Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sport
Myanmar isn't an especially sporty country.
Football
is the most popular game. Premier
League games arewidely broadcast, asistheMyanmar National League, established in2009
with eight teams, each owned by one of the government's
crony capitalists
.
Golf
is also modestly popular, although courses are relatively few. The best is probably the
Gary Player-designed Pun Hlaing Golf Club in Yangon, and there are also courses at Man-
dalay, Bago, Bagan, Ngapali, Pyin Oo Lwin, Kalaw and Taunggyi.
Indigenoussportsinclude
lethwei
,aBurmesemartial artsimilartoThaikickboxingfeatur-
ing a mix of punching, kicking, head-butts and blows with the elbows and knees. Fights are
held regularly around the country during pagoda festivals.
RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL
Trying to be a responsible tourist in Myanmar is an unusually complicated business.
NotonlydoyouhavetobeawareofalltheusualgroundrulesofethicaltourisminAsia
but a major added twist is provided by the challenge (should you wish to accept it) of
ensuring that as little of your money as possible goes to the country's government or
government-linked businessmen.
Should you visit?
The question of whether or not you should visit Myanmar has long been an emotive issue.
In 1995 Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) called for an interna-
tional
touristboycott
of the country, arguing that foreign visitors were putting money direc-
tly into the pockets of the regime. Many foreigners respected this call to stay away. Others
continued to visit, saying that with care it was possible to minimize the money given to the
regimeandtoensurethatforeigncashstillreachedlocalcommunities-andalsoarguingthat
plunging the country into complete isolation simply caused further hardship for the long-suf-
fering Burmese.
Following tentative
reforms
, in 2010 the NLD softened its stance, saying that it opposed
onlypackageandcruisetourism,whileinMay2012itdroppeditssuggestedboycottentirely.
DespitetheNLD'sshiftingposition,however,theethicaldilemmaremainsmuchasitalways
has been. Notwithstanding some quasi-democratic window-dressing, the government re-
mains
repressive
, exploitative and deeply corrupt - while Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD
have also shown worrying signs of cosying up to the generals and their cronies, and exhib-
ited a shamefully opportunistic silence regarding the fate of the horribly oppressed
Rakhine
Rohingya
in order to woo Burmese support.
