The Making of Monks

In Myanmar, all boys have to experience “monk-hood” once or several times before they reach the age of 20.  In the course of a year, usually during the celebration of the Thingyan festival,… Continue reading →

Andaman Sea: Life on the Islands

February 2018:  A visit to the farthest islands in the Andaman Sea was the main and most memorable adventure of the month.  The farthest of the islands is at least six hours from… Continue reading →

Fields of Green

August 2017:  It’s probably my 5th visit to this region, the Southern Shan State of Myanmar, and yet I was still as excited as the first time I came.  There was something in… Continue reading →

Davao City’s Kadayawan Festival

Davao City is an independent highly-urbanized city on the island of Mindanao in the  Philippines, with a population of some 2 million people.  The city serves as the main trade, commerce, and industry hub of Mindanao and the regional center… Continue reading →

The Long-necked Kayan Women – A Surprise Encounter

A seemingly unearthly sight of a living human head ethereally suspended, almost separated, from the body by a pile of brass rings — a sight that I once naively thought could only belong… Continue reading →

Edible Bird’s Nests and the Swiftlets of Bokpyin

The Bokpyin I Knew The Thanintharyi Region is a long, narrow strip of land on the southern section of Myanmar that stretches out like a bent elongated arm trying desperately to catch the… Continue reading →

Portraits of Ngaputaw

My photography gear are set for two main purposes: landscapes and portraits.  The heavy 300mm lens installed in one of the two cameras I always carry around is mostly used for one purpose:… Continue reading →

Combing the Tide

I wrote of villagers of Haigyikyun and how the village men battle tide to catch a specific bounty from the sea: tiny shrimps (see The Fisherfolks of Haigyikyun).  In the course of the… Continue reading →

The Fisherfolks of Haigyikyun

Myanmar, December 2016:  Tucked at the southernmost tip of the Ayeyarwady Region of Myanmar, at the point where the mystic currents of the Andaman Sea meet the glorious tides of the Bay of… Continue reading →

The Women of Ywangan

Fate has so decided that they be born in a remote village of an obscure township called Ywangan. Situated in the hilly region of Southern Shan State in Myanmar, the place can be… Continue reading →