Nepal continues to treat us with thrilling new experiences and we have yet to leave the Kathmandu valley. After the excitement of the Indra Jatra finale we thought we’d escape the crowds, noise and pollution of Thamel to explore some of the other historic sites in the valley. Our first stop was Bodhnath and its incredible stupa. Normally visited as a day trip from Kathmandu, we decided to spend the night at a guesthouse in the area as a quieter alternative to Thamel. It turns out that our evening was neither quiet nor very restful as it was here that we experienced what one newspaper described as the strongest earthquake to hit Nepal in nearly 8 decades. At dusk we went up to a roof-top patio restaurant overlooking the stupa to have some dinner while we ... read more

So for our last little bit of tourism in South-East Asia it was back to Thailand where we took the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. At this point we've had our fill of Bangkok and we just needed someplace a little more laid back to relax. Chiang Mai has great markets and we were lucky enough to catch the Sunday walking street as well as the usual night bazaar. The weather here has been just that little bit cooler (30C-32C instead of 35C) and it made enough of a difference that it was actually pleasant to go for walks in the mornings and evenings. We had our little route that took us to our favorite spot on the river for pad thai and noodle soup, and then we'd just wander around the markets and ... read more

Arriving in Phnom Penh was one of the easier arrivals we've had. Getting our e-visas in advance made immigration a breeze as nearly everyone else on the flight were queuing up for visas on arrival. However, it didn't get our bags to the carousel any faster... The French have definitely left their mark here. Phnom Penh is actually a really pleasant city to wander around. The colonial style architecture is a nice change and it was refreshing walking up and down the huge promenade along the river where there was actually some personal space for walking (rare in Asia). Although, the traffic in the streets is crazy as ever with motos and tuk-tuks zipping by. Our other favourite French influences were plentiful - baguettes, pastries, and great coffee. We spent our first day doing what most ... read more

Travel in Myanmar has been challenging at times but also incredibly rewarding. We’ve found it really useful to have learned a few of the basic words in Burmese and the locals have been overwhelmingly friendly and helpful. Sometimes people are quite curious and sceptical of us until we smile and say “mingalaba” (hello), and the response is almost always a big smile and a wave. In small towns such as Shwebo our faces were sore from all the smiling as nearly everyone on the street wanted to say hello. Most cafes we eat at have no menu and we generally wait until we see someone else eating something that looks good and then point to it and ask for two of that. Café staples are generally samosas, other fried bread things, or flat-bread served with dal ... read more

So our next major destination is Bagan, but we wanted to break up the journey (normally a 14 hour overnight bus from Yangon) with a couple of stops along the way. Pyay is geographically about half way between Yangon and Bagan but the road conditions beyond Pyay mean that in actual travel time it’s a totally different story. The bus from Yangon to Pyay wasn’t too bad. It took us about 7 hours on a regular average bus with no A/C, but the driver made sure we had plenty of fresh air howling through the windows by doing his best to maintain maximum speed. We were again the only tourists on the bus and the entertainment consisted of soft, happy karaoke music and a cheesy Burmese sitcom with really bad acting. The city of Pyay (formerly ... read more