Land of the Crested Lion: A Journey Through Modern Burma

For a few months in 1954, Ethel Mannin travels in Burma as a guest of the Buddha Sasana Council - a Government organisation. As such she is attended upon by the District Commander of each area she visits, and assisted by the police (and provided with armed guards, where required), and treated to transport by jeep and private vehicle for the most part. There were, at this time some security issues with insurgents, making some areas inaccessible, or at least risky to travel through.

Burma (now Myanmar) had been independent from Britain for six years by this time, and enjoyed a period of democracy before being taken in military rule in 1962. It seemed from this book that the country still benefited from much of the structure and organisation left by the British -such as the districts and their management, guesthouse facilities and a structured police force.

The author, already a well experienced traveller (and travel writer) was able to spend time in all of the well known tourist locations around Burma, as well as some of the lesser known. She was also able to make use of many connections to meet with people able to assist her with accommodation and other organisational tasks.

Mannin's writing is in depth, and gives a careful background to Burma, and interestingly does not come across as nostalgic for British rule - which was what I had expected to find. She is critical of the condition of the roads, and disappointed that the people ‘leave her to her privacy' much more than she would have liked. The author also demonstrates her ability to argue her case when she believes she is not being treated in the way a guest of the Government ought to be.

I found her writing descriptive and atmospheric - and was quite easily taken to the locations she described, finding them still very accurate despite us visiting some fifty years apart. Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Rangoon (Yangon now), the hundreds of temples at Pagan (Bagan now) and Inle Lake in particular seemed practically identical. Others, like Moulmein (Mawlamyine now) have feared poorly in upkeep over this time.

For me the writing gets a little caught up in religion (trying to negotiate the principles of Buddhism), and perhaps gets a bit dry on some other side topics, but generally a readable and interesting journey.

4 stars.