In a 2002 article, Steven Martin traveled to George Orwell’s Burma.
I first read 'Burmese Days' on the night train between Rangoon and Mandalay in 1997. Once I finished the book, I returned to the preface and began reading it over again. Since then, the novel has become one of those books I reach for when I have some spare minutes and crave an escape from work. Parting the pages and rereading a passage or two, I always notice some new detail or revel anew in one of Orwell's astonishingly timeless observations. When Orwell describes how 'a tuktoo clung to the wall, flat and motionless like a heraldic dragon,' I know exactly what he is talking about: as a writer living in northern Thailand, which shares much of the flora, fauna and culture of Upper Burma, I once shared a house with several of these ugly but harmless tropical geckos. It was tempting to think that something of what inspired Orwell to write 'Burmese Days' might still exist. History and politics have long kept Burma isolated and underdeveloped—was it possible that landmarks from Orwell's novel had survived to the present day? Would the locals have heard of him? These and other questions were on my mind when I applied for the visa in Bangkok that day. – from “Orwell’s Burma,” by Steven Martin, Time
Related Website
Burmese Days, by George Orwell -- Online Edition