Tuesday, June 26th, 2012

Tuesday Travel Tip: How to Travel Responsibly in Burma

Now that Burma has begun to take it’s first cautious steps towards democracy, is it okay to travel there? In this week’s Tuesday Travel Tip, I’ll be looking particularly at the question of traveling to Burma. Is it safe and ethical for foreigners to go there? And if so, how can we as responsible travelers, use tourism to support the… [Read Full Article]

Thursday, June 21th, 2012

The End of Isolation

Part II: Democratic Reform Arrives in BurmaClinton and Suu Kyi in Yangon, photo copyright Paula BronsteinFor the last quarter century, the name Myanmar has conjured an image à propos to the pages of Heart of Darkness: a mysterious almost surreal place, marred by the iron fist of the military junta and synonymous with the worst human rights violations. The pariah… [Read Full Article]

Thursday, June 14th, 2012

25 Years of Isolation

Part I: The History Behind the Burma Travel BoycottBurmese Freedom Fighter Aung San Suu KyiApril 2012 was a landmark month for Myanmar (formerly known as Burma); as ex-political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to parliament, President Barack Obama dropped the 16-year US travel boycott against the country. Over the past 50 years, Burma had been one of the most… [Read Full Article]

Thursday, June 07th, 2012

War Photography for Peace

Nick Ut photographed by Tim MantoaniIn May a small group of Santa Barbara high school students gathered in Hope Ranch over nems and Vietnamese curry to reflect on their March tour through Vietnam. Their trip had been extraordinary. Armed with cameras and critical minds, these students revisited the site of the Vietnam War’s famous photograph of Kim Phuc (the “Girl… [Read Full Article]

Tuesday, June 05th, 2012

Tuesday Travel Tip: Ethical Travel Photography

Student traveler in VietnamI'd been living abroad in Vietnam for three months and was having one of those days were the cacophony of a foreign culture was starting to grate on me. I had reached that point of romanticized nostalgia for the states that my very gut throbbed for home. I was whining to my friend over Skype about my… [Read Full Article]