The Moken were the nomads of the Andaman Sea until they were forced to settle on land. Now, some Moken risk losing their fishing waters to pearl farms By HEIN THAR and BEN DUNANT | FRONTIER KO BABU stands on the sandy shore of Langan Island, watching the slowly moving boats. His workers, in small […]
Cruise ship arrives in Mergui
March 5, 2019 by
The ‘last island paradise’ of the Mergui Archipelago, straddling Myanmar and Thailand, has been in the spotlight with a high-level inspection and a day visit by a large super-cruise ship last week. The group of over 800 islands, for decades dubbed ‘the forbidden islands’ following its closure to all by the Burmese military junta since […]
Myanmar, Thai universities to ink MoU for cooperation Posted
December 13, 2018 by
The universities of Myanmar and Thailand plan to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the education sector very soon, according to Myeik University. Myanmar’s Myeik University and Thailand’s Phetchaburi Rajabhat University will ink the MoU during the last week of January and the first week of February, 2019. The MoU will include […]
China port pact in focus as President visits Myanmar
December 11, 2018 by
President Ram Nath Kovind’s first visit to Myanmar starting on Monday will be an occasion to build upon the strong bilateral relationship with India’s biggest link with the Asean region. However, with Myanmar signing the Kyaukpyu port project with China in November, officials in India are concerned that this port could become a greater security […]
New dawn for remote Andaman Sea island tourism
November 14, 2018 by
Few have heard of the Mergui Archipelago, and even fewer have managed to visit the 400km string of scattered islands in the Bay of Bengal’s Andaman Sea. Most of the 800 offshore islands are uninhabited, apart from a few seasonal settlements of the seafaring nomadic Moken, and some Burmese fishing villages The jungle-clad limestone and […]
Myanmar’s eco-resorts open up Asia’s new tourism frontier
June 6, 2018 by
KAWTHAUNG, Myanmar — A few hours boat ride from the port of Kawthaung, a school of dolphins nudged up to our 30-meter wooden junk. As the captain cut the engine, their silver backs heaved in and out of view; all else was still. Behind us, the Tanintharyi coastline — Myanmar’s skinny southern tail, fringing the […]
Work on Myanmar dam goes on under heavy guard
May 18, 2018 by
Work on a massive hydropower dam appears to be picking up in eastern Myanmar as the electricity-starved nation seeks ways to light more homes amid protests from locals and environmentalists. Locals say employees of a Chinese state-owned power firm in Shan state have been working under heavy guard at the Mong Ton Hydropower project along […]
Visitors damage coral reefs on Cocks Comb
May 15, 2018 by
Ninety percent of the coral reefs on a famous island, Cocks Comb have been damaged by the uncontrolled influx of visitors during the past two years, U Phyo Wai Yarzar, advisor of the Myanmar Tourism Marketing Association told The Myanmar Times on Wednesday. adCocks Comb Island is just off the coast of Kawthaung and part […]
Mergui: Paradise about to be lost?
December 8, 2017 by
MYEIK, Myanmar, 1 December 2017: Regarded as one of the last island paradises left on Earth, Mergui Archipelago is fast becoming one of the most sought-after new destinations in Asia. Currently lacking any significant tourism infrastructure, the formerly off-limits region in the Andaman Sea only opened to pioneer tourism in 1997 after half a century […]
