• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Home  >  Myanmar • Trip Reports  >  Another Coup In Rangoon, Burma (Vintage Trip Report)
MyanmarTrip Reports

Another Coup In Rangoon, Burma (Vintage Trip Report)

Matthew Klint Posted onFebruary 5, 2021February 5, 2021 25 Comments

I was saddened this week by news that Burma, also known as Myanmar, had suffered another military coup. It brought back memories of my first trip there in March 2013 shortly after it had re-opened to international travelers.

My 2013 Trip To Rangoon

I flew to Rangoon in Singapore Airlines business class, a regional 777-200 with old-school recliner seats and a projector screen.

Burma had just begun issuing visas to foreign visitors and I had arranged a visa on arrival.

Upon landing, I proceeded through a beautifully remodeled airport to a lengthy queue for passport control. Once I reached the front, I presented my e-visa confirmation and was soon stamped in.

I recall that foreign currency exchange was an issue and several of my U.S. bills were not accepted because they were creased or crumpled.

Sadly, I have lost the pictures from my journey through Rangoon…Maybe they will turn up one day, but at present I cannot find them. The ones in this report are from my iPhone, but I had my SLR camera along as well. But what I do recall was a bustling city filled with commerce and immense amounts of new construction.

I bet the city has greatly transformed over the last eight years.

While my pictures are lost, these videos of my drive back to the airport are not:

I flew back on Thai Airways and spent some time in the Royal Jade Lounge prior to departure.

CONCLUSION

The persecution of the Rohingya cried out for justice, but a coup d’etat seems to set Burma back even further. Statecraft can be a dangerous chess game, but let us hope for the sake of the people of Burma that peace and democracy will one day flow freely.

Previous Article My COVID-19 Vaccination Experience
Next Article Delta Massively Devalues Partner Awards (AGAIN)

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

Related Posts

  • Egyptian Hospitality

    Genuine Egyptian Hospitality In Alexandria

    March 9, 2023
  • Green Lake 2022

    A Sublime Weekend In Green Lake

    March 6, 2023
  • How Much Time To Visit Pyramids

    Is One Day Enough To See Egyptian Pyramids?

    March 4, 2023

25 Comments

  1. Gene Reply
    February 5, 2021 at 3:49 pm

    @Matthew — I remember a city that was a dump, filled with filth and poverty.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      February 5, 2021 at 3:58 pm

      Yes, I saw that too. But such potential!

    • KyawZin Win Reply
      February 6, 2021 at 5:06 am

      Yes because city municipal didn’t have budget to hire ppl, most ppl that already in government are corrupted. It has started changing and more tighten the corruption after NLD won majority of the seats in 2015. From 2010 to 2015 was still former Burmese military government just with civilian clothes. Please do me a favor, when someone call as Burma. Do not try to tell them to call as Myanmar. We didn’t vote for our country mane to be change it. That was military regime decided to do that with their ritual so they can be in power.
      This coup been planning for a while. I am very sad that all my friends and family members still have to suffer. 2 big countries like China and Russia always back Burmese military. This military announced as 1 year period more likely to be longer. Sections against government will not work because of that 2 countries and some ASEAN members.

  2. Paul Reply
    February 5, 2021 at 4:54 pm

    I really enjoyed my trip around Myanmar with some of the friendliest people, none of the hassle or trying to rip tourists off like in most countries.

    The Hilton Ngapali also really takes care of diamond members!

    • Argus Tuft Reply
      February 5, 2021 at 8:41 pm

      You sound somewhat confused, saying that in 2013 Myanmar had “‘re-opened to international travellers” and “just begun issuing visas to foreign visitors”.

      I can assure you that Burma has been issuing visas to foreigners, and been open to foreign visitors, for many many years prior to 2013

      Please correct your article.

      • Matthew Klint Reply
        February 6, 2021 at 3:01 am

        I’m talking about its broad change in policy in the time period:

        https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/8/130817-myanmar-burma-tourism-democracy-culture/

        • Sco Reply
          February 6, 2021 at 6:48 pm

          But it is just factually incorrect to say that they had “just begun issuing visas to foreign visitors”. I spent a month in Burma on a tourist visa as a US citizen in 2011 and know others who visited years before I did. I’m actually not sure that the government ever stopped issuing visas to foreigners. In fact, the government was always trying to lure tourists (famously using slave labor in the mid-90s to rebuild Mandalay Palace as a part of a campaign to increase tourism) and it was Aung San Suu Kyi who, while under house arrest, called for a travel boycott of the country.

          I will say that even though I have now been to 102 countries, that trip to Burma is still my favorite trip I have ever taken. I had plans to return in 2012, but unfortunately my life circumstances changed and I wasn’t able. Talking to people that visited in 2014 it seems like it was already a totally different place than what I had seen just three years earlier.

  3. Debit Reply
    February 5, 2021 at 5:08 pm

    Myanmar generals used stolen election as the excuse for the coup just like the white Republican male terrorists in our own country. These terrorists have become an international network providing moral and sometimes logistical support to each other.

