MYANMAR

cultural guide

An isolated and remote country, unspoiled by mass tourism, Myanmar aka Burma is for the curious traveller, not the average tourist. Odyssey's latest handbook takes readers to the most famous cities and sites as well as beaches and mountains. Travel the great Ayeyarwady River to Kipling's Mandalay, the last of Burma's royal capitals, and explore the exotic Inle Lake whose inhabitants live on floating islands overgrown with flowers and lush vegetation. And, of course, meet the people of this richly varied land, from the northern hill tribes to the amiable Burmans themselves. Myanmar: Burma in Style intelligently evokes the magic and the mystery of what was once by some reckoning the richest nation in Asia.

This is not simply a travel guidebook. It is an illustrated account of the history, politics and culture of the people and the country. It includes literary excerpts and recommended reading as well as an introduction to the essential sites. A sixteen-page atlas together with three special photo-essays supplement the richly illustrated text.

Caroline Courtauld is a writer-photographer and a film-maker specialising in Burmese and Chinese history. Her publications have focused on Asian travel, history and culture, including In Search of Burma, and guides to Fujian, Jiangsu and Hong Kong. Together with May Holdsworth, she wrote The Hong Kong Story, covering the history of the former colony, and The Forbidden City. A resident of Hong Kong and Essex, England, Courtauld is former chairman of the Keswick Foundation. In 2009 she was the Managing Editor and an author of the history of the Foundation, Friendship First - the First Thirty Years. Courtauld has been a leading figure in the hospice care movement in Hong Kong (for which she was awarded an MBE) and now sits on a variety of NGO boards.