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3. The visits to Rangoon and Delhi were the first I had made since RAF days in 1944/45; a certain nostalgic compulsion was thus added to the intrinsic interest of these two capitals. Dacca and Colombo were added in view of developments on the internal scene in both places (the aftermath of elections in the first and ethnic problems in the second). Islamabad was included on two main counts - Pakistan's standing in the Afghan crisis and the current delicacy of her relations with India. Some important and interesting countries of my "parish" had to be omitted Japan (except for an "unplanned" overnight stop in Osaka), the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Nepal and Afghanistan, either because I had visited them before or (more importantly) because time just did not allow for a totally comprehensive itinerary. Australasia and the Pacific, which are also covered in Asian Region of Research Department, were unfortunately quite out of the question.
4.
Most of my time was spent in cities, apart from brief excursions to the countryside. It is precisely in the cities that the most explosive changes have occurred. Nobody was quite sure of the size of Bangkok, Jakarta, Seoul or Karachi. Estimates varied between
5 and 8 millions each. Even Rangoon, capital of a country whose economy was virtually stagnant until recent years, has grown from the modest-sized city I knew over thirty years ago to a metropolis with an estimated 21-3 millions. Almost everywhere I went the thrust of new buildings banks, office and apartment blocks, hotels, department stores
was altering the sky-line. There were only three exceptions to this general picture Peking, where there were only a few modern buildings, albeit with more projected; and Rangoon and Hanoi, the first still keeping its rus in urbe look and the second the epitome of dilapidation.
5. The great pace of urbanisation has brought changes in the life- style of considerable sections of society. Air conditioning is now much more widespread. Supermarkets are sprouting at least in places like Bangkok and Hong Kong. TV is widely enjoyed although it still has a rarity value in Rangoon and Hanoi. That said, however, it is necessary to bear in mind that, again with the possible exception
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