Blogs from Burma, Asia - page 139

Start with a lazy morning filled with instant coffee, an early swim (with great attention being paid to whether or not anyone had recently used the bathrooms), and yet another one of Joy's fantastic breakfasts complete with all things fresh and tasty...and it only gets better from there! Around 10am or so, a few of us decided to go for a kayak - Di told us that there were some little coves and beaches that were worth exploring (not that we needed any persuading) so we were off. I paddled with Katie, followed by Jean, Steve, Shauna, and Warren. Before long, we came around the side of the island to discover that, although we thought we had been living in paradise, we were most gravely mistaken. Where WE had been staying was certainly a version of ... read more

I was fortunate enough yesterday to go to Rangoon for work - quick stop at the office in the morning, followed by sightseeing - Shwedagon Pagoda and Bojok Market - then a delicious lunch with my Burmese colleagues before flying back to Bangers. I didn't really expect Rangoon to be depressing, from reports I'd heard from friends who've been there. But it was so totally normal and quiet, which I didn't expect either. The streets were ordered, there were big green parks, nature strips next to pavements - nothing like Bangkok or Phnom Penh. What was particularly striking was the lack of motorcycles - since a General killed a motorcyclist a few years, while he was driving his big car, no motorbikes are allowed in Rangoon (except for the police and military) - clearly, it was ... read more

Our flight from Thailand was just over an hour and we passed over jungle, valleys filled with rice paddies, mountains and specular rivers before banking over the mouth of the Irrawaddy River and landing at Yangon (Rangoon) Airport. The country is controlled by a military junta so we were uncertain of what to expect, passing through immigration and customs was a slow process I paid a small bribe to avoid purchasing the mandatory 300USD, it seemed a good idea at the time but later I would regret this action. We took a taxi with a guy named Aung who took us on a city tour and helped us arrange bus tickets to Mandalay. The magnificent 99 metre Shwedagon Zedi Daw or Dragon Pagoda as it is also known was our first stop. The pagoda is said ... read more

trip to myanmar 1997... read more

It was a satisfying final night in Bangkok, sleeping in air-conditioning, and reinforced by a steaming hot shower in the morning. I took a final trip down to the Thai Airways office in the morning to finalise my claim. They agreed to pay me in compensation a lump sum of USD400, which while it may have been a true reflection of the value of the contents lost, was in fact far in excess of the inconvenience caused, so I was extremely happy with the outcome. Instead of lugging a suitcase around Asia, I had settled for a smaller, much lighter knapsack, and gone were all the ‘smart casual’ clothes I was never going to wear anyway. We were delayed in getting the bus to the airport but had no complaints about the cost. There was a ... read more