Kin Thida Oung

The Road from Mandalay Kin Thida Oung

Born in 1926 in Mandalay, Kin Thida Oung witnessed the denouement of the British colonial era when her grandfathers, Sir Maung Kin and U May Oung, played leading roles. Kin Thida's accounts vividly portray significant parts of Myanmar history: the Japanese Occupation and pre-Independence events including the investigation by her father, Major General Tun Hla Oung, of the assassination of Bogyoke Aung San. Her memoir enters the international realm as she and her family leave their country in 1967 after the military coup. She experienced momentous events including the overthrow of Shah of Iran and Indonesia's President Soeharto. Her historical accounts of the tumultuous times she lived through are paralleled by upheavals in her personal life from her childhood experience of her parents' marriage and her own marriage. Her life story - on the Road from Mandalay - is unique, traversing through Thailand, Iran, Sudan, India, Indonesia, Namibia, Barbados and the US.