Off the beaten Track:   There are still parts of the country where foreign visitors are extremely rare.  The downside of visiting these places is that 1) it's extremely difficult to get there, 2) there's no guesthouse so you have to ask if you can sleep on the floor of the local monastery, 3) every kid and most of the adults will stop whatever they are doing and follow you around just to see whatever you are doing, 4) the local police may watch you (of course everybody else will be watching you too so you wont know who the police are).

Currency Regulations:   People spend a lot of time talking about this, but in the end it's very simple: on arrival in Burma tourists are required to exchange 200US$ for 200 Foreign Exchange Certificates (FEC) issued by the Burmese government.  FEC can be used to pay hotel bills, plane fares, etc... so you probably end up using a fair amount (depending on your budget).  In addition, FEC can easily be exchanged for Burmese kyat which are used locally.  The kyat exchange rate for US$ and FEC varied by about 1% until the past year when FEC have fallen to about a 20% discount to dollars. While FEC can legally be exchanged for kyat, it is illegal to directly exchange dollars for kyat.  This exchange used to be very open and reliable, but within the past year the government arrested some large dealers and exchange became more uncertain.  Frankly it's just a big annoyance.  Undercover police monitor the remaining black market, but their main concern is preventing local Burmese from buying dollars to take out of the economy and out of the country.  The police don't bother ordinary tourists because tourists are bringing money into the country.

Politics:   Some people claim that tourists should not visit Burma because these help support the military government.  I have spent a lot of time thinking about this issue and my personal conclusions are:

• Tourism does not provide meaningful financial support to the government.  Revenues from exports of natural resources (natural gas, timber, and gems) are sufficient to keep the government in power.  The importance of these sectors to the government is confirmed by the heavy regulation and government control over resource exports.
• Informed visitors promote awareness and contribute to change.  Unfortunately too few people, even in positions of influence, have direct knowledge of what Burma is like.  Most Burmese are proud of their people and culture, but dislike their government.  Visitors will find that many Burmese are eager to share their feelings about these things, although it's best to let a Burmese raise the subject so that you can be confident you are in a safe place for discussing political matters.
• Perspective.  Burma's military government bears similarities to the military juntas that once ruled most of America's Asian allies.  In nearly every case an evolutionary process has created more free and open societies.  The countries that have been most isolated have seen the least change (Burma, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and North Korea).
• Isolation and boycotts haven't worked.  During a visit you will see no evidence of any impact from boycotts and sanctions.  Burma has been subject to isolation (for internal and external reasons) since the military seized power in 1962.  Isolation has not been a means to progress.