Travel: India's Amazing Shrines
LOS ANGELES TIMES
March 6, 2011
MYANMAR (BURMA) --As I sat on a high ledge of the 734-year-old Mingalarzedi Temple, looking out over the hundreds of ancient temples around Bagan, I wondered how long it would take a visitor to see them all. Archaeologists say there once were about 5,000 temples, but earthquakes, decay and long-ago looters have destroyed more than half of them. Still, that's a lot of temples to explore in this 16-square-mile archaeological treasure trove. We visited Myanmar in February 2010 and, yes, I did feel a twinge of guilt when booking the trip. The country, formerly called Burma, has been at the top of the boycott list since pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi called on travelers to avoid visiting her country, explaining that tourism helped support the military dictatorship and not the people. Recently, she has softened her stance, seeing that the 15-year-old boycott may have dissuaded visitors and accomplished little to democratize her country.[link]
March 6, 2011
MYANMAR (BURMA) --As I sat on a high ledge of the 734-year-old Mingalarzedi Temple, looking out over the hundreds of ancient temples around Bagan, I wondered how long it would take a visitor to see them all. Archaeologists say there once were about 5,000 temples, but earthquakes, decay and long-ago looters have destroyed more than half of them. Still, that's a lot of temples to explore in this 16-square-mile archaeological treasure trove. We visited Myanmar in February 2010 and, yes, I did feel a twinge of guilt when booking the trip. The country, formerly called Burma, has been at the top of the boycott list since pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi called on travelers to avoid visiting her country, explaining that tourism helped support the military dictatorship and not the people. Recently, she has softened her stance, seeing that the 15-year-old boycott may have dissuaded visitors and accomplished little to democratize her country.[link]
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