1st January 2015 - Rangoon - MYNMAR (BURMA)

Rangoon - Myanmar (Burma) 1st January 2015

Last night, we had the most spectacular NYE party ever on the roof top bar of the Zoom bar in the Anantara Sathorn hotel. 
38 floors up and overlooking all of Bangkok. we ate and drank for hours and were treated to a most beautiful display of fireworks 360 degrees across Bangkok.

Dinner was slow and relaxed affair and so we were ready sharpish this morning for our departure to what is the real objective of the trip - our visit to Burma (Myanmar).
Departing at around 10.30 for the airport and our Bangkok Airways flight to Myanmar - flight duration 90 minutes.

As with all the guides, our new guide leaves as many questions as answers but it is soon apparent that we can ask him questions within the confines of our car.

We never fancied Thailand but Bangkok is the hub for a lot of other Asian counties

Burma's has a population of 51 million and a small proportion are hilltribes some of whom take to arms now and again in an attempt tp topple the government.

 The British conquered Burma after three Anglo-Burmese Wars in the 19th century and the country became a British colony. Burma became an independent nation in 1948, initially as a democratic nation and then, following a military coup in 1962, a military dictatorship which formally ended in 2011.

For most of its independent years, the country has been engrossed in rampant ethnic difficulty and Burma's ethnic groups have been involved in one of the world's longest-running unresolved civil wars. During this time, the United Nations and several other organisations have reported consistent and systematic human rights violations in the country. In 2011, the military junta was officially dissolved following a 2010 general election, and a nominally civilian government was installed. Although the military retains enormous influence, it has taken steps toward relinquishing control of the government. This, along with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, has improved the country's human rights record and foreign relations, and has led to the easing of trade and other economic sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States.  There is, however, continuing criticism of the government's treatment of the Muslim ethnic Rohingya minority and its poor response to the religious clashes, described by human rights organisations as ethnic cleansing.

As we have researched this part of the trip, we know that we will not talk to locals about politics as we risk having them imprisoned - its very serious here but as we drive past the Mercedes showroom etc, you would not believe that the grasp of the regime is so powerful.

The leader decided to change the driving ruled from right hand drive to left hand drive and so consequently, all the cars are right hand drive bit driving on the left.

Overnight, scooters were removed from the city,  old cars were outlawed and up until 2 years ago, a mobile phone sim card was around £1700.

As recently as 4 months ago, peaceful protest was permitted, sim cards were reduced to £1 but the tax on land doubled as the regime avoids the roth of the people and maintains it vast divide between the "have and have nots" - most tax raised goes to the regime members who are super wealthy.

When asked of all the factions can live peacefully together, our guides responds in the positive but the human rights abuse of Muslims here is fairly well reported across the world.

So, we will form our own opinion but now we are in The Strand Hotel, built under British rule and whose guests include Somerset Maugham, Rudyard Kipling, George Orwell and the Prince of Wales, Rockefeller, Peter Ustinov and of course Noel Coward...its therefore only fitting that the "not so famous four" swell the list of old forgotten guests.

                        THE MOST FAMOUS HOTEL IN THE WORLD

We had champagne to celebrate being in such a famous hotel and these were all original rooms that hundreds of famous people stayed in.  now 4 more stayed who are not at all famous but we loved the experience as one of the "lifes bests"

At the famous strand bar in many books, plays and quotes.. Unfortunately, since this was taken, the hotel closed for major upgrading

The Strand in Myanmar - we have the rooms with the balcony - like Buckinham Palace...only fitting really !!

The Strand Hotel as is looked under colonial rule.

The Strand as it looks now

NOTE: SINCE WE VISITED THE STRAND, IT HAS HAD A SIGNIFICANT UPGRADE AND SO WE ARE SURE THAT MANY OF THE OLD FEATURES HAVE NOW BEEN REPLACED.  THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE NEED TO VISIT BURMA BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.

Tonight we will expore down town Rangoon now called Yangon.  We are here for two days.