Last Word: Booming Burma

Like many other people, I have been heartened (and amazed) by recent changes in Burma, especially the liberation of Aung San Suu Kyi, detained for the better part of 20 years for having had the temerity to win an election. Just as astonishing has been the speed with which Burma has developed since her release in 2010. I first visited the country in 1985 and was enchanted by the beauty of the landscape, the richness of its culture and the charm of its long-suffering people. Back then, you were issued a week’s visa and chaperoned on an itinerary from Rangoon to Inle, Bagan and Mandalay. Now Burma is the country of the hour: Airlines vie for landing slots; upscale resorts are planned for the beaches of the Andaman Sea; The Peninsula Hotels plans to open in Rangoon in 2016; and in response to insatiable demand, the Sanctuary Ananda, an opulent Irrawaddy riverboat with just 20 suites on three decks, is scheduled to debut in December 2014. I hope to visit Burma next year and to report on these remarkable developments firsthand.