Writing Tours in Burma
It’s interesting, how, despite the 300 plus political prisoners still in jail, the ‘turn a blind eye, let’s pretend it’s not happening’ war in Kachin, the phosphorus burning of monks and oh yeah, that Rakhine thing, the lifting of economic sanctions have convinced us foreigners that all is good and democratic in the land of golden temples …
Foreign visitor arrivals are projected to hit the million mark at the end of the year, ( Bali got four million last year and Thailand is pushing twenty million, just to put things into perspective). The Lonely Planet’s Thorntree Forum is crashing under the deluge of tourists desperate for accommodation and already wondering if Burma has had ‘its’ day. Last week I saw my first tourist walking bare-chested down Kanna Lan, (sorry, no pics). So naturally, here come the writing tours.
‘ Writers Journey’ are offering a ten-day writing tour to Burma with promises of meditation, temple excursions, writing sessions and participation in an historic event, the Irrawaddy Literary Festival, all for less than A$ 3000.