Later today we will go into Rangoon to tour the town and visit the Schwedagon pagoda, and then tomorrow morning (barely), we have to be up at 3:15 AM to get to Rangoon airport. We are among only 38 passengers who have opted to leave the ship for a couple of days and fly to Bagan, which is apparently considered one of the most amazing cultural sites in all of Southeast Asia. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagan. Burma has only recently emerged from 50 years of military junta rule, but shows promise as far as reform and human rights issues are concerned. Now that the firm grip of the military has loosened dramatically, tourism has just barely begun a resurgence here, at least compared to the rest of Southeast Asia, so it should be fascinating to get glimpses of places that have remained relatively unseen by the west for half a century.