Myanmar

Behind the scenes of the gem traders milling around the pavements of Shwe Bon Than Road in downtown Yangon for a look into one of Southeast Asia’s most complex trades.

Zafar II – successor to Akbar II and the last Mughal Emperor – was laid to rest far from India, making his final resting place in a small basement at the shrine in Bahadur Shah Zafar Dargah.

Previously, the only way to see the Mergui Archipelago in anything approaching luxury was on a liveaboard, but Wa Ale and Awei Pila have changed the game in the Mergui Archipelago.

Myanmar riverboats have been traveling the Irawaddy since Burma’s colonial days, and these four are the premier luxury options for discerning travelers.

With over 800 islands over 12, 000 square kilometers, the Burma Banks and the Mergui Archipelago are on many divers’ bucket lists for the sharks, rays, fish, coral, and swim-throughs.

When Paul Theroux set out from his local stop on the London underground to the farthest reaches of Asia by rail, he would go on to write one of the greatest travelogues of the modern age. But Asia has changed.

Thomas Bird travels to Pyin Oo Lwin for horse-drawn carriages, colonial architecture, and a little England outside of Mandalay.

George Orwell’s extraordinary talent for understanding the human race was born from the streets and back alleys of British India and Myanmar; these Eastern lands informed one of the greatest literary minds of the Western world.

A trek through the Shan Hills of Myanmar leads to incredible scenery, historical perspective, and a deep, abiding understanding of the Palaung of Northern Myanmar.

Regular Myanmar travelers will be familiar with the Balloons over Bagan, and now there are Balloons over Loikaw, a much lesser traveled Burmese destination.

It’s Chinese, it’s Western, it’s filled with sordid stories – Chin Tsong Palace is one of the stranger sights to find in Yangon and well worth a quick stop.

Travelogues speaks with Lucia Eppisser – restaurateur, sommelier, and one half of the team that created the most romantic fine dining location on Yangon’s Inya Lake, SEEDS.