Blogs from Kawthaung, Southern Burma, Burma, Asia

Ming gu la ba ! Nous sommes maintenant en Birmanie (avec 30min de différence horaire en moins). Il n'a pas été facile de quitter Ko Tao, où malgré la sur-effervescence fatiguante de touristes, nous avons vraiment passé du bon temps. En snorkelling nous avons nagé au dessus de requins blancs et Quentin a vu une tortue ! Ce sport (oui, oui on était plein de courbatures et de bleus :) ) est vraiment une découverte excellente ! L'avant dernière soirée a également été superbe, Quentin a fait des bolas enflammées avec les thaïlandais qui font le spectacle tous les soirs aux touristes, et j'ai pu faire de la corde à sauter enflammée géante et du limbo enflammé. Super soirée qui s'est fini très tard à chanter sur la plage avec Coco... Avant hier nous sommes partis ... read more

When tourists arrive in Thailand they get a 30 day visa, and there are various ways to stay longer than this. We have nearly used up the 30 days, so took part in a 'visa run' which is when you pop to a neighbouring country for a few minutes/hours/days and then head back to the original country, simply to get another 30 day stamp. The nearest border to where we are at the moment happens to be Myanmar (or Burma). Our trip started the night before with ironing some money. No really. To get a day stamp to visit Myanmar you must pay the government 10 US dollars. Not just any old US Dollars, but brand spanking new, un-marked, fresh from the bank notes. Fortunately we were carrying a selection of notes so we ironed them ... read more

Day 274, 1st March Ranong - ferry to Kawthaung and back - Ranong Yes, This is a Memorablog! So don’t think the following info is still valid - check before you go. Anyway, the point is (back to 2002) that this is the beginning of the last month that us guys will be cycling together. Four weeks from now, hopefully, we will arrive in Singapore and I’ll be booking a flight to jet off and see Kathryn - all being well? Nine months have passed since England - how time goes on, regardless of what we try and do to alter that. We all get older, but the worst possible scenario for me would be to say in the future that I’d regretted doing something because I hadn’t had the time. Rory set off this morning ... read more

Every thirty days I have to make a Visa Run, where I have to find the nearest border of Thailand and exit the country, so I can turn around a get a new visa. The 3-hour drive up to Ranong, Thailand and then a 40 minute longtail boat ride across the strait and I'm in Burma. Once again. This time I met with my Burmese friend by accident as he was now dressed in an official uniform. He could legally waltz me around his shanty town and give me a tour. With me is Evelyn Rodriguez of San Jose, CA, a woman that survived the tsunami on the island of Ko Phi Phi. Also joining me is Travis Mitchell, the young man from Boulder, CO that overheard my conversation about returning to Thailand in a cafe ... read more