Burma

Leaving Korea in three weeks, and I'm trying to work out my travel itinerary. Will be mostly in Thailand, but I'm reading up on Burma at the moment. 

Interesting to note that, to gain independence from Britain, Aung San and the "Thirty Comrades" received training from the Japanese, and returned to their country when the Japanese invaded it in WWII. However, after driving out the British and Chinese, their treatment at the hands of the Japanese persuaded the Burmese army to switch sides in 1945. They then helped the British retake what they had lost, and Britain agreed to independence after the war, in 1947. Aung San was set to lead the country, but of course the leader of a rival party had him murdered. A year later, the British had that rival hanged. Independence came the same year, and the entire country fell apart into a collection of various factions fighting each other and the existing government.

Some excerpts from the 'Safe Travel' section of my guidebook:

"Considering all the bad news that trickles out of Myanmar, it may sound like a rather unsafe country to visit. For the vast majority of visitors, the reality is quite the opposite."

then shortly after that:

"...Myanmar has one of the highest incidences of death from snake bite in the world."
"If you...stay in local accomodation, you may hear little footsteps at night."
"...there have been a handful of bombings, usually linked with insurgent groups, in Yangon and elsewhere."
"In the past, there have been reports of bandits holding up vehicles at night..."
"At some point on your trip (and you'll probably never know when), the authorities will be watching you."
"In a few sites...you'll have monkeys begging for snacks. Take care, as bites are possible."

other things to stress me out a bit:

Some places will only take local currency and some places will only take US dollars. There is no standard exchange rate, and many normal places for exchanging currency will drastically undervalue the dollar. By a lot. Credit cards are useless, and there aren't really ATMs. Bills are only accepted if they are in pristine condition, and some businesses will try to unload their worn bills to you, which are worthless pretty much any place in the country.

Travel schedules, bus routes, etc, sound mercurial, and sometimes which parts of the country are off limits to foreigners can change. A couple of the local airlines sound as if they have lackluster safety standards. Many places only have power for part of the day, and staying in more upscale accommodations is likely to mean a larger portion of your money going to the government instead of locals.