Gallery

Inside the Great Hall of Hsenwi Palace, Sao's childhood home.

Old Hsenwi Haw before it was destroyed in World War II.

A typical Shan market.

Women travelling by bullock cart, Shan State, 1994.

A royal barge, similar to the one the Saopha of Yawnghwe used for ceremonial occasions on Inle Lake.

Sao and friends at the Prince of Hsipaw's funeral in 1928. Sao is on the right, kneeling between two young children. Her sister Mary Josephine is on the left. Next to her is Princess Sao's school friend, Van Thip of Kengtung.

A street in Kalaw, the southern hill town where Sao attended convent school.

A typical colonial home in Maymyo, the northern hill town where Sao first went to school.

The 'New Haw' in Hsenwi, a modern replacement for the ancient teak palace.

Christ the King Church in Kalaw, where Sao and her classmates attended mass every Sunday.

A teenaged Sao on a visit home from school, sitting on a traditional divan.

St. Agnes's Convent, Kalaw, where Sao spent her teen years at boarding school.

Prince Hom Hpa of Hsenwi, the older brother who ruled Sao's early life.

Prince Hom Hpa of Hsenwi.

Sao's older brother, Sao Hom Pha, with his bride Sao Van Thip, Sao's best friend.

Sao on her wedding day.

Yawnghwe Haw, with its eight-tiered spire and dragon stairs.

Monks descending the Dragon Stairs after receiving alms at Yawnghwe palace.

Floating village, Inle Lake

Sao's husband, Sao Shwe Thaike, Saopha of Yawnghwe and Burma's first president.

Aung San and Sao Shwe Thaike signing the Panglong Agreement, 1947.

The Rangoon home of Aung San, first prime minister of Burma, who was assassinated.

The President's House in Rangoon.

Sao on a visit to London.

King Thibaw's throne in the Marble Hall of the President's House, a 'gift' from Lord Mountbatten.

A children's party in the Marble Hall of the President's House.

Sao and the children. From left to right, Ying, Harn, Tiger, Sao, Tzang, Myee. Seated: Leun, Haymar.

Tzang, Tiger and Daw Daw Bu, the comptroller's wife who entertained them with stories.

Sao on a visit to India, flanked by Nehru and Indira Ghandi, around 1950.

Sao entertaining state guests at the President's House.

Harn's ordination ceremony. Buddhist practice requires all boys to learn scripture and spend time as a novice.

Harn Yawnghwe, younger brother to Tiger and Tzang, at Yawnghwe Haw.

Harn Yawnghwe's ordination ceremony.

The Yawnghwe children playing at the President's House.

The family's home at 74 Kokine Road, Rangoon, abandoned when Sao and her children fled the country.

Sao Shwe Thaike with daughter Ying Sita and son Myee. Father and son both perished in the 1962 coup.

Tiger Yawnghwe in formal attire at the President's House.

A young Tzang Yawnghwe in formal Shan dress.

Sao's second-eldest son, Sao Tzang, as a rebel Shan State Army officer, addressing a village meeting in 1967.

Thai-Burma border. Gunfire between Thai Rangers and the Burma Army erupted moments after this photo was taken.

Sao Tzang and wife Nang Nu in rebel territory.

The entrance to Khun Sa's Ner Mone stronghold in 1990.

Young Mong Tai Army recruits and child soldiers, Shan State,1990.

The author interviewing Khun Sa, dubbed 'The Prince of Death' by US drug enforcement authorities, in 1990.

A mule team leaves Khun Sa's camp near Ner Mone, Shan State.

Olive Yang at age 64, in the back garden of her Rangoon home.

Tachilek residents survey the debris after an attack by Khun Sa's troops in 1994.

Sao in 1999, in Coquitlam, BC.