2am wake up for Alms Giving Theravada Buddhists observe a three month lent period, which ends on the full moon day in October. In the days leading up to and immediately following the full moon there are many festivals and ceremonies to observe. One of the ceremonies is the giving of alms to monks and nuns who, due to the end of lent are allowed to leave their monasteries. The alms giving in Yangon was a large affair, with more than 400 monks and nuns participating. We had a 2am wake up call and we bundled ourselves into the back of Auntie and Uncle’s small truck for the trip to our designated spot. Even at this time of the morning there were hundreds of monks, nuns and lay people in the streets. Gongs were sounding and ... read more

The last two days of our stay in Siem Reap were the most enjoyable for me. Before going to Tonlé Sap (the great lake) Vanna suggested we buy a few gifts to give some of the village children on the way. We stocked up on pencils and sharpeners, some books of plain paper, some plastic balls for the younger ones and a few footballs for the older kids. Tonlé Sap We stopped twice on the way to Tonlé Sap and distributed the goodies to some very happy children. We showed them how to use the sharpeners and watched the younger ones faces beaming with delight about the plastic balls. That was a nice idea and I am glad Vanna suggested it. The cruise on Tonlé Sap was interesting; it must be amazing during the wet season. ... read more

We left it a bit late getting train tickets to Sapa, so we had to settle for a sleeper bus. What an experience that was – the sleeping arrangements would be reasonably comfortable if you are built like the average Vietnamese person. For an Aussie bloke who is 180cm tall I am about 20cm longer than then bed was designed to accommodate. As a result I spent the following 12 hours hoping my knees would still work when we arrived. We travelled to Sapa with our friends Chung and John. Lucky they are both the perfect size for the sleeping bus bunks. When I took a look at them in their bunks they looked very comfortable compared to me. Dancing with the Hmong women On arrival in Sapa a group of Hmong women met our bus ... read more

“My name is Ster, Lob Ster” There were two Australian tourists wandering the streets of Luang Prabang, a local came up and asked “What’s your names” the tourists responded “Rob and Lorenza”. The local repeated the names “Nice to meet you Lob and Loz-enz-da”, the tourists corrected the local “No, that is Rob and Lorenza”. After going through this many times the two tourists changed their names. From then on when approached by a friendly local they introduced themselves as “Lob and my darling wife is called Ster”. This is how we will be known forever more throughout South East Asia. After a few Beer Lao’s most locals got the joke. Cousins Reunion(s) Of all the places you could pick to teach English as a second language I think Luang Prabang would be one of the ... read more

Une réunion à Vientiane (23 March 2012) Following a hot and confusing day in Tong’s village we needed some time to relax and get our breath back. We went back to our guesthouse, Sala Inpeng, and refreshed ourselves. Then we went searching for some French relatives who were to meet us in Vientiane. We found their hotel, but they had not arrived. It turned out their flight from Hanoi was delayed so we left a message at their hotel so they could find us later. We took a walk to find a cool restaurant for a few drinks and dinner. We came across Makphet Restaurant not that far from our guesthouse. It is run by a charity called Friends International. We got a table overlooking the street, with a fan and ordered drinks. The menu was ... read more