Jill and Roy

We arrived in Cambodia easily and safely at the small city of Kratie. This was an enroute stop to Phnom Penh to make the long bus ride to Phenom Penh bearable. The small city of Kratie was a good transition to Cambodia which is far more fast moving than Lao. Our second day in Kratie, we rented a motorcycle and rode to temple ruins which we never found. We were not disappointed though because the motorcycle allowed us to explore the surrounding areas of a city that is not a big tourist attraction. During our few hours on the moto, we saw the rural living accommodation of the local Cambodians and were encountered by smiling faces and the waving of all the children playing off to the sides of the street. We also stopped at a ... read more

After a lovely train ride overnight night, we arrived at the Laos border in the morning and Vientiane (the capital city of Laos) shortly thereafter. Interesting information: Laos (pronounced Lao) was and is referred to by their people as Lao. At some point during France's colonization, the French understood the country to be Laos, which was incorrect but nontheless, officially recorded and, as a result, most of the world now recognizes the state as Laos. Lao is a slow moving place and sparsely populated. Upon our arrival in Vientiane, a big subject of conversation was where are the Laotians (I like this word - Laotians). We were also pleased to find that the Laotians were very kind and reserved people; very uncommon in Southeast Asia where most locals are more aggressive and "in your face". Since ... read more

Returning from Hsipaw, we stayed overnight in Mandalay (no Bay) before our boat ride to Bagan. We, of course, visited our favorite 'Chapati Stand' for a final dinner in Mandalay. The boat ride lasted approximately five hours down the Ayerwaddy River. The distance between Mandalay and Bagan is not actually far at all but the river is extremely shallow at many points. As if our boat wasn't slow enough, it needed to traverse (read: zigzag) from bank to bank for virtually the entire trip. Regardless, as the boat is only for tourists - we're probably the only people who could afford the $15 ticket - and there are hardly any tourists, the boat was empty outside of a handful of foreigners. It was a beautiful day and we were able to enjoy the riverside scenery and ... read more

We left Inle Lake earlier morning on the 10th on a minibus heading to Mandalay. What a disaster of a ride - it was hot and sweaty and I couldn't fit in the seat, no leg room. The aisle was full of bags so I couldn't stretch out sideways. This was not a fun ride. We arrived in Mandalay and it was dusty and steaming hot. The two French (from our bus) who had put their bags on the roof found that some items were missing from their bags; always have to keep your bags next to you. Jill was insistent on this. More importantly, I quickly realized that there was no bay in Mandalay. No water and definitely no bay. There is no Mandalay Bay (as in the huge casino in Vegas). This definitely occupied ... read more

We arrived in our van in Inle Lake, a small town in the mountainous Shan State bordering a lake, obviously. I was told that 'Inle' means lake in Myanmar. So basically Inle Lake is lake lake. We sadly said good-bye to our comfortable (relatively) vehicle and settled in to spend a few nights here; it was quite a few nights of one nighters on our ride up. Our first full day we hired a boat to take us on a tour of the lake and the surroundings. This was one of our favorite activities in Myanmar. We rented the boat for less than $2 per person for the full day. We visited a local market, Indien (a collection of old stupas) and several workshops (blacksmith and silk). Also, we stopped by the 'Jumping Cat' Monastary where ... read more