RANGOON—“I feel peace now, but I wanted to experience it more,” Burma’s former spymaster, one of the most feared men in Burma under the previous military regime, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. Khin Nyunt was accused of gross human rights abuses during his time in government, but now that he’s out of office he’s trying to find some zen—by getting in touch with his artistic side.

Khin Nyunt, who also served as prime minister under the former junta, has opened an art gallery in Burma’s commercial capital of Rangoon, welcoming members of the public into a beautiful Eden-like garden with fruit trees and rare flowers where artists can exhibit their work.

As night falls the dark, dreary, potholed road which runs from Taitung Bus Station to the town’s only Starbucks outlet offers little respite to the weary traveler — broken paving slabs threaten to trip up or dismount pedestrians and two-wheelers alike, while the gravel-strewn ground seems to threaten a gruesome end.

Then, like some fairyland amid the darkness, the soft-lit world of Tiehua Music Village opens up, offering its palm tree-clad secrets to the determined voyager. The arduous journey is worth the risk.