(Bagan, MMR) - Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi visited an ancient temple city in central Myanmar with her son Monday, in a tentative first test of her ability to travel following her release by the junta.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner, whose previously announced plan for a political tour prompted stern warnings from the regime, was greeted at Bagan airport by crowds of journalists and what appeared to be plain-clothes police.
It is Suu Kyi's first venture outside the main city of Yangon since being freed from seven years of house arrest last November, but politics are not expected to be on the agenda.
Suu Kyi did not make any statements upon arrival and headed straight for her hotel with her youngest son Kim Aris, who told AFP he was "very happy" to be in Bagan, one of Myanmar's top tourist attractions.
"It's my first holiday in 13 years. She also needs a break. We're going to stay here for four days. I'm very happy," said the 33-year-old British national, who was reunited with his mother last year after a decade apart.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner's earlier plan to launch a political tour prompted a demand from the regime for her party to stay out of politics, and a warning that "chaos and riots" could ensue if she went ahead.
Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, who met with Suu Kyi last week, urged Myanmar authorities to ensure her safety on her travels.
"I believe all governments around the world would be looking very carefully at how the security is provided for by the government," Rudd told reporters on Saturday during a stopover in Singapore.
Security is a major concern as Suu Kyi's convoy was attacked in 2003 during a political trip, in an ambush apparently organised by a regime frightened by her popularity.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide election victory in 1990 that was never recognised by the junta.
The party was disbanded by the military rulers because it boycotted the country's first election in 20 years, held in November, saying the rules were unfair.
The junta's political proxies claimed an overwhelming victory in the poll, which was marred by widespread complaints of cheating and intimidation.
