President Barack Obama on November 12 will make his second visit to Myanmar to join the East Asia Summit in the nation's capital, Nay Pyi Daw. Following the APEC meetings in Beijing, the ASEAN-led summit will allow Obama and China's President Xi Jinping the chance to flex policy muscles in Southeast Asia, the core battleground for influence in the region. Obama's "pivot east" …
Continue reading Southeast Asia’s “Swing Nations”: Obama makes 2nd Myanmar visit
On a street stacked block by block with colonial British buildings, the Government Telegraph Office doesn’t instinctively stick out. Like so many of its neighbors, the façade is grimy and crumbling. There always seems to be a soft trickle of water flowing from exposed blue plumbing pipes, which water lively patches of ferns and moss …
Continue reading Myanmar’s telegram system buzzes on (The Diplomat)
In November, 2013, I set out to find a suitable apartment in Yangon. The below entry details some of my experiences in locating housing in a real estate market where serviced condos and office spaces are leased for higher rates than in Singapore.
I got into journalism because I get joy out of giving a voice to the voiceless. This past week, my latest feature for CNN did just that. In covering the Thut Ti Myanmar Traditional Lethwei Club in Yangon, I got to share personal perspectives of a centuries old martial arts from the stewards that love …
Continue reading Myanmar’s traditional form of boxing — Lethwei (CNN)
There is a village of thatched wooden and bamboo huts just outside a Monywa in northern Myanmar where even the richest family has nothing more than a dirt floor and rickety TV set. One household has spent years of savings on a large red and black Sony stereo system, but other that these electronic luxuries, wealth is …
Continue reading The world’s last great mobile revolution is about to begin
Justin Calderón 