Category: Myanmar (Burma)
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Amarapura: The U-Bein Bridge
Amarapura succeeded Inwa as the capital of Burma in 1783, supposedly according to the advice of the court astrologers. Today, it’s technically part of the city of Mandalay, but its leafy avenues and general small town vibe feels like a world away from the concrete structures and traffic-choked roads of the country’s cultural capital. While…
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Inwa: From Royal to Rural
Further south of Sagaing is Inwa, perhaps the most famous of Myanmar’s former royal capitals. The town was the country’s capital for six centuries before it was abandoned in 1839, following a series of earthquakes. It’s our next stop after Sagaing. With three of my companions from the hostel, we eat our lunch at a…
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Sagaing: Pagodas on a Hill
The hilltops of Sagaing, rising from the west bank of the Irrawady, are collectively one of the region’s most arresting sights. Countless whitewashed monasteries topped with golden spires are clustered in the area – structures that are remnants of an era when the country was in turmoil. Following the fall of the Bagan Empire in the 12th…
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Mandalay: Cultural Center
IT’S A HUMID WEDNESDAY EVENING and I’m chatting with Zimi, the daughter of comedian and political activist U Lu Maw. We are in front of their house in central Mandalay, where from the bench I’m sitting on, I can see various snippets of the colorful past of her father. Lu Maw is a member of the comedic…
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Bagan: Plain and Temples
IN BAGAN even a nondescript path off the main road can lead somewhere remarkable. That irresistible urge to see what’s around the bend, whether a famous large temple, or a cluster of unknown ones, is what makes exploring the area exciting. Here, riding a bicycle with Auie, the fellow solo traveler I met on a train in Yangon,…
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Inle Lake: By the Still Waters
I ARRIVE AT NYAUNGSHWE at seven the next day. It’s an overnight trip that took almost 12 hours, and the distance shows in how the town appears. Blame the elevation perhaps., but it feels a world away from the bustle of Yangon. Nyaungshwe is a town in Myanmar’s Shan State, most of which is situated on a hilly…
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Yangon: Vintage Myanmar
ON THE TAXI RIDE FROM THE AIRPORT, traffic slows down, almost grinding to a halt. Fields punctuated by palm trees are soon replaced by anonymous concrete buildings, between which are houses with corrugated roofs, and with storefronts in a script I don’t understand. There are countless of Buddhist temples as well, their gold spires glistening under…
The Tourist Gaze 