MARTIN WESTLAKE

Photographed “Bagan Bound,”

Fifteen years after his first visit to Myanmar, Jakartabased photographer Martin Westlake says he was thrilled to head back to the country and to cruise up the Irrawaddy River from Yangon to Bagan. “The advantage of traveling by boat is that it gave us access to towns and villages that are way off the beaten path. One morning I headed out before sunrise with a guide to shoot a wide view of the river at dawn from atop the ruins of an otherwise inaccessible 19th-century fort. Unfortunately, I became so engrossed with capturing the beautiful scene that I was oblivious to the boat’s klaxon and held up our departure. The captain was not pleased.”