Pyin Oo Lwin - Hsipaw - Kyaukme - Inle Lake (Nyuangshwe) The railway employee's uniform - green knitted jumper complete with knitted train didn't scare me, rather it was the very young soldier with a very large gun that put me off taking photos.... It's no big surprise in Burma that trains move at a remarkably slow speed. That doesn't stop a few middle aged tourists making a special journey to travel over the impressive Gotkiet Viaduck somewhere between Pyin Oo Lwin & Hsipaw. The train crawls over the viaduct as the land falls away beneath, opening up to a massive [View Full Entry]

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Mandalay At midnight on 7th January 1996 comedians Par Par Lay and Lu Zaw were arrested and locked away for telling this joke: "You used to call a thief a thief, now you call them a government worker" The Moustache Brothers are fast becoming one of the most popular 'sights' in Mandalay. You have to expect that when you're family includes two ex political prisoners, has had it's cause taken up by Amnesty International & has been featured on the BBC a few times. Lu Maw, the brother that avoided jail time & that speaks most English, is an incredible character, [View Full Entry]

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Bagan - Monywa Little did we know when setting off to explore a couple more of the four thousand or so temples of Bagan, that a few hours later we'd be backstage meeting the stars at a 'pwe' - a pagoda (temple) festival. Our self appointed guide, who was all of 15 years old was thrilled to be the one who had brought these exotic foreigners with cameras back behind the scenes, to the place where the travelling performers live, sleep & metamorphasize into all manner of characters once on stage. Despite the cool weather, we'd chosen this time of year [View Full Entry]

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Rangoon/Yangon It's not quite what you expect in a country where the people's kindness & generosity is second to none, but Burma is a land full of contradictions. A few days before leaving this stunning country, one of our student friends remarked that despised leader of the military government, Than Shwe, had recently been in Singapore undergoing treatment for what is believed to be cancer. Although misinformation is normal in Burma, it's widely hoped that this was true, & you can bet that just about every member of the population, no matter how kind & how dedicated to Buddhism th [View Full Entry]

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Siem Reap - Kompong Cham - Kratie - Ban lung (Ratanakiri) - Kratie - Phnom Penh - Kampot - Sihanoukville - Bangkok - Kanchanaburi - Bangkok The first time I tried to travel to Ratanakiri in 1999 I was warned that I had a one in ten chance of getting shot. I also found that no one really knew how to get there. For seven years now it has been a goal of mine to reach Ratanakiri. Knowing it would be a three or so day journey each way, knowing that it would involve some pretty bad roads, & knowing that [View Full Entry]

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Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) Sunrise at Angkor Wat; Our moto driver said we had to leave the guest house at 4.30am. It seemed a little early, but he does this almost every day so should know what time the sun comes up. We've seen a few sunrises over the past few months, but I never remember having to set off this early. It's now just before 5am & we've made it to Angkor Wat. We're trying to navigate our way along the long path from the main entrance to a point where we know there will be a perfect view of [View Full Entry]

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Saigon - Phnom Penh - Pursat - Battambang - Siem Reap - Anlong Veng - Siem Reap There's a new scam as you cross the border into Cambodia. It starts with a health declaration form, which is common in many countries. It asks things like 'do you have diarrhoea?' & 'have you had a cold lately?' Of course almost everyone lies, because otherwise you wouldn't be allowed in. I chose not to mention that I'd spent the first hour of the morning in the toilet & didn't mention that I'd blown my nose just minutes earlier. We handed over the forms [View Full Entry]

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Hanoi - China Beach - Hoi An - China Beach - Quy Nhon - Kon Tum - Saigon Hoa is a legend. He runs a small guest house near China Beach on the central Vietnamese coast. His wife Giao prepares a nightly feast for guests & is famous for her unique spring rolls. They are undoubtedly two of the friendliest people in Vietnam. Hoa's grasp of the English language is great, he's one of the few people that can say 'man' after every sentence & pull it off. Spend a few hours in his company & you too will be able [View Full Entry]

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Hanoi - Sapa - Lai Chau - Son La - Mai Chau - Hanoi We recently wanted to head off & explore the 'remote' northwest area of Vietnam. The region, which borders China & Laos, is known for its multitude of colourful minority groups & endless stunning scenery. Kylie, Amy, Amber & I hired a 4wd, a local driver & set off with a carefully planned route mapped out before us. There's a standard loop that people take, but just to be different we chose to do it backwards. The trip didn't turn out quite as any of us really expected. [View Full Entry]

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Hanoi - Hue - Hoi An - Hue - Hanoi I left you as we set off on a train south from Vietnamese capital Hanoi to Hue near the central coast. As is often the way, Kylie had attracted the resident 'drunk train passenger' who was sitting opposite us, trying to play footsie with her & falling all over the guy sat next to him. Luckily the guy disappeared somewhere in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. There seems to be two types of train in Vietnam; slow & extremely slow. The slow ones are at least [View Full Entry]

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