Gorgeous scenery! How wise to go off into the mossy forest by yourselves and find yourselves alone in such a wild place. I'll bet the groups didn't get free strawberries and an encounter with a giant monkey. Congrats on your adventurousness!
Of all the night street stalls in penang... ...I can't believe that we photographed the same one! I will have to post the two photos in the photography forum called 'same picture- different photographers'!
Penang love Your blog title is absolutely how we felt about Penang...we still talk about the meals we ate there, and daydream about when we will return :)
Wow--art, food and a jungle adventure! Georgetown sounds like a perfect, yummy spot to linger. How fun those photos of you two playing in the murals! I love the food, where you get little tastes of several things. You've really made me want to go there!
Mandalay We loved our time in Mandalay. You've captured some great photos. You can always go back. Better to leave wanting more than to stay long enough that you wish you'd left sooner.
mandalay Thanks Dave and Merry. U bein bridge was very atmospheric. I know it is overwriten about but we just loved the trying to capture its beauty and the wonderful moments that passed us by in seconds. Yes, Myanmar continues to linger with us, we shared some wonderful memories there.
Great photos and summary! Love the way you got the monks' colored robes to stand out, and that traditional meal with all the little plates and tastes sounded lovely. Interesting that the country was so affordable, even if you did have to be the tourist attraction. Just think, as a trailblazer, you've made it easier for all darker-skinned tourists after you--what a service!
Re: Great photos and summary Thanks Tara, that's true I guess we never thought of it like that. We can now say we have opened the doors wider and made it easier for other travellers who have darker skin in Myanmar. We'll happily take that. Yeh, Myanmar was surprisingly affordable, more so than anywhere else so far and the food in places was certainly a treat!!
blogging Thank you. We certainly have had so many special moments and we really want to keep these memories alive as much as possible. We just have to remind each other at times when it is difficult. Perfect time to catch up today though as the whole town where we are in the Philippines has shut down.
Back roads Glad you got away from the tourist areas and did a few days trekking. You home stay sounds good. Great photos. Glad you were able to capture some moments like these.
Thanks for the heads up on the photo's, its a great feeling when you actually capture what your looking for and to be honest it doesn't happen a lot. Yes, in retrospect we wish we would have spent more time in areas like this as we don't know if we'll get similar experiences again.
Stairway to Heaven Quitting work and leaving it all behind gives you time to go to places like this....where they oozed magic. Each temple unique and different draws you in and leaves you wanting more. Beautiful sunsets... Hate is when the rooms are not ready. Happy travels.
tradition and tourism Thanks Dave and Merry Jo, it certainly is experiences like this that has made our risky decision to sell up and quit our jobs completely worth it. We fully recommend it for people who have the opportunity to explore the world further; it gives you time to appreciate culture diversity, things that other cultures have that should be cherished, things we have back home that we take for granted along with putting a lot of things in life into perspective i.e. what we want in life instead of being caught up with the small menial things that can sometimes take over and draw you away from the bigger picture.
Tradition and Tourism Glad that you two had a chance to relax after your trek! Interesting the contrasts you point out between the idyllic, but difficult ways of the islanders and the upscale, polluting boats and tourist traps for the foreigners. Exotic sites that we love, and their exploitation that we hate. The balance is tricky, but you two are so aware of it, it's a pleasure to follow you!
tradition and tourism Thanks Tara, its always great to hear that other people like our logs and can relate to our comments. Inle lake was beautiful in so many ways but at the same time we could not gloss over the contrasts tourism is beginning to create in this place.
An absolutely gorgeous photo! The women always seem to get the work the men don't want to do! When we visited a tea plantation we were told that only women pick tea as they have smaller hands...yeah right! it's more like only women do it because it's back breaking work and pays a horrible wage. I would love to do this trek... sounds amazing.
Thanks guys, really felt like we caught the moment perfectly in this picture. The guide translated for them and they said us women in our group were beautiful. We all felt the same about them!! Beautiful smiles that blew us away but sadly they felt their dark skin was unattractive. Someone in the group commented on their beautiful teeth and the lack of Beattle-nut and they commented as per our observations that it was mainly men who did this. But not before marriage then after marriage the bettle-nut and drinking began. I'm guessing not a part of their culture they want to hold onto.
Smaller hands hey? that's a first. It really is a shame this is not shared more.
Hi we're Chris and P. We have quit our jobs and sold our house to follow our dream of travelling around the world for 12 months!!!
Let’s jump back about 2 years - We're driving to P's friend’s house for an evening meal when she turns and says "I've been thinking..."
And what a thought that was indeed. That thought turned into buying a dilapidated property and spending a total of 2 years 'doing it up' ourselves coupled with a new job and a wedding thrown into the mix for good measure. We even questioned ourselves at times on whether travelling would actually become a reality or be j... full info
D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Great hiking
Sounds like you had a great time. Next stop...enjoy the beach.