Cho

Cho45

Cho

I am originally from the beautiful land of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma in Southeast Asia. I left my homeland in 1978, and lived/worked in several countries before settling down in Florida, USA in 2011. Although I have been living abroad for so many years, I still consider Myanmar as my real home, and have been back there regularly to visit old friends and relatives. I believe I can classify myself as a citizen of the world. While not competing for most traveled person, I consider myself fortunate to have traveled to 44 different countries so far. Will be quite happy if or when I get number 50 before I pass on.

I have kept a reasonably accurate record of all my travels through photos and mini-travelogues, and as I post them on here, I hope that they will be both informative and entertaining to other travelers around the world.

Cho a.k.a. Myanmar Man
May 30, 2014

The sponge capital of the world

North America » United States » Florida » Tarpon Springs April 22nd 2015

Tarpon Springs, Florida

Cho45

Last Labor Day weekend we went to Tarpon Springs in Florida which was once known as the "Venice of the South." We were wondering whether to spend the weekend there or just go for a day trip. We decided on the latter as Tarpon Springs is only about a two hour drive from Orlando. We left Orlando at 8:40 a.m., and took Interstate 4 West first, then changed to Interstate 275 South. The town of Tarpon Springs is 115 miles or 185 kilometers away from Orlando, and it took us just a little over two hours to reach our destination. When we started in the morning, the weather was still fairly cool, but by the time we reached Tarpon Springs it was already warming up. We headed straight for the Sponge Docks which is the main ... read more

Alligator Capital of the World

North America » United States » Florida » Orlando April 10th 2015

Orlando, Florida

Cho45

I had been living in Florida for nearly two years but I'd never been to Gatorland, even though it's just a ten minute drive away from where we lived in Orlando. Well, in August of 2013 I finally made it. One reason was we wanted to take advantage of the special admission fees for the month of August, only $10 for Florida residents which is $15 off the usual rate of $25. Great incentive! At the entrance there is a giant 'Gator mouth.' We got there before the opening time of 10am, and though it was a weekday, a lot of people were already waiting in line to purchase tickets. We even had to wait our turn to take photos at the Gator mouth! Although billed as the "Alligator capital of the world," Gatorland is actually ... read more

Pony ride to El Limon Waterfall

Central America Caribbean » Dominican Republic » Samana April 9th 2015

Samana, Dominican Republic

Cho45

On the last day of our stay in beautiful Samana, we hired a car with an English speaking guide to see the El Limon Waterfall which is only 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Samana town. Miguel the guide came to pick us up at our hotel at 9 in the morning. On the way we stopped briefly to have a look at part of the Los Haitises National Park which is a protected virgin forest, although we didn't enter it for lack of time. When we arrived at the place we saw a lot of ponies and mules with their handlers waiting for riders/customers. The waterfall itself is very secluded and accessible only by hiking (30 to 45 minutes) or by horseback riding (15-20 minutes). There is a restaurant located right at the entrance of the ... read more

Whale watching is an experience of a lifetime!

Central America Caribbean » Dominican Republic » Samana April 8th 2015

Samana, Dominican Republic

Cho45

While making our travel plans to visit the Dominican Republic, we booked this tour with Whale Samana managed by Kim Bedall, as it was a unique opportunity to observe humpback whales in their natural environment. We were not disappointed at all. So, on Valentine's Day 2014 we sailed out of the boat pier in Samana on the "Pura Mia" a specially designed whale watch vessel with about 55 enthusiastic people all eager to see the whales in their calving and mating grounds. Kim and a Marine Mammal Specialist accompanied us and gave an excellent live narration throughout the voyage in three different languages, English, Spanish and German. The boat itself was a 55 foot double decker with two modern restrooms and a snack bar. There was plenty of space to move around, and to get a ... read more

