Myanmar (Burma): A few weeks before I left on my trip, the United States reestablished diplomatic relations with Myanmar. Before then all I knew about Myanmar was that it used to be called Burma. I had seen "Beyond Rangoon" about 13 years ago, but I never kept up with the politics. I recognized the face of Aung San Suu Kyi, but didn't know her story. After talking to a few people who had been there I decided to get the visa and see what all the hype was about. Myanmar hasn’t quite been commercialized like the rest of SE Asia. The generals who control the country are starting to implement reforms. Getting to Myanmar involves a bit of planning. You need a visa, which I was able to pick up in Bangkok. Most important... read more

Laos: Laos is the second of three Communist countries on my trip and I thought for sure I would be given a proper interrogation, asked about my papers, and possibly burned with a cigarette, punched, and beaten with a billy club before being allowed to walk free. Again, this has not happened. What’s wrong with these “Communist run/corrupt” countries I’ve been traveling to? That’s the problem these days – no one takes the time to do a proper interrogation, draw up some false allegations, and threaten a simple tourist with the 20 years to life of hard labor based on the false allegations. They just want your visa fee now. They even itemize the ‘processing fee’ of $1. I suppose it’s easier. The world is getting lazy! Luang Prabang- I flew from Hanoi to Luang Prabang. ... read more

Cambodia: Cambodia is one of those countries that are filled with contradictions. You’d expect it to be overtly corrupt, dangerous, non-English speaking. I didn't experience any of that. Well, before I continue, let’s end with leaving Thailand. I took the bus out of northern Bangkok to Siem Reap. To get there I took the very modern sky bridge and then a taxi to the bus station. The online time said the bus left at 9:30. Luckily I showed up at 8:59, which gave me a whole minute to catch the bus, which actually left at 9:00. To get to Siem Reap I needed to take a bus to the border, then walk across the border, then take a bus or taxi two hours to Seim Reap. Well, the actual bus ride took 5 hours, crossing the ... read more

Malaysia: Day 1: We landed in Kuala Lumpur in the middle of a heavy rainstorm and deplaned in the middle of the tarmac and had to walk about 50 yards to the terminal. After customs I made my way to the buses to get a ride to the Sentral station downtown. This was my first time in a Muslim country. A lot of the women on the bus were wearing headscarves or burkas. They were the lucky ones because they crank the air conditioning up and it felt like 40 degrees in the bus. My first impressions of Kuala Lumpur reminded me of a Latin American city. In many regards it reminded me of the nicer parts of Mexico City. There were tons of skyscrapers that lined the valleys. The Petronas Twin Towers towered over most ... read more

I landed in Singapore at 3:35 am. I could have waited until 7:00 or 8:00 to take a tour directly from the airport – however I wouldn’t have been able to leave the bus. Instead I decided to go through customs and take a cab into town. Before that I called my parents via Google Voice. Google Voice is a great way to make free calls from your computer. My parents even claimed that it was clear than when I call them using AT&T. I’m so glad that it worked. Before I left I got a dedicated number so I can use it from anywhere and it’s just as if I was calling from the US. This is probably the first major difference from my European trips. Thirteen years ago I had to buy a phone ... read more