A Letter to our readers

Dear Readers,

The monsoon is finally here; and when the rains come down what is cosy than to relax with a good magazine ?

With this in mind the Editorial Board of Enchanting Myanmar has selected a variety of articles to make you happy on a rainy day.

The cover story is about a husband's love for his wife. The Chin people has a special ceremony to honour their wives called Khaung Cawi.This ceremony has not been held for some years and we were most fortunate to be invited to one. Naturally our wives came along!

Another interesting article is on the sea gypsies, who live on caravans of boats in the Myeik Archipelago. Items of their daily use and worship, as well as the boats, are shown with a brief description of their lives.

Bago was once a powerful capital during the 15th century Hanthawaddy period. Some foreigners who saw this kingdom has written of the magnificience of the city and King Bayint Naung's Kambawza Thadi Palace, "Once Upon A Time In Bago " is a brief account of the Hanthawaddy dynasty. The history of some sights around Bago are little known to most visitors; we hope our article wil be of use to the those who want a more in-depth story.

Hand-rolled cheroots are unique to Myanmar and one of the first Westerners to record it was Kipling who immortalised in verse a girl smoking "a whacking big cheroot". Cheroots manufacturing is described in a photo essay in this issue.

So readers, take up a copy of Enchanting Myanmar, settle in a comfortable chair and enjoy!

Editorial Board