Thannaka This is a yellow powder made from the bark of a tree and the women and children here in Burma put a yellow powder on their faces as a natural sun block. The women sometimes blot, sometimes swipe and sometimes make other patters on their cheeks and noses and sometimes forehead with it as well as they believe it also makes them more beautiful. They are right in most cases! It has grown on me and I think it looks fab.. Longyi The men wear Longyi here, which is a type of sarong, but unlike a sarong it is made [View Full Entry]

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Yangon, 28 & 29th November Royal Guesthouse, 7USD twin room with shared bathroom Arriving in Yangon airport I am shocked to land at a super cool, super new airport terminal with air conditioning cranked up to the MAAAAAXXXX. I was expecting an old bamboo shed, but as ever the Lonely Planet is either wrong or out of date! Reading through the web and LP, I am determined not to stay in the Motherland Inn Guesthouse, as everybody stays there and I believe it is best to spread the wealth to other places. I end up staying in the Motherland Inn Guesthouse... [View Full Entry]

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2 Names - Myanmar or Burma? The country was called 'Myanma' for centuries before the British arrived. During the British 'occupation' shall we say for about 100 years, the name was changed to 'Burma'. The majority ethnic group making up about 70% of the population is Bamar. The British being as they are, called them 'Burmese' instead and hence named the country Burma during their occupation. The military changed the name back to Myanmar in 1989 along with the names of many towns and streets which previously had English names. e.g. The capital 'Rangoon' was changed to it's previou [View Full Entry]

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18th Nov - 20th Nov... Mae Hong Song Johnnie Guesthouse single room shared bath 150Baht Pai->Mae Hong Song: 3 hours by bus, 70Baht - 120km Almost running away from Pai, as the place was a bit like an itch that I could not reach (Annoying!) - it exist solely for the purpose of tourism and I did not like that much... So on the 18th I jump on a bus from Pai to MHS at 11am after a long and winding road we get to MHS at 2pm. For the first time since I started travelling, I find it hard to [View Full Entry]

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HELLO PEEEPSSS! After an uneventful few days in Laung Prabang in the north of Laos, I decide to make a mad dash into Thailand. Before crossing the Laos Chapter, I must say that so far Laos was the best place I have been to. No kids chasing after you shouting "you buy braceleeeet siiirrr, ooooo----nlyyy one dolll-laaaaaaaa" Anyhow, I take a 15 hour bus from Luang Prabang to the border with Thailand on the 13th November and arrive at the Thai border on the morning of the 14th after another but-numbing journey... The bus stops in the middle of nowhere at [View Full Entry]

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Photos of Luang Prabang Hi ALL, I have now put up some photos of L.Prabang for you to google. Copy and paste these links: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=66265&l=35540&id=672660622 http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=66265&l=35540&id=672660622 [View Full Entry]

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7th - 8th November Vang Vieng. Viengvilay Guesthouse, en suite rm with fan 3USD Taking the local bus from Vientiane for 25,000Kip (About 2.50USD) the 160km takes about 5 hours as the bus can't do more than 30km/h as it is old and also the roads are edge-of-the cliff stuff winding through the mountains.... The bus station is on an old air strip referred to by the USA during the Vietnam Wat as Lima Site 27. As the war in Laos was secret, they never used the real names of the places. Referring to my Lonely P: from 1964 to 1973 [View Full Entry]

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Sabaideeeee! There was not much news from me for some time as I ditched my bag and camera for two weeks in Vientiane peeps and stayed away from everything touristy. Vientiane: 24th Oct - 7th Nov, Chiandamay Guesthouse, AC en-suite Room 7USD Festival I spend the first four days of my time wandering around along with the rest of the crowd on the banks of the Mekong River as all the festival activity is around there. At times, it's so crowded you can’t move. There are stalls selling all the local handicraft, clothes, shoes, noodles, barbecued meat, cds, dvds, films, [View Full Entry]

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Basics Laos Peoples Democratic Republic, though 'Democratic' is a loosely used term as the communist party is the only party... Population: 6.5million Landlocked between China, Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand Currency: Laos Kip. 1USD=9,500.00 Kip, though US Dollars and Thailand Baht are used most of the time!Capital: Vientiane, population of around 600,000 I think :))) Other major cities: Savannakhet, Pakse, Champasak, Luang Prabang BeerLao is the national drink and damn, it tastes good. Iced coffee with sweet condensed milk is also a favorite. There is something called LaoL [View Full Entry]

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...Kratie, Don Det, Pakse, Champasak, Savannakhet, Vientiane Hope you have missed me AT LEAST half as much as I missed you :) So being the self proclaimed Devarajah of the Roads, I continue to trailblaze through Cambodia and Laos and I'll pick up from where I left of last time: Phnom Penh! what aplace Cambodai was... Anyhoo, without making you feel any worse hee hee, the urge to keep moving hit me on the 17th October and I bought a bus ticket from Phnom Penh to Kratie in the north of Cambodia on the way to Laos. 17th October in Kratie [View Full Entry]

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