All you can drink, plus buffet dinner and traditional dance performance

Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » San José April 7th 2015

San Jose, Costa Rica

Cho45

On the last evening of our stay in Costa Rica we went to this elegant restaurant high above the hills overlooking the Central Valley. We had booked this tour through our hotel and the cost was $70 per person which included transportation, buffet style dinner, soft and/or alcoholic drinks (as much as you want) and the folklore show. I thought it was a good deal, and we were not disappointed. The van came to fetch us from the hotel at 6:30 pm. There were already two ladies in the car. Later on we found out they were from Mexico. I thought we were going to pick up more guests, but the van headed straight for the town of Aserri in the outskirts of San Jose. It was a long drive the last part of which was ... read more

Natural wonders of the rainforest

Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » Alajuela April 3rd 2015

Alajuela, Costa Rica

Cho45

After the excursion at the Poas Volcano Park we arrived at the Waterfall Gardens the last stop of our Combo Tour. This nature park is situated in the middle of a rain forest, and it actually rained while we were walking along the many trails and paths. Earlier our guide had told us in the car that this was going to be a 100% 'nature tour.' It proved to be the highlight of the day's trip. Although this vast 70 acre park boasts a wildlife refuge, to me it was just a small zoo with an aviary, a butterfly observatory, Monkey Pass, hummingbird garden and a serpentarium. We went through all of them except the last one as I have an aversion to snakes! The most interesting, at least for me, was the butterfly observatory which ... read more

A great learning experience!

Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » Alajuela » Volcán Poás March 21st 2015

Alajuela, Costa Rica

Cho45

This is the second part of the Combo Tour we took in Costa Rica. After the visit to the Doka Coffee Estate our party of 13 with our guide and driver, continued to the Poas Volcano National Park. Again, the journey was mostly uphill along winding roads. I thought to myself at that time that I wouldn't want to do this on foot! On the way we stopped at a store where we were offered free samples of the local wine and fresh strawberries. Although I am not much of a wine drinker I opted for it. It was quite good but didn't really slake my thirst as they were served in tiny cups! Anyhow, after the usual restroom visits we got back into our van and reached our next destination, the Poas National Park in ... read more

For coffee lovers

Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » Alajuela March 20th 2015

Alajuela, Costa Rica

Cho45

This is the first part of the Combo tour we took in San Jose, Costa Rica in April 2013. This tour comprised of the Doka coffee estate, Poas volcano and La Paz Waterfall Gardens, all of them located in Alajuela province. On the morning of the tour we managed to have a quick breakfast at our hotel before the tour van came to fetch us at 6:30. We were the first to be picked up, and 11 more people from various hotels around San Jose got on the van to make a total of 15 (including the guide and driver) in our party. We didn't complain about our early pick up though, because we had the chance to see different parts of the city as we went from hotel to hotel for the other passengers. Our ... read more

Side trip to Managua

Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua » Capital Region » Managua March 18th 2015

Managua, Nicaragua

Cho45

During our stay in Granada, we decided to take a short trip to the capital of Nicaragua which is only a short distance away (an hour by bus) from Granada. It was a little disappointing as we didn't get to see much of the city except the huge plazas and monuments. Anyhow, we didn't want to leave the country without seeing something of its capital city! On the second morning of our stay in Granada we decided to travel to Managua by a commuter bus leaving from a side street near the main square. It was easy to find the bus station and we didn't have to wait long for the bus to leave, athough it was only half full. The fare was only 24 cordobas or one US dollar per passenger, which I thought was ... read more

Boat cruise on Lake Nicaragua

Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua » Southern Pacific Coast » Granada March 17th 2015

Granada, Nicaragua

Cho45

First of all, we didn't even know about this cruise. On our first full day in Granada we were at Central Park the city's main square, and as I was trying to get some information about the hop on/hop off bus from a tourist booth in front of the Paxeos cathedral, a short dark man approached me. He spoke excellent English (the American version) and offered his services. I was a little wary of him although he had a shirt on that said 'Granada Tours.' I have encountered a lot of bogus tour guides in my travels around the world, and I thought he was one of them. He told me to follow him to his office which was just around the corner, which I did as it was during the daytime. Anyway, when we got ... read more

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