Photo Khin Maung Win/Agence France-Presse

I landed in Yangon, the capital city of Myanmar, a very ignorant young woman.

I traveled there on a whim and, upon arrival, knew nothing about the country. So you can imagine my surprise to learn that the men wore skirts (called longyi), the women have yellow powdered circles on their cheeks (called thannaka), and that the country has no banks and, therefore, no ATM’s.

I only had $350 American dollars in my pocket to last me for three weeks.

Somehow, I survived on $10 a day and, three weeks later, I left Yangon a changed person, with a bigger heart and a desire to see this country’s people rise from their currently powerless situation.

That was one year ago. I departed from Yangon less than one month before the peaceful protest to Shwedagon Paya went wrong. And now this: a cyclone.

This beautiful country with generous (and helpless) people is suffering from one of the worst natural disasters in a decade and all their government closes their borders to aid? I just don’t get it.

Searching For Change

The more I travel, the more I have seen how beautiful this world is. The human spirit is an amazing and resilient thing.

Now in Colombia, I can’t help but think of Myanmar and try to make sense of how desperate a nation can be without proper leadership.

In Colombia, I see a people rising from the ashes of a horrific terrorist regime and finally beginning to reap great rewards (i.e. booming tourism and growing economic stability) thanks to their whole-hearted support of wise President Alvaro Uribe.

Yet in Myanmar, we are witnessing a country dealing with two very different but equally debilitating disasters.

Myanmar’s political crisis is rotting from the inside. Its neighbors – Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and even Laos – have Western amenities like throne-style toilets, cellular phones, and fairly organized streets.

Myanmar’s major cities of Mandalay and Yangon survive in the dark ages, with each apartment running on self-funded power generators. Toilets and phones are the least of this country’s concerns.

Its oppressive military government continues to suppress its people and their ability to join the wider technological world.

Recent Disaster

On May 3, Cyclone Nargis struck the area surrounding Yangon and has likely killed more than 50,000 people. The government has been reluctant to accept aid even from India and Thailand, who have a vested interest in continuing trade with the country.

This is a country that needs massive worldwide support and attention.

Editor’s note: Here’s an interview from former Burmese monk Alan Clements on the current aid crisis:

Regardless of whether the Myanmar government chooses to allow aid for this disaster, there are ways to help the helpless.

• Educate yourself on what is happening in these countries. Political news sources like The Economist and Wikipedia are good places to start.
• If you’re feeling generous, donate to a non-profit organization that can go directly toward helping these countries gain a sense of national pride and identity – something Myanmar needs badly right now. The Network for Good blog has a great list of organizations that can help you do just that.
• Most importantly, try not to sit at home wondering why you should care or how you can help. A little seed of hope, a little prayer, or a conversation with someone who doesn’t yet “get it” can go a long way.

I accompanied my boyfriend to the game’s midnight release and, comparing his passion for video games with my passion for travel, I considered the following question:

“Why would you spend $1000 dollars to sit on a plane for 12 hours when you can spend $50 for a video game and be transported to another world in an instant?”

I’m speaking of a digital world.

I’m sitting on my boyfriend’s leather couch with a wireless controller in hand and, with a few pushes of a button as he logs us into X Box Live, I am in that new world. 50,000 other players are with us in this virtual reality – from all corners of the globe.

I hold a gun in my right hand as I walk down a stone corridor in some kind of forested temple. This is my virtual reality but one that I completely buy into-albeit temporarily.

Guns and enemies aside, I feel like I know this place. I have been here before: Angkor’s Ta Prom temple, where the Tomb Raider movie (inspired by another video game) was filmed. This virtual reality reminds me of Ta Prom so much it’s a little frightening.

Maybe world travel and virtual reality video games are not so dissimilar. There are several games-old and new-that ask us to be informed about the world.

Nothing Like The Real Thing?

I can’t help but be reminded of Crazy Taxi (Sega) when walking the streets of any major city in Southeast Asia. SimCity allows users to recreate ancient civilizations. Prince of Persia (X Box) and Discovering Babylon (California’s Learning Federation) posed as entertaining and educational tools to teach us about the world and historical moments in time.

An article in the Washington Post reported that shoot-‘em-up video games prepared real soldiers for the war in Iraq.

Other forms of virtual media like the Travel Channel and GlobeTrekker TV (PBS) show viewers what it is like to be somewhere else when they are really in the comfort of their own home.

There is no easy answer as to whether virtual media cures or causes depression. There is evidence to support both claims.

Why spend the time and money to travel the world? For some, the choice between real and virtual travel can be difficult. For me, however, the choice is very simple.

Virtual reality is ultimately a poor substitution for the real thing. Nothing can truly compare to the actual feel of a place.

To witness the sunset from atop Angkor Wat is an experience that can’t be compared to seeing it on a TV screen. To struggle for words in a foreign language in a place not your own is a real-life challenge.

Carpe Diem!

In a video game, you have an infinite number of chances to get it right-you can die a thousand times over and not be dead. Right here, right now, we each have just one chance to live well.

On the afternoon soon after the release of Halo 3, my boyfriend and I had planned on going surfing. Instead, we sat on the couch for three hours “killing” his friend in California through X Box Live.

“One more game,” he said, picking up the controller again. I gave him a cold, hard stare and he understood the problem. We had gotten lost in a virtual reality.

We lost track of time and, in this world-the real one, time is the most valuable thing we have.

Brenda Yun is a freelance writer based in Honolulu, Hawaii. When she’s not busy spoiling her pug Iris, she’s busy missing Iris because she’s traveling the globe. Read about her latest whereabouts at http://surfeatsleep.blogspot.com.