It was wonderful to be back in Myanmar. This was my fourth visit to Burma so I had some sense of what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised by what we found upon arrival in Yangon.  There is a new airport with efficient immigration and customs. Changing money was easy. Everyone was predictably courteous. Nothing about this government encounter seems evil or authoritarian.  Surely, the Burmese are among the friendliest people in Asia.

We made a quick visit to the markets and monuments of Yangon and everyone in our group of five was especially impressed by the great golden Buddhist  pagoda of Shwedagon which was especially impressive at sunset. Our primary destination was the northernmost tip of Myanmar accessible by a long, two-stop flight via Mandalay .  The ATR-72 turboprop aircraft of Air Bagan was smooth and comfortable.  The farther north we flew the more extensive the forest became.    There are only about four flights per week to Putao and the good weather season is from October to April. Road access is possible in the dry season but the roads are rough and tortuous. The lack of traffic and modern buildings gave Putao a friendly village feeling.The Putao Trekking House where we stayed for three nights was an especially comfortable and hospitable base. Built according to local architectural style, but from beautiful local hardwoods, it offfers a rich, yet simple ambiance.

Our main objective was a trek to Ziyadam, the last village at the end of a trail that leads to the base of the Burmese Himalayas. Although we had to cross numerous streams on improvised stone and stick bridges, this was the dry season and there was no real  problem.,  One day required a 3,000 foot climb over Mt. Shangaung, but it felt like a privilege to hike through beautiful sub-tropical primary forest that separated friendly villages.  Our group of five Westerners encountered no other foreigners on the trail, but lots of interesting local travelers like the fellow at right.

This is a trip we plan to offer again next January  as the Trails of Himalayan Burma. I have created a Photo Gallery of the trip, and a visit to the Ngapali Beach area of coastal Myanmar. If you might be interested in this trip give us a call.

This week international leaders and environmental ministers gathered in St. Petersburg, Russia, to discuss dramatic declines in wild tiger populations across Asia. Tigers have been exterminated from most of their range which once stretched from the Mediterranean to Siberia, Korea and Bali. Now your best chance to see a tiger in the wild is in one of the nature reserves or national parks of India or Nepal. Even here the animals are still under threat from illegal hunters seeking their skins, reputed medicinal body parts, or as illegal pets.  According to the NY Times report or the meeeting, saving the tiger, an animal associated with royalty, fierceness and solitary has a special appeal for leaders like Vladmir Putin who is front and center in the political imagery of tiger conservation. Even the much disparaged military junta of Myanmar is behind the effort and has created the largest tiger reserve on earth. We visit this sanctuary on the JOURNEYS Tiger Trails of Northern Burma, a trip I will be leading next January. It is exceptionally rare to actually see a wild tiger in Burma, Siberia, Sumatra, Bhutan or China where diminishing, secretive populations still exist.  Preserving tiger habitat is critical to the thousands of smaller, less-politically or esthetically charismatic species which are equally endangered by expanding human populations and natural habitat destruction.  We hope this international effort, supported even by the World Bank, will result in a reversal of the tiger trend toward extinction.  In the mean time, if you are eager to see or photograph a tiger in the wild while you still can, we suggest our Great India Tiger Safari or our India Great Cats Safari as the closest to a certain opportunity.

Boycotts are almost always a bad idea. The suffering people whom well meaning boycotters intend to help fall deeper into the pit of victimization. The current disaster in Burma underlines this problem. Reflexive response to calls for a boycott of all things Burmese, including the tourist sector, served to heighten the xenophobia of the ruling junta. In a peculiar way, the junta may well be supportive and encouraging of boycotts because it makes them less accountable to the outside world when there are fewer eyes to observe the debacle in progress. Aid and support for the people suffering from the recent cyclone cannot reach the victims, in part, because the government is uncooperative with those who want to deliver aid. But another reason is that The US and other governments have made it difficult for private sources to transfer funds to aid local efforts carried out by private individuals in Burma. JOURNEYS has representatives in Burma who are eager to use their offices and abilities to help cyclone victims, but it is difficult to transmit aid money, except through third countries because of government currency restrictions. Boycotts have created the impression that any aid to Burma is politically incorrect. Now when it is necessary to coordinate with the junta, there are no channels, infrastructure or relationships to deliver the aid many of us would like to send. Many humanitarian, commercial and NGO groups no longer have staff in Burma because of the tremendous pressure organizations like The Burma Campaign UK in completely discouraging private contact between Burma and the rest of the world. Now, in an about face, they are suddenly decrying the failure of Burma to accept aid. As travelers who believe in the free flow of ideas and and direct development assistance between travelers and the people they visit, regardless of government, we hope that the cyclone disaster sends a message to those organizations supporting the cutting of all ties between countries like Burma, Korea, Cuba, Zimbabwe. Their boycotts only serve to punish the people who are most in need of help and assistance. The generals, dictators and demagogues are happy not to have meddling do- gooders exposing their failings to the rest of the world. Organizations like Burma Campaign UK play right into their strategies of isolation and represssion.