Myanmar (Burma)

Travelling In Myanmar

Thailand Writers: Phil Thornton, author of Restless Souls

The second of Travelhappy’s Thailand Writer series. This week, Phil Thornton, author of Restless Souls, about the Karen of Burma and the uneasy border between Burma and Thailand (more…)

Shwedagon Pagoda At Night, Yangon, Burma

Every Friday, a new photo of amazing Asian people and places here on Travelhappy. This week: Burma’s holiest shrine, the Shwedagon Pagoda (more…)

Aid For Myanmar - Donate If You Can

If you’ve been watching the news, you can’t have failed to have heard about Cyclone Nargis which has killed at least 15,000 people in Myanmar this weekend and left hundreds of thousands homeless. The country was a mess before the cyclone hit thanks to the military junta, but now 5 provinces are a bona fide disaster area and it’s unlikely Burma’s military elite will be able to cope in helping its impoverised citizens. (more…)

Angkor, Bagan, Sukhothai: The Legacy

My article on the ancient Buddhist temples of Angkor, Bagan and Sukhothai, “The Legacy”, has just been published in Asian Geographic magazine. (more…)

Aung San Suu Kyi: Le Jasmine Ou La Lune

With current events in Myanmar moving towards a major confrontation between the military junta and the people, Thierry Falise’s French language biography of Aung San Suu Kyi is an important reminder of her role in the country’s hope for democracy to be restored (more…)

Aung San Suu Kyi: Perfect Hostage

As Myanmar’s military junta sentences Aung San Suu Kyi to another year of house arrest, the publication of her biography is an apt reminder of both her personal and political struggle (more…)

Mount Popa, Myanmar: Temple In The Sky

It’s like something out of Harry Potter: a gold spired monastery clinging to the top of Mount Popa, a craggy finger of rock towering 700 metres above the surrounding Myingyan Plain. (more…)

Dining Out With George Orwell In Burma

The New York Times recently ran a great article by Jane Perlez documenting her visit to Myanmar (formerly Burma) in search of the exotic foods described by George Orwell in his classic novel Burmese Days (more…)