Myanmar Country & Its People
 Despite its strategic location at the crossroads of India and Indochina, Burma has always remained one of the most isolated regions in the world. Its first recorded kingdom was named the Golden Land after the tremendous rice harvests along the rich delta of the majestic Irrawaddy River ("Elephant River") considered to be the lifeblood of the country and at one time home to playful freshwater dolphins and other extinct water creatures. The Irrawaddy and its tributaries snake over 1,300 miles north to south from the Himalayan foothills through the broad central plains before emptying into the Andaman Sea south of Rangoon. Surrounding Rangoon and her sprawling plains is a rugged frontier with the Kachin Hills to the north linking with the Shan Plateau in the east to form a natural border with Thailand.
The most prevalent monsoon is the southwest from June to October bringing substantial heat and rain to the majority of the country although travel during this season is not problematic. Burma stretches across three distinct ecological zones with bio-diverse habitats accommodating tropical rainforest to alpine mountains. The flora and fauna of Burma is still wild, home to many tigers, elephants and bears including the Java Rhino and dangerous King Cobra.
 Chinese records are the first to mention the land and people of Burma in the 3rd century AD and document their migration from high on the Tibetan plateau to the central Irrawaddy River basin. Known as the Pyu Kingdom, these peoples constructed fine monuments to the gods and traded far and wide absorbing West Asian influences until the early 9th century. The states of Arakan along the Bay of Bengal were established as early as the 4th century with close sea links to India. The Pagan Dynasty, which began in the early 11th century, is best known for its extraordinary architectural and artistic activity fostered by close ecclesiastical ties with Sri Lanka, the Theravada texts, and the Pali language. Pagan flourished until it was overrun by the Mongol armies of Kublai Khan in 1287.
After the fall of Pagan, the third major wave of migrants to inhabit Burma were the ethnic Thai and other mountain tribespeople who came from the Golden Triangle and what is now Southwest China. Burma is a nation of great ethnic diversity with over 135 distinct groups including the hilltribe cultures of the Karen, Shan, Mon and Kachin who live deep within the valleys among the terraced rice paddies and fields of poppy. Warfare between the Burmese and the Thai tribes as well as other encroaching peoples characterize the power struggles between the 13th to 19th centuries. Like most other nations, Burma endured British colonial domination beginning in the early 1800's and Japanese occupation during World War II, achieving full independence in 1947. Despite a stifling military government and decades of repression, the people of Burma remain kind, humorous, gracious and welcoming. They are perhaps Burma's greatest treasure.
Travelers to Burma should be made aware of the brutal history of the current government and the shocking human rights violations enacted by them and their paid assassins. At the same time, informed travelers can in turn educate others as to the plight of the Burmese people and help focus global attention on Aung San Suu Kyi's fight for democracy.
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