travellin adeline

Here it is everyone - the long awaited Adeline take on her travels in Myanmar. First the places I have been: Yangon Bago (Golden Rock) Inle Lake Mandalay Irrawaddy River Bagan. Myanmar isn't the easiest country to travel in. It's huge and the major cities are much too far apart. But I believe I've taken every mode of transportation available from planes, trains and automobiles to trishaws, bicycles, boats and horse carts. There is way too much to say about this country with such a tumultous political history. The present military dictatorship has been in power for the past few decades and there is a palable feeling of unease amongst local residents. That said, people have adapted very well and really welcome tourism. The people here are amazing. I especially apperciate ... read more

As soon as the bus pulled into Hue I knew I would like it more than Hanoi. It's smaller and less busy. The former capital of one of Vietnam's dynesties, the old town is built around the old Imperial Palace. It's a very pretty city. But most memorable for me was that I finally got the opportunity to hang out with Vietnamese people. The second day we were there it started raining so we couldn't go check out the royal tombs as we had planned to. Instead we decided to make it an internet morning - thinking that if the rain didn't stop it would be a wasted day. However, it turned out to be the most interesting day I've spent in Vietnam. I left Vincent alone for a few moments and he gets picked up ... read more

I've discovered that people like me have a name and it's Viet Kieu. Basically it refers to overseas Vietnamese people who left legally (i.e. not on a boat- I'm not a F.O.B no matter what Herman says!). In my case I'm the descendent of. People here are under the assumption that we have a lot of money, and we do in comparasion but then again the Vietnamese also have another term for people like me which literally translate into "Cheap foreigner witha backpack." I can't get any respect here! No, actually the locales treat me quite well here. Although, they have a hard time understanding why I don't speak Vietnamese. It's funny cuz my comprehension skills (if not my speaking skills) are improving vastly and it's fun to listen to people taking about me. I'm currently ... read more

After all that, we finally arrived in Phonsavan (of Plains of Jars fame) with frayed nerves and a lovely Aussie gent in tow. Let's call him dodgy Uncle Steve (note: *contrary to his nickname, Steve is a very accomplished fellow who speaks half a dozen languages (including Vietnamese better than I can) and is currently working for an NGO in Cambodia that deals with such hot topics as landmine removal, aids education and water conservation). I can't really say that the Plains or the Jars contained within were all that spectacular. Historically, they're interesting enough. Jar experts speculate that they were used for ancient cremation rituals. Being the irreverent, godless person I am I naturally took the opportunity to jump into one of them. I instantly felt quite melancholy and jaded about being a young woman ... read more