Burma

Naypyidaw, An Unconventional Capital

In 2005, the military government of Burma (Myanmar) made one of its most curious moves yet when it gave its ministerial officials less than a day’s notice that they were to pack up and move to a new capital almost 400 km north of the old capital, Rangoon, under threat of arrest or imprisonment. The government had secretly been constructing a capital in the middle of the nowhere called Naypyidaw; a way for the government to escape the congestion and chaos of Rangoon in a purpose-built capital in which everything would be under their control. Naypyidaw covers a sprawling 4,800 km2 – that’s 78 times the size of Manhattan!

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Wednesday, 5th October 2011

Possible Nuclear Weapon Bunker in Burma?

Halfway up a Burmese mountain we find a large, blue, mysterious building, that appears to have been built right into the side of the mountain. What could such a building be designed to house, and why would it need to…

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Wednesday, 5th August 2009

Very Large Buddhas (Redux)

The world of gargantuan statuary has changed considerably since we published the original Very Large Buddhas post just over 3 years ago. The title of world’s largest statue is now held by the Spring Temple Buddha in Henan, China. The…

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Thursday, 16th July 2009

The Shwedagon Pagoda

This incredibly shiny building is the Shwedagon Pagoda, also known as the “Golden Pagoda” (for obvious reasons) and it is the most frequented religious site in Burma (officially the Union of Myanmar), as Buddhists believe it contains relics of the…

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Thursday, 14th August 2008

Insein Prison

Currently in the international spotlight is Burma’s Insein Prison where the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is believed to be held. The jail is pronounced as “Insane Prison”, which seems to be an appropriate name due to the inhumane…

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Tuesday, 25th September 2007

Welcome to Google Sightseeing

Google Sightseeing takes you on a tour of the world as seen from satellite, using the free Google Earth program, or Google Maps in your web browser. Our team of authors present weird and wonderful sights as suggested by readers.

Could you be one of our authors? We're looking for more freelance writers - please get in touch for more information.

Best of Google Sightseeing

Revisiting Area 51

Whether it’s space aliens, light-speed travelling spaceships, or just some top-secret government testing, the world’s most famous “secret place” has…

Population: One

Recently the town of Burford, Wyoming made the headlines when it was sold for $900,000, which isn’t a bad price…

The Morganza Spillway – Spring Flooding Special

The Morganza Spillway is a flood management system on the Mississippi River in Louisiana, intended to protect the cities of…

Lesotho: Kingdom in the Sky

Lesotho is one of the most unique countries on the planet. It’s the southernmost landlocked country, the largest country that’s entirely surrounded by another country, and the highest country on Earth. Yet, it doesn’t really show up on too many people’s radar. With the arrival of Google Street View imagery this month to Lesotho, it’s time to shed some light on the world’s largest enclave.

Rozenburg Wind Wall

The Netherlands is renowned for being a very flat1 and windy country. In the western town of Rozenburg the strong…

Portmeirion & The Prisoner

Portmeirion is a small resort village in North Wales famous for its Italianate architecture, and for being the setting for…

Recent Comments

  1. Mike: Yo dawg, I herd you like streetview, so we took a streetview picture of you on streetview.
  2. bob: if it was a dog then explain the casket laying open along the path. if you go to the actual map of this scene on...
  3. Sharon Klein: This tour guide about the Bikini Atoll Island reminds me of the advertisements for RX Drugs that you...
  4. Ken: Sorry for the grammar Nazism, but you can’t properly use the phrase “most unique.” Unique is...
  5. Tammo: Not entirely sure I agree with the notion that Lesotho is ‘the highest country on Earth’. For me...

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