I went to Burma (Myanmar) at Christmas. I responded to the call from Aung San Suu Kyi the previous year for tourists to come back now that the democratic process was opening up.

I’m going to be blogging about my wonderful experiences there. As a result of visiting, I’m reading alot about this amazing country. This piece from Zoya Phan absolutely nails the thoughts I was having even before I went, which were based on instinct, not evidence.

I would definitely urge tourists to go there. But if you do, please make sure you go independently or – if like me, this wasn’t practical  due to time constraints – interrogate your travel company, to make sure they are taking you in an ethical way, minimising the amount of money going into the coffers of the government.

Here’s the link to Zoya’s article. I hope she writes more.

International praise for ‘reformed’ Burma is premature – and dangerous | Zoya Phan | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

By Carole Scott