we’re thinking about going to burma. i know that there is a travel boycott in effect, susan sarandon, amoung other, (mostly british), celebrities has vowed not to visit burma until the current despotic military regime is ousted–but i have a difficult time understanding how the boycott helps the people of burma, or for that matter, how visiting burma harms them further. i get that the government is horrible, and of course i don’t want to give them my “tourist dollars”, (meagar as they are). but at the same time–because burma is so cut off from the outside world–no one goes in, no one comes out–i can’t help but think it’s better to go and learn and experience–so that if nothing else, you can bring back personal stories, and a sense of the people. i mean, exposure is better than smug hollywood boycotts any day, isn’t it?
does anyone have an opinion on this subject? we were having breakfast this morning and two pocketfaces at a nearby table told us not to go there because there’s no tourist infrastructure. that to me is kind of a plus. i know not to listen to pocketfaces, especially not pocketfaces who are drinking beer at 11:00 in the morning and re-hashing the events of the previus evening in which one of them was bit by a snake he was carrying around–incidentally not the first time he’s been bit by a pissed off snake. not only that, these pocketfaces live in phuket–which by comparison makes cape cod look like it doesn’t have a tourist infrastructure. so their advice was useless.
we had this fantasy about travelling over land from thailand, through burma, into india. i’m pretty sure this is not possible, the government has to issue permits to go just about anywhere, but it’s a neat idea.
fellow shitheads -
i think you should go to burma if you really desire to. i’ve also given this one a lot of thought during my travels and pre-travel planning over the past year and a half. and i’m sure you’ve read all the pros and cons about going to burma. this is a great website that talks about how visiting burma ethically can help.
here are some pros you probably already know:
- isolating the country does nothing good for its people, and as bad as the human rights are in the country, visiting the country will hamper the gov’t from treating their citizens badly when foreigners are around.
- just this week, a UN diplomat visited aung san suu kyi. could this be a step in the right direction?
- you can give your money to locals without having to use government backed services. the tourist dollar is a powerful thing, and when used correctly, can do a lot to help the local people.
- isolationism doesn’t help anyone
- and how many people can say they played shithead in burma?
plus, i’ll be going there this saturday on a flight from bkk. i’ll be in bkk on wednesday getting my visa. why don’t you guys come along? flights on jetstar asia are $50 one way on airasia.com.
plus, i’ll be heading to india after nepal. guys wanna be in movies? http://www.globaltransmissionmedia.com
oops, here’s the website i forgot to paste: http://www.voicesforburma.org/
I agree… no tourist infrastructure
is absolutely a plus.