“Burmese Shadows,” a book by veteran Belgian photojournalist Thierry Falise that was first released in September, will soon be available in Burma, giving the country’s people a chance to see images that not so long ago would have been banned.

Spending more than 25 years covering Burma, Falise has traveled from big cities to war-torn ethnic states, meeting everyone from powerful political and military figures to ordinary people and rank-and-file rebels, witnessing and photographing human rights abuses across the country.

Sitting in a cozy cafe near Bogyoke Aung San Market in the heart of Rangoon earlier this month, Falise said that until very recently, he didn’t think he would ever see the day when people in Burma could openly discuss politics or sell t-shirts with images of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her father Gen Aung San.

Now all of that is commonplace, making it less surprising—yet still significant—that his own photographs are no longer hidden from public view in the country where they were taken.

Thailand

Random facts about a seemingly random land _ Thailand

On page 42 of Thailand At Random it says, in glorious black and white, that Thai taxi drivers are not allowed to refuse passengers. They are also forbidden from charging more than what's on the meter, taking unnecessary detours, dropping you in random locations and blaring horrendous Isan noise at you.

These facts may come as a shock to anyone who has ever hailed a taxi in Bangkok. This book may not be of much use in persuading a grouchy cabbie to take you where he doesn't want to go, but it will give you a smug sense of superiority. Knowing you're in the right can make you feel so much better when you're left standing at the side of the road in the pouring rain.

Thailand At Random is a 150-page text which lives up to its title, delivering snippets of information, lists of events, translations of anthems, ephemera and surprises for those who want to flick through and learn something. There are more than 250 entries, and 100-plus illustrations, on topics ranging from politics and prostitution, Buddhism and the bad luck associated with buffaloes, to severed penises and serial killers. It's a lot of fun. (Life staff writer Parisa Pichitmarn was a contributor and she assures us that it's a much livelier book than the Malaysian and Singaporean editions in the series.)

Indonesia

"Land, Livelihood, The Economy and The Environment in Indonesia Essays in Honour of Joan Hardjono"
Edited: Anne Booth, Chris Manning and Thee Kian Wie
Published: Yayasan Pustaka Obor Indonesia, Jakarta 2012

When I pick up a new book to read I first look for the pictures and have a quick peek at the index. So when I picked up this book I did the same. From my initial speedy flick through there was apparently no photograph of Dr Joan Hardjono, no index and worse of all for me the book fell open at a page that had all these statistical formulae that for me even today triggers nightmares harking back to university days the terrors of statistics, quantum mechanics and calculus.

Then I pondered it is pretty difficult to review 12 individual essays in honour of a person I know really nothing about and do them all justice let alone the subject matter of the essays. So last week I invited myself up to Bandung for a cup of coffee with Dr Hardjono and was, as well, kindly invited to stay for lunch.