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Wedged between five Southeast Asian countries, this photographic
journey of Myanmar recalls a golden age
which emerged over one thousand years ago: monasteries with
crimson-robed monks, Mandalay's Buddhist scripture thought
to be the world's largest book, and the magnificent Shwedagon
Pagoda gilded in sheets of gold. Moved by its beauty,
Somerset Maugham's description, "like a sudden hope
in the dark night of the soul," is an apt allegory
for the country today. Another Englishman, George
Orwell, immortalized Burma in his novels
and you will see remnants of British colonialism in the
hill station town where he served, deep in exotic teakwood
forests.
The
irrepressible Irrawaddy River is the economic artery bisecting
Myanmar. Travel by boat on the picturesque
RV Pandaw and immerse yourself in the river culture, sharing
food and festivals with natives from the country’s 67 separate
ethnic groups.
On
Inle Lake where most swim before they walk and live in houses
on stilts, watch the Intha people compete in boat races,
rowing with their feet.
You
may ponder the future of this bewitching, fertile country
which can feed its own population and ask if Myanmar’s
authoritarian government will pull up a drawbridge to shield
its celebrated civilization from the world.
| "It's a bit like going there and
getting a great history lesson at the same time. I was
not prepared for the sort of adventures you have had
in these exotic places." |
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