In February of 2002 I went to Burma over the Lunar New Year. It is still under the thumb of the State Law and Order Commission SLORC and had a strange Orwellian feel to it. The echoes of the colonial past, and the eccentricities of former dictator Ne Win are a backdrop to the extremely devout Buddhist core of the country. It is surrounded by ethnic minorities, and one finds government control ebbs away as you get further from Rangoon.