I decided to call SAS to see if they replaced Myanmar with another country and found out that we will now be going to Bangkok, Thailand, instead. I am really thrilled about that because I have been dying to go to Thailand! I have heard so many wonderful things about that country... not to mention my undying love for Thai food! All my friends who have traveled Southeast Asia said you cannot possibly go there without visiting Thailand. I had asked SAS before if I could do an independent trip to Thailand, but they said we weren't allowed to go out of our port country, so it is a blessing in disguise that Myanmar was cancelled and Thailand was added. Here is the letter that was posted on the message board. It hasn't been officially updated yet on the SAS website, so there could be more changes.
Dear All:
First, I want to extend my sincere thanks to each one of you for agreeing to be on this special committee. All of us at ISE thank you for taking the time to study this important matter. After reviewing my notes and our conversations I reported to the ISE Staff on Tuesday that a majority of the committee members thought it would be best to cancel our upcoming visits to Myanmar.
I reported this to the Senior staff when I was in Charlottesville and it was agreed that we would cancel our visit to Myanmar indefinitely, beginning with the Fall 2007 voyage. An announcement will be sent to the upcoming faculty staff and students and we will post the itineraries for the upcoming voyages on our website and in our literature.
This was not an easy decision because there were compelling arguments on both sides of the issue, but we believe it is the right decision at this time.
Please know all of us send our sincere thanks to you and hope you have a wonderful day and a relaxing week-end.
John P. Tymitz, Ph.D.
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