The Southeast Asia Travel Specialists Since 1999
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…
Another of our off the beaten track Burma suggestions is the small, picturesque and highly photogenic town of Hpa-An Karen State. Possessing a magnificent setting on the banks of the scenic Salween River, surrounded by dramatic limestone, karst scenery and home to one the best local markets we know in the country this is another, little known, yet superb destination….
Moulmein Mawlamyine Burma was made famous by the line from Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “by the old Moulmein pagoda lookin’ lazy at the sea…,” as well as having had George Orwell as its police chief for a while, yet this wonderful town in southern Burma’s Mon State certainly isn’t a famous destination as far as today’s foreign visitors go. Moulmein falls…
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…
Moulmein (Mawlamyine to use the modern name), was famously immortalised by Rudyard Kipling in the line, “By the old Moulmein pagoda lookin’ lazy at the sea….” Of course, the poem was actually called Mandalay, not Moulmein, and neither is the correct title the Road to Mandalay as many assume. Well, you can still sit by the old pagoda and look…