RANGOON — The publisher of a travelogue detailing four Burmese nationals’ trek up Mount Everest is hoping to make their tale the first e-book published in the Burmese script when it goes on sale through the iTunes Store early next year.
The book, “Journey to the Third Axis With the Third Eye,” will be available for purchase online in a digital format beginning in February, publisher Zin Min Swe told The Irrawaddy this week.
The four Mandalay-based businessmen, Zin Min Swe included, set off on their 19-day expedition to Nepal and Tibet in April 2011, documenting the experience in a 269-page book that includes both English- and Burmese-language texts and dozens of photographs.
Zin Min Swe, director of a construction firm in Mandalay, said he hoped the book would make both English and Burmese readers feel as though they have been transported to the exotic Himalayan locales they documented.
He was joined by Khin Maung Cho, Kyaw Lin Oo and Phyo Wai Aung on the expedition.
“As far as I’m aware, there were no Burmese travelers who had previously trekked the Mt. Everest region. We were pioneers, we stepped very close to the summit of Mt. Everest,” Zin Min Swe said.
He added that in the book offered a Burmese perspective on the breathtaking scenery and traditional lifestyles and customs of the people of Nepal and Tibetan China.
“I believe that we can be pioneers for those who want to get to the top of Mt. Everest and stake our Burmese national flag there in the future,” he said.
The bilingual book is printed in Thailand, and was released last year in Burma and on the international market. Local state broadcaster MRTV-4 has been periodically broadcasting a documentary of the four men’s journey since last year.
“There will also be short video clips included,” Zin Min Swe said of the e-book offering. “I expect that it will cost US$9.99.”
He said he hopes to return to Mt. Everest someday soon to attempt to reach the summit.
