Myanmar Adventurer

Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park

With just over 1,600 square kilometres of protected land, Alaungdaw Kathapa is Myanmar’s largest national park, encompassing the Reserved Forests of Patalon and Taungdwin. The park lies in Mingin Township, between the Chindwin River and the Myitta Valley, and it is truly isolated; in the rainy season the only way to get into the park is on the back of an elephant.

First created under the auspices of the British in 1941, Alaungdaw Kathapa was designated a national park in 1984, named for the Buddhist disciple Maha Kathapa. A large shrine to Kathapa sits right in the middle of the [...]

Tanintharyi diving

Millions of citizens in more northern climes naturally wish to vacation in exotic places that advertise sun, sand and sea sports. A great many of those sites are just as naturally overrun with sun-starved tourists and all the the inevitable development that comes with global popularity. Myanmar, or Burma as it may come to be known again, is one of the few places still out of the mainstream, though that situation is changing almost daily.

Htoo Trading Company, based in Phuket, Thailand has plans to open a vast untouched landscape to divers looking for that underwater Shangri La where very [...]

Shwedagon Pagoda video

Imagine, if you can, a golden shrine that has slowly grown in size over the past 2,500 years or so due to the loving application by countless hands of gold leaf and gems. This is the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon in the Golden Land of Burma, now known to much of the world as Myanmar. It is truly a wonder that must be seen to be believed.

Shwedagon Pagoda is definitely not just a tourist attraction; its chief visitors have long been the Buddhist faithful from all over the country who come to worship and pray. However a visitor of [...]

Chaungtha Beach

Anyone who has plans to visit Myanmar/Burma is probably aware of the changes taking place in that mysterious and isolated country. Doors are opening and travel agents everywhere are jockeying to get in on the expected surge of tourism. Though you’ve certainly heard of Ngpali, already something of a major tourist resort, so far there’s been little mention of Chaungtha Beach.

One reason for its exclusion from standard travel itineraries is the relative difficulty in getting there. The nearest ‘travel hub’ is Pathein, about 36km and three hot and bumpy hours away by bus. The alternative is an air-conditioned bus [...]

Sanctions lifted allowing Americans to invest in Myanmar

Last Thursday the United States lifted sanctions which were in place against Myanmar so that now people in the United States are free to invest in Myanmar.

Many lawmakers in the country have praised this decision however human rights activists have said that it is too early to make this call.

The United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has stated, “This announcement means that businesses in America will be free to trade with Myanmar. We encourage people to invest responsibly.”

The announcement was made by Clinton in Washington alongside the Foreign Minister from Myanmar, who has not visited the [...]

Aung San Suu Kyi set to make first appearance in Parliament

The leader of democracy in Myanmar is Aung San Suu Kyi and she is going to be making her first appearance in the country’s parliament this Wednesday.

She has been fighting the military dictatorship in the country for over 20 years and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts.

She is now in her mid-60s and is going to be taking the oath at the parliament before she can start serving. She is going to be working very hard to help the country transition from a military dictatorship into a democracy, which is going to be a particularly [...]

Yangon hotel rates soar due to new demand

Burma hotel rates have continued to increase over the past couple of months as a result of the many economic and political reforms that have swept through the country enticing many tourists and investors to flock towards capital city Yangon. Most economists are afraid that the increase in rates may be a sign of inflation as the Burma economy continues to become more tied into the economy of the outside world and global climate.

At the moment, only a few Yangon hotels cater to international business travellers due to the fact that Burma has had a small appeal to investors [...]

Australia join growing list of countries to lift Myanmar sanctions

Australia is beginning to lift some of its Myanmar sanctions as Canberra politicians lean towards working with other leaders to help figure out a positive way to move the Asian nation into democracy. The decision to lift sanctions comes two weeks following the Myanmar sanctions that led to two opposition wins.

The US also chose to lift a few of its travel and financial restrictions on Myanmar following the vote. The sanctions placed on the country by the United States are some of the most comprehensive as they restricted both investment and travel into the country. Observers of the move [...]

Burma or Myanmar

When Rudyard Kipling wrote about Burma from his experience as a British soldier in the 1890′s he mentioned sunshine and palm trees and temple bells, amongst many other charms.

Back in London after his sojourn in the exotic East, he bemoaned the soggy ‘English drizzle’ compared to his memories of ‘a cleaner, greener land’.

Today there are travel agencies quoting his poetry in their advertisements, and they are not exaggerating – but this is a new development. For the past 50 years or so Burma, now commonly known as Myanmar, has been very much out of the loop as far [...]

Myanmar Responsible Tourism

Myanmar has been in the news across the world quite a lot lately; the former British colony of Burma whose beauties were immortalised for many in the familiar poetry of Rudyard Kipling seems on the verge of re-entering the international community.

By now, most of the Western world has been reminded of both the undeniable attraction and the equally undeniable dichotomy that has existed for decades and still exists in this legendary land.

To vastly oversimplify for the sake of a short article, Burma, arbitrarily re-named Myanmar by the military government back in 1989, has been under the control of [...]