On its website, Diethelm Travel describes Burma as “truly the land that time forgot”. It raves that Burma’s three decades of “self-imposed isolation” have left a land of “unspoiled beauty and tranquillity” and an “emerald green” countryside where “time seems to have stood still”.

But executives from Bangkok-based Diethelm and other regional travel agencies were last week busily evacuating their foreign guests from Burma, as the country’s less charming side was on full display. Diethelm and other tour operators have temporarily suspended operations in Burma.