Over the last few days I have been taking a very nice break in Koh Samui, Thailand but before I do a post on that, I want to write about some of the things we saw in Myanmar.

In the UK, US, Australia etc we take our right to vote and freedom of speech totally for granted. We expect to be able to openly express our views on political parties and the people who are elected. In Myanmar, with Aung San Suu Kyi having been under house arrest for most of 21 years, this is all a relatively new experience. Let’s not forget that this woman actually won the election in 1990 with 99% of the vote and STILL wasnt allowed to take power.

T'shirts for sale in Yangon markets

Over the last 12 years, people in Myanmar have not been able to talk openly about her or her father and it is only over the last 3 months that this has losened up… and the Burmese people? They want to talk about it. They are craving change. I had many discussions about Burmese politics, “The Lady”, her father and the Generals who currently run the country with people in Burma. Had I arrived 4 months previously, these conversations would not have happened. I’m guessing from my posts that you may be able to tell the impact that this has had on me.

More t'shirts

If you walk through Yangon right now, I guarantee that you will see Aung San Suu Kyi and her father’s image all over the place. There are posters of her, t’shirts and because of the elections, vehicles with her picture. Even in the more remote areas of the country you will see her pictures. Most of these are not official election pictures but pictures that people have gathered.

Aung San Suu Kyi's picture clipped to a weaver's loom

A picture on an office notice board

Young man shows front page of newspaper

On our last day in Yangon, we walked down through the city and came across a couple of vehicles covered in her election material. The people on and around the vehicles ASKED us to take photos, which of course we did. Some of them even posed for photos. When we were done, we walked up the street a little further, crossed over the road and walked back past the vehicles from the other side. We were the only foreigners in the area and people came out of shops and asked us to take photos. This kind of electioneering is something that the locals havent seen or been able to talk about in many years. When you are there, you can feel the buzz.

In the next few days I will be keeping a close eye on the Burmese elections because I would love to see Aung San Suu Kyi win the by-election and over the coming years it would be great to see this woman finally take over in a country that so desperately needs and wants change.

Hopefully some of these photos may give you an idea of the impact this woman is having in Burma. As for me? Well, I feel like I have witnessed what will go into Burmese history books.