This is the second of two articles covering my visit to Southeast Asia in 2005. This article offers 100 impressions of Myanmar, known to history and legend as Burma. We spent only a week within its borders, visiting its capital Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon), its city of ancient temples Bagan (formerly known as Pagan), and the colorful area around Mandalay.

Myanmar is a reticent host -- it welcomes foreign tourists but does not go out of its way to entice them. The archaic Yangon airport is grimly depressing, and the country is ... (more)