Inle, Myanmar – Part 1 – Lake and life
Combine Intha, Taungyo, Pa-O (Taungthu), Danu, Kayah, Danaw and Bamar ethnicities and it alludes to the broad diversity of activities, crafts and lifestyles that you’ll encounter around this picturesque lake in central Myanmar. Inle Lake is also one of the most picturesque and varied landscapes you’ll find in Myanmar, providing you with wonderful opportunities for photography around its colourful shores and inlets. Its people, crafts,...
Shades of Shan
This traditional highly colourful and practical rural craft, still practiced in Myanmar today, has its origins steeped in history. In pre-colonial Burma, a white umbrella or ‘hti byu’ was a sign of sovereignty limited exclusively to the Burmese king and his chief queen. It was one of the five articles of coronation regalia and use of a white umbrella by anyone other than the king and his chief queen was seen as a declaration of...
A slow train to ‘nowhere’
This sleepy ponderous train ride gives us a sense of overall fulfillment when visiting the old British Burma colonial hill-station of Kalaw. Boarding the train at Shwe Nyaung station, near Inle Lake, we’re struck immediately by the Spartan and somewhat grubby nature of the Upper Class carriages we’re to travel in. The curtains look as if they’ve doubled up as cleaning cloths and the seats as footrests, so we’re under no illusion that...
A taste of old Rangoon
Hidden away in corners of Yangon, Myanmar, are memories of the often unwelcome presence of occupying nations. Nevertheless they offer stylish refuges from the modern bustle and clutter of this busy city. Yangon like so many Asian cities is growing faster than it can accommodate in terms of cleanliness, clutter and noise. It’s not one of the most attractive cities we’ve been to, being an amalgam of pagodas, power-lines and pollution...
The Road to Mandalay – best by boat?
For all its political turmoil, Myanmar remains a tranquil destination of gentle people and Buddhist harmony – somewhat at odds with its rough and potholed roads! A trip down the Irrawaddy by our guest writer Helen Tippins If you’ve an aversion to visiting countries with questionable human rights records then Myanmar isn’t for you but if your quest is to visit places before they become swamped by mainstream tourism then now is the...
