I've been on some tough journeys before, the kinds of trips that make you thankful to whatever being you pray to when they're finally over, and proud that you were courageous and bold enough to take them in the first place. On the road to Angkor Wat from Bangkok, my hired taxi came to an …
Continue reading Myanmar railroad: A bumpy ride to rebuilding
Myanmar is an old country with an old way of doing things. Only immaculate US dollars are accepted for exchange, a policy intended to combat counterfeiting (though likely ineffective). Movie stars are treated as royalty, for the words are synonymous (mintha means both 'prince' and 'movie star' in Burmese). Thousand-year-old temples are close enough to touch, and …
Win Khine was already 15 minutes late and his draft of Myanmar beer had begun to quickly warm in the steamy Yangon evening air. He had skipped out of work that day, apparently because his love for whiskey had once again taken hold. Despite best efforts to impress his boss, who Win Khine liked to affectionately …
When I first visited Myanmar in 2011, power cuts were frequent, ATMs were exasperatingly inaccessible for customers of non-domestic banks (forcing visitors to budget their entire trip ahead of time!) and SIM cards were, quite insanely, around the 500-dollar mark. At the time, Hillary Clinton was scheduled to arrive in the next two weeks, tasked …
Continue reading Myanmar 2 years on: Overseas banking and the telecom revolution
This video brings the minute details of Myanmar to life, as seen through the lens of a scratchy ant farm tank. The photographers, Little Big World, have shot in an assortment of other great countries and cities as well, such as Toy Thailand and Forbidden Little City. And you thought the world couldn't get any …
Justin Calderón 