The Southeast Asia Travel Specialists Since 1999
Every part of Lake Inle; whether watching the golden sunrise creep over the mountain tops, visiting the stilt villages or exploring the astonishing floating gardens are obvious highlights of any Myanmar (Burma) tour so we’ll narrow our 2-day Lake programme down to what’s probably our favourite part – the morning visit to In Dein. The spectacular forest of ancient stupas, colourful…
The following are a few of our thoughts on the current situation with regards Burma (Myanmar) tourism. We wouldn’t claim in any way to understand the entire situation – and it is certainly more complicated than initial appearances – nor would we presume our opinions are necessarily the correct ones. Firstly, we categorically and unreservedly condemn the recent actions of…
Mohinga – Burmese Noodle Soup Questionably the national dish of Burma, Mohinga is a comforting noodle soup available nationwide but especially in Yangon and the Southern Delta region where fish is plentiful. In posting this recipe, I apologise unreservedly to anyone in Burma/Myanmar for whom it is not traditional or “as mother cooked it”, but it works with Western ingredients…
Burmese ghosts, or nats as they are known locally, are spirits of people who died under tragic circumstances and who have remained earthbound so….what, in English, we would call ghosts. However, in Burma/Myanmar they take on a whole other significance and have shrines, statues, images, festivals dedicated to them. There’s even an ‘official’ list of the country’s 37 major recognised…
Rangoon’s magnificent and iconic Shwedagon Pagoda is Yangon City’s best-known tourist destination and indeed Burma’s single most prestigious religious site. If you only see one temple in the country then you’d better make it this one! The sprawling Shwedagon Pagoda complex is considered to date originally from the Mon period some 1,500 years ago but has been updated, repaired and…
Mandalay Burma – a very evocative name but as with say Casablanca or Shangri La, (which is, of course, mythical but which the Chinese government has now seen fit to locate in northern Yunnan Province), the reality may not live up to the expectation and these days Burma’s 2nd largest city is busy, grubby and to many visitors, somewhat lacking…
Generally included in any standard Inle Lake tour itinerary we reckon this fascinating site, located slightly upriver at the southwestern corner of the Lake, is one of the highlights of the region. The boat trip is picturesque, the surrounding scenery bucolic, the ancient pagodas highly photogenic and the friendly local Pa-O people welcoming and fun. In Dein is a village,…
Located in Burma’s western Shan State and famous for mountain scenery, floating gardens and the unusual rowing techniques of local fishermen Lake Inle is certainly one of Burma’s top tourist destinations. Either a very long drive from Mandalay or Bagan – or even longer from Rangoon – most visitors inevitably arrive by Heho Airport, an hour or so from the…
Burma When’s the best time to go? A frequently asked question but not an easily answered one and at the risk of doing some unapologetic fence-sitting we’d say every season has its pros and cons. Broadly speaking Burma’s climate falls into 3 general seasons: rainy, dry cool and dry hot, though of course in such a large and geographically varied…
Burma cottage industries – a few photos and descriptions from our Burma (Myanmar) tours. Guide: “Ok, next I’ll take you to visit some people who make rubber bands”. “Really?! And that’s interesting to see is it?” (It’s hot, the ‘roads’ are appalling and I’m carting around heavy camera gear.) Guide. “Yes – everybody likes it”. (Not convinced) “Errr ok then…
The Padaung people of Burma, more commonly known as the ‘Long-Neck Karen’, live in Kayah State in northeastern Burma and though the provincial capital Loikaw is now officially open for tourism it’s still very difficult to get to so your most likely contact with them would be at one of their lakeside souvenir stalls at Inle. The pros and cons…
The somewhat remote, Irrawaddy Delta town of Pathein is actually officially the 5th largest ‘city’ in Burma – which makes it slightly smaller than Moulmein (Mawlamyine) – yet even fewer tourists ever make it down to this super-friendly and fascinating river port than visit Mon State’s picturesque capital. Pathein is the Delta’s commercial hub and the riverside area and central…
Now portrait photography in Burma does amount to pretty much the same as taking people photographs anywhere else but with a few subtle differences so, here’s a brief run down. You have two basic strategies: either ask permission for a close-up shot or discreet shots with zooms. If you have a guide with you it’s easy to ask politely though hand…
No, would be our easy answer as with regards photographing local people in Burma! Increasingly in Burma’s tourist hotspots, you will see local people posing for photographs in return for money and to our minds, this is a habit that shouldn’t be encouraged. If you don’t want your photo taken then suffice to say so; we don’t feel it should…
The celebrated U Bein Bridge is certainly one of Mandalay’s top destinations and probably the most photogenic, so, how to optimise your visit? Now there’s considerable debate amongst frequent visitors as to whether dawn or dusk is better and, well they’re both good and despite the Bridge running approximately east/west, it does extend for a whole 1.2 km so you…
Kipling famously described Burma as being ‘quite unlike any land you know about’ and the remote Shan State outpost of Kengtung is certainly quite unlike any Burmese town you’d know about. You’ll rarely hear Burmese spoken; few locals wear longyis, you won’t see many girls sporting thanaka paste, there’s little Burmese food and the usually ubiquitous Aung San Suu Kyi…
Selection of Marina’s Burma photos, who travelled on our recent off the beaten track South Burma tour, ‘Lookin’ Lazy at the Sea. Thanks a lot for the great pics, Marina! Taken, we believe, on the local boat between Moulmein, (Mawlamyine), and Bilu, (Ogre), Island. One of the Mon girls making the traditional Burmese bamboo hats on Bilu Island. See our…
Our earlier post covered Burma’s Mon State so we’ll take up our South Burma tour photos where we left off with the very scenic boat journey up the Thanlwin, or Salween, River from Moulmein, (Mawlamyine), to the Karen State capital of Hpa-An. Great boat, helpful skipper and wonderful landscapes made for an excellent trip not forgetting a memorable stop in…
The first time our Moulmein guide suggested a visit to see some rubber band making we have to confess to be considerably less than enthusiastic! “Rubber bands – elastic bands!?” “Yes, really – very interesting and not far – just a short visit, very good”. Think it must have been the ‘not far’ part that convinced us but a great…
A selection of photos of Mon and Karen States taken on our recently completed, and inaugural, South Burma tour. Doesn’t matter how much you research new tour itineraries, doing it with a group is always different and teething problems are generally par for the course though, in this case – if we do say so ourselves – all went surprisingly…