
Chief Executives Organization: Myanmar
A 9 day Myanmar trip covered for the Chief Executives Organization (www.ceo.org/)

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar State Counsellor, at a meeting with CEO members in the capital city Nay Pyi Taw on 20th February 2018.

Novitiation ceremony family
A young boy and his parents from Inle Lake walking into the monastery where the boy will become a novice monk.

Dala tuk tuk drivers
Tuk Tuk drivers from Dala, a poor district of Yangon, await their CEO passengers outside a Buddhist temple.

Novitiation ceremony robes
After his head has been shaved, each novice is dressed in red robes by a monk.

Ferry to Dala
A ferry is the quickest way to reach Dala, on the south side of the Yangon River. Seagulls are attracted to snacks sold by children and thrown to the birds by locals and tourists alike.

Balloons over Bagan
CEO members in a Balloons over Bagan (BOB) balloon over the 13th century temple complexes of Bagan.

Young Inle Lake fishing villager
A young Inle lake villager navigates his village in a traditional boat. Boats are the only way to move around in the fishing villages.

Valentines Day couples photos

Novitiation ceremony attire
The first stage of the novitiation ceremony is arriving in style - usually by horse, mule, cart, or in this case boat. The boys are extravagantly dressed, with elaborate, effeminate make-up.

Bagan chanting ceremony pagodas
Nestled on the bank of the Irrawaddy, this small pagoda complex in Bagan hosted a Buddhist chanting ceremony for CEO members.

Removing novitiation make-up

Stuck in Inle

Novice family member
A family member of one of the Inle novices, who arrived on the same boat bearing flowers.

Bagan landscape

Traditional paper-making
Here, the paper hand-crafted by a partner Shan tradesperson has flower petals added before it is dried.

Novitiation head-shaving
As part of the ceremony, each novice has their head ritually shaved by an elder monk.

Inside the Balloon
Inside Balloons over Inle (BOI)

Inle lake fisherman
FIshermen in Inle Lake traditionally row using a one-legged method, and use the pictured nets to capture fish. Sadly, this traditional practice is dying out in the face of technological advances and depletion of stocks.

Aerial view of Inle tomato farms

Inle children

Belmond Governor's Residence

Alms-giving ceremony
Alms-giving to monks is a familiar ritual for Myanmar people - at the start of 2018, 20000 monks converged on Shwedagon pagoda in Yangon for a giant version of what CEO members did here.

Removing novitiation make-up #2

Bagan pagoda interior
A CEO member inspects one of four Buddha statues inside a 13th century pagoda in Bagan.

Aerial Inle Lake boat

Bagan by horse-cart

Novice monk praying
A newly robed and shaved young boy praying for the first time as a novice monk.

Dancing at the novitiation ceremony

Long neck (Kayan) woman

Novitiation novices and monks

Belmond Road to Mandalay upper deck

Arriving at the novitiation ceremony

Bagan pagodas

Belmond guide

Bill Jones education talk
Education is a large part of CEO trips, with speakers both Myanmar and international addressing guests over the 9 days.

The new novices

Shan hills

CEO guest at Yangon Restaurant

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi group photo

Bagan chanting ceremony

CEO guests on Balloons over Inle

Novice monks

Balloons over Bagan

CEO guests meeting nuns on Pansodan St, Yangon

Inle fishing village

Dancers at Inle Novotel

CEO member questioning ASSK

Reclaimed land in Inle Lake
The fingers of land are artificial constructions that have eaten into the lake, with large paddy fields stretched between them.

Dancer on the Road to Mandalay

Monk lighting candles at the chanting ceremony

Balloons over Inle launch

Nyaung Shwe - Inle Lake canal

Alibaba games arcade, downtown Yangon

Sunset over the Road to Mandalay

CEO members at Balloons over Bagan

Downtown Yangon

Chanting ceremony candle lighting

Dragon boat rowers

Chinese new year dragon dancers

CEO guest and villagers

Inle floating tomato gardens

Lunch at Sharky's Bagan

Chinese new year performers

CEO Valentines Day

Yangon Telegraph Office

Navigating Inle Lake

Inside Ananda Temple, Bagan

CEO member greets Aung San Suu Kyi

Balloons over Bagan

Dragon boat racing

Bagan horsecart

Trishaw riders

Road to Mandalay deck

Long neck (kayan) grandmother

CEO guests at a rock and roll dinner

Traditional Myanmar dolls

Inflating Balloons over Inle

Monk praying at Shwedagon pagoda

Belmond Road to Mandalay

Bagan group photo

Shwedagon Pagoda

Inle Lake farmer

Trishaw driver

Aerial view of Ananda temple

Pedigree Burmese cat at Inle Heritage
Mi Su, the owner of Inle Heritage, has been leading a one-woman conservation effort on the Burmese breed of cats in Myanmar.

Sunrise over Bagan

Sule Pagoda, Yangon

Mandalay teak monastery lunch

CEO members

Learning to tie a longyi

Sharky's Bagan lunch

Relaxing at Inle Heritage

Inle long-tail boat
The traditional method of getting around the lake, each boat is beautifully hand-crafted.

Group trishaw ride

Gold leaf portrait 1

Gold leaf portrait 2

Gold leaf portrait 3

Shwedagon Pagoda walk

Fire performer at Novotel Inle Lake

Boarding an Elephant Bus

Inle lake grandmother

Sofaer & Co building, Yangon

Travelling to the alms donation

Bagan cycling tour

Kuthodaw Pagoda, Mandalay

Inle Lake grandson

Lower court building, Yangon

Inle Lake schoolchildren

CEO member giving alms

Thant Myint-U education talk
Grandson of UN Secretary general U-Thant and noted author of history books, most famously 'The River of Lost Footsteps'.

Harvesting weeds on Inle Lake

Applying thanaka
A root powdered into water and applied to the face, primarily by women and children. It is mainly used by the Bamar majority ethnic group.

Inle Lake children

CEO member

CEO doctor at the alms-giving ceremony

Applying thanaka at Kuthodaw Pagoda

Monks at the alms-giving ceremony

Trishaw rider

CEO members meet Aung San Suu Kyi

Ferrying from the Road to Mandalay

Independence Monument, Maha Bandula park, Yangon

Ananda Temple interior

CEO portrait at Inle Novotel

CEO member dancing

Bagan landscape couple portrait

Shwedagon Pagoda crowds

Candle lighting ceremony at Shwedagon pagoda

CEO members at the meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi

CEO members sunset cheers

































































































































