Jim Rees
Burma 200m
With Burma in the news lately I thought I'd post this photo of this sign that greeted me when I visited in 1989, a year after the coup that brought the current military leadership to power. This is on the Thai side of the border just outside Mae Sai.
At that time the new Burmese government, short of cash and not wanting anyone to observe conditions inside the country, was asking over $500 just to get in. This part of northern Burma was not really under government control, it was a stronghold for the KNU. You could sneak over the border from Thailand and get a brief look at the other side, but this was officially discouraged and there were stories of people being kidnapped or thrown in jail. I didn't go very far.
Burma 200m
With Burma in the news lately I thought I'd post this photo of this sign that greeted me when I visited in 1989, a year after the coup that brought the current military leadership to power. This is on the Thai side of the border just outside Mae Sai.
At that time the new Burmese government, short of cash and not wanting anyone to observe conditions inside the country, was asking over $500 just to get in. This part of northern Burma was not really under government control, it was a stronghold for the KNU. You could sneak over the border from Thailand and get a brief look at the other side, but this was officially discouraged and there were stories of people being kidnapped or thrown in jail. I didn't go very far.