My third stop was Mandalay. It's only a short ride from Bagan, easily done by shuttle bus during the day. I met some new friends at my hostel, headed to lunch, and then a few of us went in search of a place that makes gold leaf. According to my friend's guide book, they show you how it's done and explain the whole process. And I'm sure they would have; we went on a holiday and no one was making anything. The lone man in the shop explained it all to us and we left with a pretty good idea what it might have looked like. After a quick rest detour to the mall (for air conditioning and an atm) another friend and I hired a taxi to Mandalay Hill. We could have walked it, but ... read more

I arrived in Yangon after dark, exchanged money at the airport (not a bad rate, actually), and hopped in a cab. My taxi driver sat on the right and drove on the right, the first of many things that would baffle me in this new place. Along the way to my hostel, he pointed out a popular park, a university where someone he knows does something (he's a bit of a mumbler), and a few other sights. He helped me find my hostel since there was no sign, and I climbed a few stairs to wait for the elevator. Next to it a sign read: 4 people max. Either this was a very small elevator or I had better hold my breath and cross my fingers; I never did figure out which it was. My adventure ... read more

I've been driving for about twenty years and I've been fortunate enough to only have had one minor fender bender back in my 20s. I've been in a few others (where I wasn't the driver) but none of the were anything serious. And certainly, none of them really scared me. Until today. I was driving home from work on my usual two land highway. It was a beautiful sunny day and quite warm. Suddenly, up ahead, I heard a loud exploding noise. In the oncoming traffic lane was a large lorry truck. Then, seemingly in slow motion, I saw a lorry tire flying across my lane. Right at me. I saw it coming, closer and closer. It seemed really big. My first instinct was to avoid it at all costs. My second instinct was to check ... read more

I had one day in KL to see as much as humanly possible. It was hard to choose what was most important. I knew I'd be back eventually, but playing tourist was key for this trip. And it was so hot I didn't really want to spend any more time outside than necessary. I did a fairly good job. I managed to visit the National Mosque, Merdeka Square ("Freedom Square"), see lots of old buildings, do some shopping, and end with a trip up the KL Tower for sunset. At the tower I met some lovely Moroccan women and a German guy. We all decided to get something to drink before dinner. Then I met up a group of guys from my hostel and all of us went to dinner before finding live street music until ... read more

There are several tours offered in Cameron Highlands. Since I was only visiting for two full days and wanted to see everything, I decided an all day, "see everything here" tour was just the thing. I was right. Well, mostly right. The day started out a bit chilly as we all piled into the Land Rover. We drove through a tea plantation (and took early morning photos) before following a narrow, winding road up to the top of the highest peak in Malaysia. We saw several cars driven by drivers not used to the terrain and it made me thankful I'd hired someone with lots of experience and a proper vehicle. (Later, driving out from the plantation, along a windy road barely wide enough for two cars, with no guard rails along the cliffs, I was ... read more