stickyrice

The motorbike wobbled protestingly as we involuntarily headed for the nearest tree. "Go faster!" said the exuberant bundle of ballast perched precariously behind me. At 82, my uncle was the oldest surviving member of my family and seemed keen to end his innings right there and then. "Not on my watch, uncle", I yelled back, wondering how I would explain this to my parents. Travelling through Laos, relatives I’ve never even heard of have emerged from the countryside like kangaroos at dusk. It was a most curious feeling meeting my uncle (a spitting image of my own father), and seeing how modest his lifestyle is in comparison to my own. After much jocularity, his wife convinced me to try eating frogs. My discomfort was exacerbated by the fact that the local specimens look very much like ... read more

It all began very much like a Bruce Lee film should. A late afternoon sun was emerging, doing its best to protest the wet season. On a rustic wooden ferry, I stood silently at the bow, watching the turbid waters of the Mekong River race the storm clouds that were fleeing in a southerly direction above. Between the river and the sky, the banks of Laos held defiantly still as our vessel struggled to maintain a steady course. Uniformed officers waited on the shore, mirroring my posture and my silence until at 1630 on 29 August 2005, I stepped on Lao land for the first time in 28 years. Let's just say that the past five days have been amazing. In which i justify the title... Luang Prabang, the former Royal Lao capital has to be ... read more

Our eyes met and the clouds parted. Like a choreographed dance, she moved towards me and I took a step back, our bodies in perfect unison. She reached for my breast but I turned away, not tonight. This one wasn't going to have me easily this night. A cry from the crowd and my gaze was averted. She stepped in and pinned the paper butterfly to my shirt "for good luck." "I give you present, now you give me present", she cried triumphantly, "500 kyat". Sighing, I picked up the soccerball and returned to the game... This is life in Myanmar, where people are still Beckham crazy. BAGAN is incredible. After Mandalay, I instantly felt calm and at home here, it's really pleasurable cycling around. It's hard to comprehend - over 2000 temples and stupas and ... read more

1. Enter on a schmick-looking Bangkok Airways flight carrying only 16 people. Look miffed given that one only has six rows to oneself. 2. Make disapproving tutt tutt noises at fellow travellers having visa issues and holding up the queue of two. 3. When accosted by touts and money changers, confound them by acting as an ambassador of goodwill, smiling and replying "yes, thank you, I've packed my white bikini". 4. In the process, fail to notice worried-looking Burmese driver holding up sign with one's name on it. 5. Walk daintily past sweating taxi drivers gesticulating in rusting Datsun taxis and step into waiting 4WD whilst one's (friend's) driver struggles with one's backpack and tripod. 6. Driven to friend's three story house where one is given a room the size of shipping container (complete with ensuite ... read more