Myanmar (formerly Burma)

A search for information about Myanmar, formerly Burma, on the web yields hundreds of results, many of them of questionable quality. The information below has been carefully selected and includes summaries so that you can concentrate on just the information you want.

Photos and travel comments from a 1987 trip to Myanmar (then Burma).
It's an interesting and well illustrated account and revealing even though it is now out of date. Certainly it gives a flavour on the character and culture of the people and the photographs are excellent.
Well worth visiting if you have any interest in Myanmar (Burma), yoiu will find the site on Burma - Photos

An official site from the Myanmar government and therefore gives you their public view of the country. There are excellent sections on:

Entertainment
Places
People
Arts & Literature
Lifestyle
Religion
Travel

The section on Arts and Literature is full of fascinating stuff, well written and well illustrated. The Travel section gives a good summary of teh key facts about the 15 regions of the country.
As a source of cultural and travel information this an excellent resource and can be found on www.myanmar.com

More than 590 high quality photographs of Burma (Myan,ar), especially temples and statues! No story line nor text about the trip, but a stunning visual presentation of Burma´s religious symbolism and elegant architecture. This excellent resource was created by Henk de Jong and his Burmese wife on their many trips to the country. Make a visit now to: Burma - Photo Gallery.

A completely different view of Myanmar, from the BBC. Human rights abuses, suppression of dissent, absolute power, these are the aspects of Myanmar emphasized in the BBC Country Profile. As alweays, it's important to hear all sides of the story before making any judgements and the BBC view contrasts nicely with the official Myanmar site reviewed above.
Personally, I have not visited Myanmar and I haven't spoken to any people from that country, so all I can do is provide you with links to the various resources and encourage you to make your own judgements as to the political system and it desirability or otherwise. Or maybe you prefer to leave politics to the politicians and concentrate on the people, thier culture and the beauty of the country's natural resources.
But for this contrasting view, see BBC Profile of Myanmar (Burma)

My free newsletter on South East Asia devoted an issue to Myanmar, so more information and links to more resources can be found there. The newslñetter is free to subscribers but you don't need to be a subscriber to read back issues. The issue on Myanmar can be found here: Newsletter - Myanmar issue.

There are many good books on Myanmar but most user reviews seem to agree that the best is the Insight Guide Burma/Myanmar. For a wide range of other books on Myanmar click here.

For more information on Myanmar you will find another source on the ConnectedGlobe Myanmar page which will guide you through some of the most useful web sites available.