It’s surprising how events have turned out. In February, alarms were being raised about COVID19 but few countries seemed to have heeded them seriously. And now in March through April, half of the world is on lockdown, planes and ships are mostly grounded, travelling is virtually non-existent and almost everyone is confined at home. So here is a trip made just before Stay At Home became vogue.
Continue reading “Life on the Delta”
On my previous visit to Yangon, I didn’t spend much time in the city. Instead, I was travelling to Mandalay and Bagan, followed by a short stay in Inle Lake. I only spent 24 hours in Yangon, which is actually enough time to see the major attractions in the city. On my recent visit to Yangon, I decided to explore more of the streets of the city as they had attracted me with their mix of old architecture jostling with shiny new glass and steel buildings, traditional longyi’s alongside western business attire.
Continue reading “Yangon Streets”
The Most Beautiful Place You Never Heard Of
I’ve always felt that Myanmar is a photogenic country with lots of opportunities for fantastic photos, not to mention it’s rich culture and history. For most tourists, Yangon and the northern regions of Mandalay, Bagan and Inle Lake make the usual circuit of places to visit for a first time traveler to Myanmar. However, the country’s southern region is often left out by visitors.
Continue reading “Hpa-An”
Inle Lake was the fourth and final stop in our trip to Myanmar before heading back to Yangon. Due to lack of time we only spent 1 day here, but if we really could, we would have spent 2 days at least and I would recommend that anyone who visits here do that. This is the last blog for my series on Myanmar. For my other blogs on Myanmar, you click on the following: Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay, Mingun. Continue reading “Inle Lake”
There are some incredible sights of the ancient wonders of the world like the Great Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt and the Great Wall of China of which I have been blessed to be able to visit these 2 places and look upon their wonder. However, how about those places which never made it to the list of ancient wonders? The wannabes who might have endured to amaze their descendants? Read on, for this is one of those places which might have made it into the annals of historical wonders. Continue reading “The World Wonder that Wasn’t”
Just hearing the name Mandalay conjures up images of old British colonial Burma, and nowhere is this more vivid than in Rudyard Kipling’s poem of the same name:
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin’ eastward to the sea,
There’s a Burma girl a-settin’, and I know she thinks o’ me;
For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say:
“Come you back, you British soldier; come you back to Mandalay!”
Kipling’s poem was written for a bygone era that has been romanticized in literature. Nowadays it’s best not to bring up past British colonialism unless you want to cause a diplomatic faux pas.
Bagan was the second stop of our journey to Myanmar, and is also the main reason tourists come to Myanmar. This mystical land will bring out the Indiana Jones in you as you explore the ancient temples. For more on Yangon where we started our journey, click here. Continue reading “Land of a Thousand Pagodas”
This is the first in a series of blog posts on my recent trip to Myanmar (previously called Burma) in December of 2017. As we spent more time in other areas of Myanmar compared to Yangon, this post will summarize what you can do if you have only 1 day in Yangon. Continue reading “Yangon in a Day”
Beyond the Little Red Dot 