Highlights of Burma in 5 Short Days

Burma, in 1988, was strictly regimented by the Government who controlled the itineraries. There was either a 5-day or 7-day itinerary to choose from, you had to travel as a group, and you could only enter through the airport at Rangoon on Burmese Airways, and leave the same way. There were no road, sea or rail entries permitted. Only air.

Kipling, the words from “On The Road to Mandalay,” photos of Shwedagon Pagoda and the ancient city of Pagan, and even a brochure from Banana Republic convinced me that this was a place we had to go…never mind the potential inconveniences. How did Banana Republic (yes, the clothing chain) get into this equation? In 1988, Banana Republic only dealt in adventure travel clothing and the owners published booklets with illustrations of clothing along with information about different countries. The booklet I read went into detail on Burma and suggested bringing old jeans, t-shirts, makeup and other items for bartering! The Burmese then took these items to the black market for some much needed cash.

How interesting. Up to that point, we had never even thought of bartering in third world countries. With all this information in hand and the help of our travel agent, we chose a 5-day tour using a company that is now out of business.

The itinerary read:

Day one – Fly from Bangkok to Rangoon with sightseeing.

Day two – Fly to Pagan with all sightseeing there. Of major importance were the Pagan Temples.

Day three – Fly to Mandalay, sightsee with an afternoon excursion to Amarapura and Sagaing.

Day four – Continue sightseeing in Mandalay with an afternoon flight to Rangoon.

Day five – Depart Rangoon for Bangkok.

This all sounded good to us…arranged to fly into Bangkok a few days early…and made plans to fly down to Phuket for a week following Burma….but, read on, and you shall learn what REALLY happened!….