Crossing into Myanmar
Better known as Burma, Myanmar is only just developing its backpacker scene. Following independence from the British in 1948 the country had a brief stint of democracy but by the early 60’s the military had taken over. Corruption, human rights violations, suppression of free speech and one of the longest running civil wars followed, as did sanctions. In 1996 a tourism boycott was called for by the National League of Democracy (NLD) and what little tourism remained all but stopped.