Sitting in the sunshine, Darren McCaffrey reflects on his previous week in the strife-torn region of Burma.

The 22-year-old tells of the harrowing experience upon witnessing the poverty for himself.

Three more weeks until the Fermanagh man reaches the promised land of Australia.


Darren's Blog

After the political unrest with Buddhist monks last September and the devastating cyclone which has killed at least 200,000 in May, rumours had abounded that it would prove impossible to visit Burma. Many had decided even if we were to go, they wouldn't. But on Sunday we left our bus behind in Thailand, picked up our rucksacks and walked across the bridge that separates the two countries. No OzBus had gone this far before, no-one knew what to expect, as we entered the unknown.

It all proved surprisingly easy at the border. After a few hours we were soon on our way, with our new guide to the airport. We had been forced to take an internal flight to HeHo to avoid apparent 'dangerous' government rebels in the north. After a rather nervous flight on Yangon Airways, which proved an experience in itself, with lax security and more cargo than passengers, we were soon back on the bus again. We were traveling west to Inle Lake, the largest in the country.

We were up at the crack of dawn on Monday as we boated around the lake at sunrise, a truly enchanting experience. Thousands live on the lake in wooden houses, built on stilts. We caught a glimpse of fishermen as they rowed using their feet and used old style fishing nets. We stopped several times to visit a Buddhist temple, a cottage industry weaving factory and local cigar makers. We also had a chance to meet some extraordinary people, in a tradition dating back millennia, women put rings around their necks at an early age stretching them to unbelievable lengths. The morning spent on the lake was fascinating! Even though there was much poverty, the people appeared to live a simple, serene life that was in many ways enviable.

You do not have to spend a long time in Burma to realise the extent of government control. The daily newspapers are filled with propaganda, government aims and anti-democracy articles. And although the control is not as obvious as say Iran, with fewer troops and nothing like the forced veil, it is in many ways much more repressive. There is genuine fear amongst everyone of government spies and no-one will openly criticise the military authorities. The mere mention of Aung San Suu Kyi, who is simply referred to as 'the lady' can result in several years of prison. The Burmese people are kind, generous and welcoming, so it is sad to see such widespread oppression.

Our next visit was to the historical city of Bagan. Dating from the 5th century BC, the city contained thousands of Stupas, which are temples containing replica Buddha's. Many individually rival the Taj Mahal in beauty, but with thousands, they were together breathtaking.

It was evident that Burma until recently had a promising tourism industry, however recent troubles have seen a dramatic plunge in numbers, which has badly affected the country. People who relied on visitors are crying out for them to return. Not only is the money important to help a weak economy, but only through tourism will Burma stop being a closed state and finally have a chance at freedom.

After several days in Bagan we traveled south to Yangon (previously the capital, and called Rangoon - all part of the governments attempts to de-colonize the country). On route we stopped at the World War Two memorial. In a poignant moment we recalled the 70,000 troops who had laid down their lives in the fight against fascism – lest we forget.

Yangon is quite distinct from the rest of the country; it has expensive modern houses and the novelty of traffic. It had been known as the city of trees, but no more. Many had been uprooted by Cyclone Nargis which hit in May. Yangon had been at the edge of the storm; the delta region to the south bore the brunt and is now off limits to everybody but government officials, keen to hide the full scale of the damage. Speaking to several NGO representatives who had smuggled themselves in, the situation is much worse than feared by the international community.

By the end of our week in Burma, the level of government oppression was nothing short of unpalatable. Officials drive around in Ferrari's as their population live on less than a dollar a day. Infrastructure is non-existent in most parts of the country and mobiles are out of the reach for most as they require a license which costs $1,500. Traveling is a constant reminder of just how lucky we are back home.

By Friday we were heading back to Bangkok, the liberalism and freedom much more appreciated. After a difficult few weeks the prospect of the weekend on the beach in Ko Samui was much to look forward to.