A novice at Yangon's Shwedagon Pagoda. Myanmar's 400,000 monks and nuns are outnumbered only by its armed forces.
Photo: Gentl & Hyers, Conde Nast Traveler

by Wendy Perrin

The U.S. State Department has issued a travel advisory for Myanmar (Burma) recommending that vacationers stay away, given the recent demonstrations.  Those of you who've read my columns for years know that I take State Department advisories with about a heaping teaspoon of salt, as influenced as they are by politics and diplomatic gamesmanship. They're a place to start your research, but by all means don't end it there.

I pay greater attention to the advisories issued by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, since these tend to be less politicized and more timely. Interestingly, this time the United Kingdom and Australia -- typically less alarmist than the U.S. -- were both cautioning against travel to Myanmar before the State Department did.  Given the consensus by all three governments, it probably is indeed best for now to content yourself with armchair travel to this beautiful and enigmatic country.  Susan Hack's fascinating article "Shadowland: Inside Myanmar" in Conde Nast Traveler's October issue is a good start. There is also Deborah Dunn's investigation into Myanmar's endangered temples of Bagan in "20 Places to See Before They Die" (from our May issue).

I just walked down the hall to Debi Dunn's office to get her take on the Myanmar situation, as she was just there in January.  Debi pointed out the one -- and only one -- upside to the current violence: "The tremendous courage of the Burmese people is now front-page news," she said. "I can't help thinking about the monk I met on my first day in Burma. He was sitting outside Shwedagon Pagoda, the holiest temple in Yangon. He, unlike most everyone else I met, was unafraid to openly criticize the government.  He implored me to spread the word about the plight of the Burmese.  'We need international pressure,' he said.  'We can't do anything to oppose the government inside the country because we don't want to go to jail. When you go home, maybe you can tell your friends that we need help.' " 

Debi recommends The Irrawaddy as a good source for keeping up with the latest news out of Myanmar.