently she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.  Finally, in last year’s national election, her National League for Democracy party won most of the seats in parliament.

While the military continues to impose controls, the rebirth of Burma has started. As the country experiences more light, acceleration towards democracy should increase. The good news is that this transformation is coming without additional violence and has given way to opening the country to the rest of the world.

This is an exceptional time to visit a country that is in the midst of its rebirth.  How could we turn down such opportunity? Exploring Burma has become the centerpiece of our trip, augmented by brief visits to both Laos and Thailand.  Since Burma does not have an international port of entry, we are required to go through Bangkok… it is not a simple journey. We will fly from SFO to Seoul, South Korea, and then on to Bangkok.

Getting to Southeast Asia

2016 Myanmar, Laos, Thailand Itinerary

Current events show progress on one hand, yet remind us that the region has a long way to go:

1. Last month, Aung San Suu Kyi met with Obama in Washington DC.

2. Obama ended the 19-year state of emergency, which effectively removed all sanctions.

3. This past week a Dutch tourist was sentenced to three months of hard labor for unplugging an amplifier blasting out Buddhist chants that disturbed his sleep.

4. A tourist was arrested for entering a Buddhist temple while wearing shoes.

5. Last month, Obama pledged $90 million to Laos for a three-year campaign to search and remove unexploded ordnance secretly dropped by the US during the Vietnam War. More than 30% of the cluster bombs did not explode… millions remain throughout the country.  More than 20,000 civilians have been killed by these baseball size bombs since the end of the war.

6. Travel doctors have alerted us that availability of medical aid is extremely limited and may require a trip to Bangkok or Singapore for proper treatment.

7. In preparing for our trip, we’ve learned that the neither Burma nor Laos has a good communication infrastructure. Reportedly web access and speed is what we experienced in the USA during the 1980’s, using dial-up.  While it is my intent to blog and post at each of our stops, it will be subject to available communication connections.   I may opt to post only text with very few or no photos, and later edit each post with additional photos once I have better access to the internet.