marguie

Sat Jan 12 2013 Last full day at Ngapali Beach. It' s surprising how many adventures we can experience at a beach where "there's really nothing to do"!Today we walked along beach toward south. When we came to the spot where the river meets the sea, we thought we could just wade across, but it was deeper and faster moving than we first thought. Sure enough, a boy came along in a small boat and for a couple hundred KT he poled us across; then we carried on walking along beach. Had pleasant lunch at a basic eatery on the beach, then rode Motorola-taxi back (like a motorcycle with a large cab attached). We crowded in with about 4 other passengers, along with a large basket of fish and shells to stink up cab!Nap. Talked with ... read more

Thur jan 10 2013 Biked today to town of Thandwe - 1 hour! Had decent lunch of fried rice with pork/chicken and vegetables in a very basic eatery where we were the only foreigners. Instead of facing the long ride home, R negociated with pedicab driver, who then strapped our bikes to the sides of the truck and we rode home in 15 min! Naps have become a daily routine, especially at restful spots like Ngapali Beach. Tonight we walked 45 min to a restaurant called Moonlight, that R had read about. Good cocktails: rum sour and gin sour, both with lots of lime and orange. dinner good. R had king prawns; I had pork satay. Waitress who looked about 12, is chef's sister. Served us complimentary dessert of flaming plantain banana- not like our sweet ... read more

Mon Jan 7 2013 This is our last full day in Yangon--not a favourite city for me. Very poor infrastructure (buildings, roads, sidewalks are in great disrepair. Garbage collection poor. ) On the bright side, people are very sweet and helpful. Great coffee and ok breakfast at Zawgyi coffee house just near hotel. Off to change money.. Got good exchange 890 as opposed to 800-820 at hotels. But felt like drug deal - done on sidewalk sitting on baby stools on a bridge-3 guys. They count, we count. Fortunately R checked that they had 5,000 kjat notes because we were getting close to 100,000 kjat. Then they complained that we didn't have any $100 bills, just $50s (crisp though). Home to deposit money in safe then back to Ruby Mart shopping centre to buy wine. I ... read more

Sat Jan 5 2013 Set out to arrange our flights from Thandwe to Bagan next week. We had not been able to finalize them by email or online. Had a strange experience in a travel agency which led us to believe that we knew more than they did about the proposed trip. When the agent said we couldn't fly from Thandwe to Bagan-- we'd have to take a private car, we almost laughed. The distance is about 350km as the crow flies. Taxi, anyone? We said our good-byes and walked to another agency where we were successful in getting our tickets issued. Cab to Swedagon Paya. Large, golden most holy Buddhist site inYangon. Rather overwhelming with all its gold and ornate buildings, statues, artwork.To Monsoon restaurant, but full. To Chinatown where we had so-so meal on ... read more

Fri Jan 4 2013 Up very early (4.20) to catch 7.15 flight Taipei to Yangon - 4 hr+ duration; 1 1/2 hr time diff. Lots of room on 737. Cab to Clover City Center Hotel. Hot 34 degrees. Clean spartan and very small room. Nap. Went out to change money. Found 3 different rates: 800kt=1$, 820, (hotels) 880 (man on street). Took latter. Hilarious procedure: he walks us to "office" which is kiosk against building run by 3 men. They have bundles of 100- 1000kt notes. R asks for $250USD worth. They want to change more. - 220,000kt. R counts out each stack. Then when he produces 5 crisp $50 US bills, they want $100s. R insists- dont have anything else. Has to give them 3,000kt back (about $3.50). Done. I put the huge wad of ... read more

Thur Jan 3 2013 Breakfast: I have been enjoying some unusual items in our hotel's all-you-can-eat buffet. I have decided to not eat wheat for awhile, so appreciate some interesting alternatives: Congee (rice porridge), sweet bean soups, dried fruits, peanuts and pumpkin seeds. Took HSR (High Speed Rail) to Zuoying at south end of Taiwan. Lucked out at ticket kiosk when I asked for seniors rate--50% off! Moral of the story: do ask! Reserved seats cost about an additional $1.50CAD. State of the art train with cleanest restroom I've ever seen on a train or plane! Speed went as high as 295 kph-- very smooth ride. Took MRT to Kaohsiung where we walked around and had simple lunch at outdoor food place. No English, but another customer helped to translate. On return trip, got an even ... read more

Wed Jan 2 2013 Taipei very clean and orderly. People very correct, polite, and helpful. In restaurant, packaged hand wipe at place. When we didn't use them, waiter handed them to us to use. People pass items (paper, documents,food etc) using 2 hands. Pedestrians crossing street are respected. Traffic lights indicate countdown times (green lights as well as red lights) as high as 70 seconds. Nice to know how long you have to cross or to wait. Masks: it seems as if about 5% of Taiwanese wear masks, young and old. We were told that it is a courtesy to wear a mask if you are contagious to protect others, or if you are concerned about pollution to protect yourself. Metro (MRT) efficient and cheap (20-30 NT$) depending on distance. Trains very long - 10 cars? ... read more

Our first stop on our 36 day journey. Flight from Vancouver was long (13 1/2 hours), with the addition of several crying babies (not ours thank goodness). If you choose to fly from North America westward to Asia, leaving late on December 30 or early on December 31, know that you will miss New Year's Eve, due to crossing the International Dateline. (No champagne on board our flight, either!). We had decided to spend several days here to readjust and visit this new-to-us-country. Unfortunately, our first day has been cool and rainy-- much like Vancouver just now! When we passed the main square at about 6.30 am there were hundreds of people welcoming in the New Year. Our hotel (Hotel 73 on Xin Yi Road close to the Dongmen MRT Station) was helpful in getting our ... read more

Watch prices for breakfast in Paris. We found a chain Brioche Doree pretty good. Breakfast menu of coffee, bread/jam or pastry for 3.20 euros as opposed to 9 euros at hotel and 9+ euros in cafes. Bought sandwiches and some fruit at street markets to take on train. Braved the trip to Gard du Nord by bus which I had researched. Saved about €25. Only hitch was that I couldn't get the handle on my large case to extend. Pulled it by strap, but couldn't piggyback 2nd case. At the Gare du Nord, pandemonium at check in. As usual, poor communication and dearth of staff to ask for help. Lots of up and down, no carts, etc. Got through all the line-ups and found our coach and seats just in time. Wonderful trip; fast, and smooth. ... read more

The Louvre is crowded no matter when you visit it. Just go with the flow and enjoy the experience. Here is how I like to visit the Louvre: Ignore all the noise and confusion. Just get into line and get your tickets. I decided to go straight to the 2nd floor because most people start on main floor and work their way up. So, the chances are that the 2nd floor won't be very crowded. Even after visiting the Louvre many times, I still took the escalator, then the wrong elevator (down only) then climbed 124 steps to 2nd floor, then saw the elevator I could have taken! All this after asking 3 different staff members who all said vague things like "a gauche" and pointed. Oh well, I'm here... So, on the 2nd ... read more