    The US government needs to investigate all white Republican males for terrorism and at the very least get a sworn written oath under penalty of perjury from each that they do not intend to be a terrorist. Tomorrow is the one month anniversary of this attack and i will ask all your readers to keep a close eye om all the white Republican males they know. They might be terrorist sleeper cells.

    We are still in immense danger until their leader, code name orangutan, is apprehended and put in prison for life. Last i heard he fled and is hiding in the jungles of the south eastern coast.

    • Derek Reply
      February 6, 2021 at 7:00 am

      This is the BS that causes the country to be divided. Hint, it’s not the Republicans. It’s people like you, Debit

  4. Paolo Reply
    February 5, 2021 at 5:16 pm

    The persecution of Rohingya and other vulnerable groups is not going to lessen as a result of the coup, but rather likely intensify. Aung San Suu Kyi has been hugely disappointing, but even she is better than the vicious thugs in the military.
    The generals take comfort from the fact that tourists continue to flock there ( mostly hipsters, trendies and faux- Buddhist types) now matter how egregious the human rights abuses). They’re likely quite pleased to use COVID as a cover for the coup, knowing that the tourists will return when the borders reopen.
    My first trip there was in the ‘70s, followed by 2 or 3 trips in the ‘80s , but not since 1990.

  5. Christian Reply
    February 5, 2021 at 10:48 pm

    Nice recollection. I can’t help but notice that you keep calling it Rangoon rather than Yangon and Burma as opposed to Myanmar. I don’t mind at all but is there any particular reason why?

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      February 6, 2021 at 3:04 am

      Yangon and Myanmar were terms chosen by the military junta. I prefer to use the other terms.

      • Aaron Reply
        February 6, 2021 at 10:51 am

        Thats a bit like saying you visited Constantinople and not Istanbul…

        • Matthew Klint Reply
          February 6, 2021 at 12:07 pm

          Perhaps, though that has been a longer-term change than in Myanmar.

          In calling the capital Rangoon or the nation Burma, I don’t mean to suggest support for colonialism.

          On that note, I wonder how long Park Hyatt will continue using “Saigon” instead of “Ho Chi Minh City” for its Vietnam property? The very premise of that property is to sell you on the charm of Viet Nam’s French colonial past.

          • Bob
            February 6, 2021 at 12:31 pm

            Interestingly, just last week, talking with my pharmacist, which is a 30 years old nice French lady, I mention something about Ho Chi Minh City…

            She told me immediately: “I do not like that guy, please call the city Saigon”.

            I guess she is from vietnam roots and altough she probably been born in France, she knows well the history… and what probably has been horrible for the people living there during this period and maybe now.

        • Paolo Reply
          February 6, 2021 at 5:09 pm

          No one in Saigon ever called it HCMC, not even in the mad excesses of the new govt after 1975.

  6. derek Reply
    February 6, 2021 at 1:00 am

    America should try to work with the generals not slap sanctions. If they are really stubborn then sanctions are a possibility. Maybe pay them a billion dollars to release Aung San Suu Kyi and see if they accept the offer?

  7. derek Reply
    February 6, 2021 at 1:12 am

    Thanks for the photos and video!

    Myanmar drives right but I suspect most of the cars are used cars from Singapore and Japan, maybe a few from Thailand, all of which drive on the left. It’s dangerous to drive on the right with a right hand drive car.

    I see they use a lot of red and white paint to paint the curbs. Good idea. Make the curb easier to see. In the US, that is never done.

    • Debit Reply
      February 6, 2021 at 8:14 am

      Did you see/find anything? Do not trust any white Republican males. They are terrorists.

      • Debit Reply
        February 6, 2021 at 8:15 am

        For the other derek

  8. Jason Reply
    February 6, 2021 at 9:04 am

    I went in 2017. Rangoon was ok but not by any shot the main reason or place to visit. The best places in the country in my experience are the temples around Bagan and Inle Lake. Those were definitely the highlights of my trip. Stayed in fantastic hotels. Not points hotels but fabulous luxurious hotels. Highly recommend those places. I hope you didn’t just go to Rangoon as there’s so much more in the country. Glad I was able to visit when I did.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      February 6, 2021 at 10:34 am

      I really wanted to go to Bagan. Flights were sold out and time was limited, so I did indeed remain in Rangoon.

      • Paolo Reply
        February 8, 2021 at 8:18 am

        You would enjoy it very much; no doubt you’ll make it there in the future. Also Mandalay, although it’s no longer as charming as it once was.
        I took a train from Bagan back to Rangoon, which was pretty basic but very charming. Getting up there involved flying on rather ancient prop planes ( Hawker Siddley or Fokker, IIRC), but it was more than 40 years ago…

  9. Debit Reply
    February 6, 2021 at 11:49 pm

    https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/06/asia/myanmar-coup-what-led-to-it-intl-hnk/index.html

    There is a sobering parallel of how white Republican males and their leader orange orangutan used the playbook of dictators in other countries to steal the elections in the US and overthrow a legitimate govt. Stop treating these white Republican male terrorists with kid gloves. They are evil, they are stupid and they are dangerous.

