In 1950, the great English travel writer Norman Lewis travelled throughout war-torn Burma. Against a backdrop of communist incursions and tribal insurrections he described a land of breathtaking natural beauty peopled by the gentle Burmese. This was a country where Buddhist beliefs spared even the rats, where the Director of the Prison quoted Chaucer, and where three-day theatrical shows were staged to celebrate a monk taking orders.

Almost sixty years later, I travelled through what is now Myanmar encountering a dilapidated country that seemed little changed from what Lewis described all those years ago. The country remains ravaged by years of internal conflict but the subtle religious codes and cultural variation appeared as strong as ever.

This book is the culmination of two months in-country travel, journeying from the Bay of Bengal in the northwest and the Shan mountains of the southeast. A collection of observational photographs providing insight into a fascinating place you will have heard much about but probably have seen very little.