Experiences12 March 2020 · 4 min read
The sunken stupas of Sagar
Two and a half hours south of Inle Lake, a forgotten corner of Shan State hides hundreds of crumbling stupas, half-drowned in the water.
The Journal
Stories from the golden land.
Three decades of field notes — the culture, the experiences and the small discoveries that make Myanmar the place we never tire of.
Experiences
Experiences5 February 2020 · 4 min read
The pirates of Syriam
Just across the river from Yangon lies Thanlyin — a town of Portuguese ruins, pirate graves and a 2,000-year-old island pagoda.
Culture20 January 2020 · 6 min read
Ten things to know about Buddhism in Myanmar
From dawn almsgiving to mythical guardian lions, a short primer on the beliefs and rituals that shape daily life across the country.
Cities8 January 2020 · 3 min read
Shwedagon, the winking wonder
Kipling called it 'a beautiful winking wonder that blazed in the sun'. Two and a half thousand years on, Shwedagon still stops you in your tracks.
Nature15 May 2019 · 5 min read
15 reasons to visit during the green season
Everyone comes in the cool, dry months. But May to July — Myanmar's lush, quiet 'green season' — might just be the best-kept secret in the calendar.
Experiences2 December 2019 · 4 min read
Bagan from above
As temple-climbing is phased out, the dawn balloon flight has become the way to take in the full, breathtaking sweep of Bagan.
Experiences18 November 2019 · 3 min read
Inle Lake, a bird's-eye view
Bagan isn't the only place to take to the skies. A balloon flight over Inle Lake is one of Myanmar's most rewarding — and least expected — experiences.
Cities30 October 2019 · 5 min read
Rangoon revisited
A walking day through Yangon's colonial heart — from the grand old Secretariat to the social enterprises bringing its faded buildings back to life.
Cities12 September 2019 · 3 min read
Life on the tracks
Yangon's century-old Circle Line train loops the city in three slow, sociable hours — and it's still the best window onto everyday life there is.
Nature20 August 2019 · 3 min read
Wild Burma: ballooning over Ngapali
Set up by the pilots who filmed the BBC's aerial jungle sequences, this balloon flight over Ngapali reaches a Myanmar fewer than one in a thousand travellers ever see.
Food & Drink5 July 2019 · 2 min read
An Irrawaddy sunset tipple
End a day in Bagan the way the river intends: drink in hand, engine off, the stupas turning gold as the sun drops behind the mountains.
Culture20 February 2018 · 3 min read
A century of Burmese photographers
Inside the old Secretariat, a remarkable exhibition reclaims more than a hundred years of Myanmar's photographic history — seen, at last, through local eyes.
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