    Also for all the liberal numbnuts, having guns in the hands of the population ensures the military can’t overthrow govts. Whenever it wishes. Myanmar’s military is pathetic. They only distinguish themselves from the rest of the population by having access to weapons making them more powerful.

    • cargocult Reply
      February 7, 2021 at 8:13 pm

      The Democrats would love to take away everyone’s guns.

      https://reason.com/2021/02/05/this-draconian-bill-would-turn-millions-of-peaceful-gun-owners-into-felons/

      Sheila Jackson Lee has a reputation for nastiness and Matthew has posted about her before. She is the sort of person who cries racism at the drop of a hat. She demands to be treated like a queen. What happened to “democracy?”

Leave a Reply to Debit Cancel reply

Search

Recent Posts

  • Kayleigh Scott United Airlines
    The Tragic Death Of A United Airlines Flight Attendant March 21, 2023
  • Avianca Lounge Bogotá Review
    Review: Avianca Lounge Bogotá (BOG) March 21, 2023
  • Best Coffee Bogota Airport
    Great Coffee In Bogota Airport (BOG) March 21, 2023
  • Permanent Social Distancing In Bogota Airport March 21, 2023

Categories

Popular Posts

  • American Airlines unaccompanied Minor Predator
    American Airlines Flight Attendant Freaks Out After Man Offers His First Class Seat To Child February 25, 2023
  • United Airlines Polaris Lounge Chicago Review
    Review: United Polaris Lounge Chicago (ORD) February 21, 2023
  • Bankman-Fried Alaska Airlines
    Poor Sam Bankman-Fried “Downgrades” From American Airlines Business Class To Alaska Airlines First Class February 20, 2023
  • There’s A Pilot In My Seat! February 21, 2023

Archives

March 2023
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Feb    

As seen on:

live_and_lets_fly

The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles is the most beautiful of all Polaris Lounges. Stay tuned for a detailed look and many more photos on the blog tomorrow. Well done @united.
@malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire i @malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire its A380 fleet. While not surprising, it is sad to see the growing list of carriers retiring this superjumbo jet. On Malaysia Airlines, I flew the #A380 once from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to London (LHR) and had the entire first class cabin to myself (full review on the blog). It was a beautiful flight that I will always remember.
Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited tha Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited that a new carrier, Avelo, has launched, especially from an airport just 12 minutes from my home!
I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxair I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxairport. Hopefully this summer it will return.

.
.
.
.
#Lufthansa #FirstClass #747 #747-8 #StarAlliance #Miles #Points
I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. This is not only a lovely, all-inclusive resort, but one of the best properties to use your @hyatt World of Hyatt points.
.
.
.
.
#Hyatt #BigSur #California #WorldofHyatt #CA-1 #Points #Hotels
In terms of a spacious first class product, the @E In terms of a spacious first class product, the @Emirates suite on a 777-300ER is hard to beat. My preference is Suite 2K.

.
.
.
.
#Emirates #777 #firstclass
Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from I Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from Instagram ahead of the birth of my first child. Goodness, how time flies. While I’ve enjoyed catching up on others over the years, now it is time for me to return to Instagram. In this first post, I highlight two joys in my life, my two children, whom I trust will grow up to be prolific travelers that circumnavigate the globe as ambassadors of love and respect.

.
.
.
.
.

#travel #airplanes #airlines #miles #points #familytravel #human #integrity #honor
United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improv United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improvement over UA's current business class seat. Check out my blog at liveandletsfly.com for 70+ photos of how @united is transforming its entire business class experience starting this December!
The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben! The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben!
Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen - Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen -- oh, and I love 40°F summer weather!
One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure of flying with in all my years of flying. Thank you @flysas SK940 on 11 Aug 2016
Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I a Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I assign a window seat months in advance, don't move me to a center seat "for my convenience" with no way to get my original seat back... 😞
Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be rac Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be racing the #Delta flight to JFK at the gate next to us, which also departs at 12:45p. With @onemileatatime
Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregenc Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregencycasablanca #cassablanca #hyatt
Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the i Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the inside of the @grandhyatt_shanghai ... It is 40°C outside! 😓
From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minut From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minutes flat. I ❤️ #bur #burbankairport
@malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in se @malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in service at #kul -- beautiful livery!
View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful bran View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful brand new @parkhyattguangzhou -- look for a full review coming soon on the blog #hyatt #parkhyatt #guangzhou #parkhyattguangzhou
Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, which closes tomorrow and the Queen of the Skies #747 which will be retired in 2018.
The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. If you're ever here, get up at 5am and have a walk around the city before it gets busy. You can hear the birds instead of honking horns.
Load More... Follow on Instagram
facebook twitter instagram rss

This site is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this site is not an investment advisor, financial planner, nor legal or tax professional and articles here are of an opinion and general nature and should not be relied upon for individual circumstances.

 

Advertiser Disclosure: Some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. Outside of banner ads published through the Boarding Area network, this compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site. While we do try to list all the best miles and points deals, the site does not include all card companies or credit card offers available in the marketplace. Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners.

 

Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.