Gadam

After a wonderful 15 hour journey that started at 4am and consisted of sitting on a plastic stool in the aisle (bus seats were booked out), we rolled into Inle Lake. On our way to the main town, we passed by beautiful rice paddies and scenic landscape with mountains looming in the background. On our first day, we hired out two bikes and went for a loop around Inle Lake, to look at all the small villages along the way. In this high-altitude area beholding a cooler climate (a great relief from Bagan's hellish heat), we had a pleasant day wandering and stopping to take pictures or saying hello to many of the locals. Afterwards, we cycled down to a monastery and checked out a lotus-lake and a giant Buddha. In search of another temple, we ... read more

While waiting for our Indian visa to get sorted, we decided to use the extra time to spend an overnight stay at the nearby small town of Bago. The main draw for visitors in this relatively rustic region is the dozens of unique temples and statues that are scattered in its small area. There are some old sites but there are also many newly built creations to set our eyes on. We arrived in the late afternoon, planning to use the following day to hire a tuk-tuk to explore them. However, on setting out for food, we were informed by helpful tuk-tuk drivers that if we were to go later that afternoon, we could see all the sights but avoid having to pay the heavy government fees that are lumped on them, since their counters close ... read more

After 6 months in Asia, although we found each country to be unique in their own ways, we were getting used to many aspects of life that seemed universal in this large region of the world. We got very excited about going to Myanmar (more commonly known as Burma) because it is still very traditional and has remained relatively tourist-free due to its isolation. Visiting the country is a politically-questionable thing to do since the country is run by an oppressive military dictatorship (also known as the 'Junta'), which illegally seized power after losing democratic elections. The Junta failed to relinquish control to National League for Democracy (NLD) and placed prolific NLD Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi in 1990 under house-arrest. Aung San Suu Kyi called for a tourism boycott to stop the dictatorship gaining income ... read more

As soon as we stepped off the bus in Luang Prabang, we knew that we were going to like this part of Northern Laos. The town has beautiful french colonial buildings and with two rivers streaming alongside the centre, it is very picturesque to go for a stroll along the river banks. There are a lot of pagodas in Luang Prabang and our favorite was Wat Thong which was very distinct from other temples that we have seen as it had mirror art on all sides of the building, which decipher local worship and a stunning reflective structure of an elephant. Saffron fills the streets as monks wandered through the town to collect alms and move from temple to temple. Like most of Laos, Luang Prabang has a laidback feel to it so we cycled along ... read more

From tranquil Vientiane, we went lively party town of Vang Vieng. Vang Vieng is a must-stop on the Banana Pancake Trail through Asia (Banana Pancake Trail is the route most travelers take through SE Asia - so named because you can always find banana pancake stalls catering to Western tastes). The main attraction in Vang Vieng is 'Tubing', which is where you hire a inner tube from town and then get dropped off 4 KM upstream. You simply lie back in the tube and gently float back to town. Along the way, you get pulled in (literally) to loads of riverside bars selling cheap booze (alongside other 'Happy' stuff). The bars have high trapeze swings over the river and zip lines that you can whizz down to the water. Something Adam really enjoyed. We lost track ... read more