Gunung Leuser National Park, Just North of Bukit Lawang June 6th The walk - uphill and through hot, sticky jungle - left us breathing hard, sweat from even this small exertion, popping out on our faces and running down our backs. We were on the big Indonesian island of Sumatra, only a few degrees north of the equator and the heat was stifling. Smothering everything in a wet, humid blanket, it sapped the strength and weakened our resolve to carry on. Hemmed in by a solid wall of foliage; bamboos, thorny rattan palms, looping vines and big leaved aroids, we followed the path - that only rarely afforded any views - and pushed on, trying hard to ignore the heat and the reluctance of our legs to keep moving. But it wasn’t far now. The ... read more

The rain fell like stair rods as we sheltered beneath a street awning in Bangkok, waiting for it to stop. It rained most days now. People were saying that the rainy season was starting earlier and earlier each year. Was this a sign perhaps, that the effects of climate change were beginning to affect weather patterns that could once have been predicted with a near perfect accuracy? Change was not always for the better. Other changes meant that we had to keep a watchful eye on the number of days we spent in the kingdom. New regulations affecting the amount of time foreigners could stay in Thailand during any 6-month period had come into effect shortly after our arrival in October 2006. Despite being careful however, the final 8 days of our current 90-day allotment seemed ... read more

For us, the 'road' to Mandalay took many forms, carrying us through the Burmese landscape in a variety of vehicles, from local buses and pick up taxis to horse carts and finally, a boat that took us up the mighty Irrawaddy River to Mandalay. We joined the good ship "Shwe Kiennery II" at the Nyaung Ou jetty at the ungodly hour of 4.45am one Monday morning. No clapped out old fishing boat this one, the "Shwe Kiennery" was a modern, purpose built passenger vessel equipped with two V8 engines, an air conditioning system and a bar. She was capable of a top speed of 13 knots and could carry up to 130 passengers. But on this particular day in February, there were just 18 of us. It was so luxurious that we felt like characters from ... read more

The following are a series of extracts from our journals, verbal sketches if you like, that attempt to capture our first impressions of Myanmar. To those unfamiliar with this little known country, I should perhaps try and draw a brief introductory picture. Formerly known as Burma, Myanmar is an inward looking country ruled by a military Government that has a well earned reputation for human rights abuses. For years it has cut itself off from the outside world and its people know very little of what is happening beyond the restrictive confines of their own country. Much is changing but the Government still maintains its iron-fisted rule, with Government ministers seemingly more concerned about amassing personal wealth and power rather than improving conditions for ordinary people or the country as a whole. Myanmar was once part ... read more

The bus dropped us at a Chinese restaurant overlooking the border. Outside it was hot and the restaurant stood on its own in what looked like a field of dust. Not for the first time, I wondered if dust was a major crop in Cambodia. We were certainly going to be exporting a fair amount of it in our clothes when we crossed the border into Vietnam but first, we were going to have to get to the border. The bus driver didn't speak any English but it was clear from his brief mime that he wasn't going any further and that we were expected to walk the remaining 2kms to the other side. Fortified by a drink in the restaurant, we collected our packs and trudged back to the road. In total contrast to the ... read more