A young monk covers his head with saffron robes in Loi Tai Leng, Shan State.
This week on Coconuts TV we’ll be turning our lens on Myanmar.
In 2011, this long slumbering Southeast Asian giant of 60 million people dissolved the military junta that plundered and stunted economic growth since taking power in 1962. Loosening of press and travel restrictions followed, and today it’s possible to get a glimpse of local life in this former pariah state.
Myanmar – or Burma, as it was called under British colonial rule – was once the richest country in Southeast Asia, teeming with oil, rubies, and timber, but after decades of corruption and sequestration from the global economy the country is overwhelmingly poor.
With massive inflows of foreign investment, non-existent infrastructure, and minuscule mobile and internet penetration rates, the country is certain to change quickly and drastically.
Over the next week, we’ll release several videos exploring what life is like right now in rapidly changing Myanmar.
Watch our introductory Myanmar Week video below – a time-lapse of sunrise from Mandalay Hill, which has been a major pilgrimage site for Burmese Buddhists for nearly two centuries – and check the Coconuts TV Youtube channel for more videos from Myanmar all week.
