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About Nancy B
Expertise
One of my all-time favorites. I`ve been there more than 10 times (for at least a month each time), done the tourist loop five times and travelled to several permit-only areas. Aside from the Yangon, Bago, Inle, Kalaw, Mandalay, Pagan, Pyay route, I`ve travelled twice to Sittwe, Mrauk-U and the Chin areas and then down to Ramree Island, Ngapali and Pathein. Been on the wonderful boat from Bhamo to Mandalay and sojourned in the south a bit past Moulmein. Most recently I trekked in the northern Kachin state, camped and stayed with the Rawang tribe, for 2 weeks on the way to Phonekan Razi to see the Himalayas from the east. I`ve taken nearly every mode of transport--trains, planes, buses, boats, bikes, oxcarts, trekking on foot. I can answer logistical questions about airfare, hotels, restaurants, trekking, trains, restricted/open areas and, especially, cultural/religious sites and their significance.

Experience
The world is a fascinating place and nothing reveals this more thoroughly than exploring faraway lands. I've got a penchant for the exotic, a friendly face and a true curiousity about the people, art and life.

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Myanmar (Burma) - Compared to what?

Expert: Nancy B - 10/23/2009

Question
HI Nancy,
I was very interested in seeing your profile because of your special interest in Burma. I travel to SE Asia each year and have been to all but a couple of countries...including Burma (which is what I choose to call it). I've been to Thailand about a dozen times and would be most interested in how you would compare them in terms of interest, enjoyment, food, prices, people, etc.

This is assuming that you've been to Thailand, and I'm guessing that you've been there a number of times. You could also compare Burma to any other SE Asian country and I think I would find that equally helpful. I have a good friend (10 year friendship) in KL who is a political refugee from Burma. He plans to leave Malaysia and return home soon and I am hoping to visit him there.

Any and all thoughts you can share would be most appreciated!! Thank you!

Answer
Hi, Charlie,
I say it in my profile and I mean it . . . few countries rival Burma in mind-boggling diversity, heart-rending kindness and, even, sheer spectacle. The people are simply the correctors of the modern world who teach us through example the treasures of humility, compassion and generosity.
Burma is special for its diversity--the ice cream sundae, if you will, of SE Asia. Lush (Thai-like)tropics lure visitors to the SE, while Sittwe is a glimpse of Bangladesh, outside of Pyay are ancient Indian relics and Pagan is a river-bordered desert with cacti trees and a sky from another world.
There are next to no scams . . . so you can discard that wary feeling you sometimes get traveling. I love the food (interesting curries, unique salads . . . especially grapefruit and pickled tea, noodles, many vegetables). The sights are spectacular and seem be extant from another, simpler, calmer time. (It is simply not part of the "productive", capitalistic mentality of this 21st century.) Imagine traveling by oxcart, switchback trains on British rails, the main nightime entertainment being sipping milky tea.
Thailand's a bit too "easy" for me . . . the people are quick to laugh (but slow to get close), Bangkok's fascinating for its cutting edge design, there are things like cosmetic surgery and spa vacations. It's a comfortable taste of the exotic for the tourist who doesn't want to leave tourist-class comforts. I find Nepal much more aggressive in character (and much dirtier), though obviously, the scenery is stupendous. Lao is tranquil and villagey without the grand ruins or beautiful beaches. Cambodia for the tourist is mostly about Siem Reap (much more somber--with its grey schist stone--than Pagan, though equally impressive)and Phnom Penh. I personally don't take to Vietnam and find a lack of concern in some of the cultural mentality . . . a seperateness. The Philippines have great scenery (and stupendous traffic!), but are not on the Indo-China cultural road of legacy. Indonesia is even more diverse, but the island atmosphere pervades. Malaysia is (especially in KL) a lot more modernized and cleaned-up . . . so to this Western tourist, lacks Burma's true grit, history lesson and interesting character. Singapore . . . I mostly just land there for a "clean" break and the great duck noodles! Probably the only other country I'd equate a bit would be Bhutan for its simple old-World aspect . . . though Bhutan is so becalmed by a religious sensibility and so intertwined with NGOS that it resembles Switzerland more than an Asian country with a low per-capita.
So, Burma, with its palpable decay, arresting kindness, historical legacy and daily adventures, is hands-down one of my favorite in SE Asia. Still, don't expect the government to be any more enlightened . . . I wish your friend the best of luck!
Take care,
Nancy B
PS--It is my understanding, that while many choose to boycott the name Myanmar for its association with the wretched government, "Burma" is a misnomer perpetuated by the Brits who incorrectly assumed that the Burmese were all Birmans (ignoring Pyus, Mon, Karens, Chins, Kachins, Rawang etc.) and that Myanmar is a more exacting name for the panoply of people that comprise Burma as it poetically comes from myanma, meaning "the strong" . . . defining the people by a characteristic is very typical of the way Burmese name themselves . . . (You can ask your friend:).)

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