One night in Yangon
As Myanmar opens its doors,Hazel Knowles finds the commercial capital, Yangon, is ready for business - well, almost. Pictures by Cedric Arnold
It is the United States' secretary of state's fault, apparently. Every hotel is full and, without a booking, my only option is to pay a king's ransom for a basic room in a decidedly average hotel.
"We call it the Hillary effect," grins the cheery young tour guide, in a reference to Clinton's December 2011 visit, as he bundles me into a taxi at Yangon's Mingaladon Airport. "All of a sudden, everybody wants to come to Myanmar."
He is not exaggerating. After decades as a pariah nation cut off by a notoriously brutal military junta, Myanmar is opening up to the world, with promises of political and economic reforms.
With opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi now free after years of house arrest, world leaders are queuing up to come here. Newly re-elected US president Barack Obama announced he would visit Myanmar, perhaps as early as today - and sanctions are being lifted. The country's once-feared generals appear to be changing their spots.
Visiting Myanmar no longer involves the moral dilemma that led Lonely Planet to include a "Should You Go?" section in its guidebooks. Hillary's been, British Prime Minister David Cameron has been and even Jackie Chan has dropped by.
Today the question isn't whether you should go but whether Yangon is ready for you. Can this dusty, potholed backwater cope with the demands of international travellers, among them notoriously picky Hongkongers?