About my Visit

I’ve always wanted to visit Burma. My mother Dorothy was born there (that’s her parents on the right) and I always wanted to take her back so she could show me all the places and tell me the family history. However I discovered shortly before she died that when she left to come to school in the UK, in 1928, she vowed she would never return – and so it was.

I also stayed away from Burma for my own reasons. The regime that seized power in the 60s was particularly repressive and the country has suffered immensely ever since. Recently there are glimmers of hope for a return of democracy and popular freedom under Aung San Suu Kyi, but the future is still by no means assured.

The combined influences of my increasing age, the beginnings of liberation and democracy and the gradual opening up of the country to tourism, persuaded me that 2016 would be the year that I would finally visit the land of my grandparents.

So there you have it. I’m planning to go in the autumn, with my old friend Sheila. We will do the tourist route but add in some extra bits of personal interest – for instance, a stay at the hotel in Kalaw that was originally built by my grandfather as a summer retreat, and a visit to Moulmein (now called Mawlamyine) in the Mon region, home of the world’s largest reclining buddha and the town where my grandmother was born.

I’ll be adding to this site over the coming months with background and updates on progress, and when I go I hope to be able to keep a daily diary here with photos to record the trip – obviously depending on internet access.

So if you’re interested you’ll be able to follow my great personal adventure and join in the discussion on my diary throughout the trip. I hope you’ll find it as exciting and informative as I will.