Thoughts on my travel to Myanmar (Burma)
"This is Burma and it is unlike any land you know about.” Rudyard Kipling wrote in 1898. More than a hundred years later, it still hold true for me. I have travelled to a number of places , and yet, the country is truly different. Myanmar or Burma (there is still an ongoing debate of what the country should be called), is a country surrounded by China, Thailand, Laos, India and Bangladesh. It was a country of kings and dynasties, where Theravada Buddhism became a prominent and important religion. In the 19th century, the British colonised the country, but it has since became independent for 65 years. Independence from the British, that is, but under a closely guarded military rule for most of those years. Elections came and went, and winning politicians were jailed or put under house arrest. However, in the last couple of years, since 2010 as a matter of fact, the country suddenly found themselves reforming and opening up. It was with these history, and the recent onslaught...