…And loving words they speak ought to be written in rapid winds and water flowing by.* Catullus speaks about women, or one particular woman, rather, but we were in the 21st century last time I checked, and one can surely take the artistic liberty to transpose, especially given the circumstances. Yes I know. Flying to … More 73 – Yes, so he says, but then men often lie…
November 24 – 28 Bangkok. I actually don’t see anything from the metropolis. I rent a room in a private residence off the city centre, and spend 3 wonderful days by the pool, not doing anything at all, except for an exhausting trip to a local shopping mall in search of a pair of bikini. … More 72 – Men who hate women
Minuses You may have some issues with what is the government doing in Rakhine. I talked about it here. Other than that, Myanmar is by far my favourite south asian country. Plan your trip carefully. While you will not have any problem finding accommodation in big touristic hubs, remember not every hotel is licensed to … More 71 – Myanmar (conclusion)
If you decide to visit Myanmar (which you should) and opt for a package tour (which you should not), you will be most likely dragged along the triangle Yangon – Inle – Bagan. You will have seen the pictures. The hot air balloons soaring over hundreds of pagodas in the rising sun (a $300 experience, … More 70 – Obvious Myanmar
November 14 Night bus from Hpa An to Kalaw is definitely an experience. It arrives 90 minutes late and takes about 3 hours more than scheduled. But they serve refreshments (dodgy-looking doughnuts with bright pink icing that would make Homer Simpson climax). At some point in the middle of the night the bus stops and … More 69 – Trekking the Burmese Countryside
November 9 Morning bus to Mawlamyine, this time from a different, but equally as far, “highway” bus station. Again, getting there takes about forever. The Burmese clearly don’t see the usefulness of building the bus stations in the actual cities, it would seem. But we’re in Asia. Expecting things to make sense would be naive. … More 68 – Concrete Nirvana
November 4 to 8 5 am taxi to the bus station, which couldn’t be any further from the city. The ride on literally empty roads takes us almost an hour, and I suspect the driver is doing his best to kill us. I leave my big backpack in the hotel in Yangon, as we are … More 67 – Beach, beach, beach! (Where the sunsets are as tropical as they come)
November 1 – 3 Everybody freaked out when I said I was granted visa for Myanmar. Of course. The BBC comes up with a new terrifying story practically every day. And to be fair I was asking myself those questions. Is it OK to visit a country involved in a civil war? Civil was is … More 66 – The City of Ghosts and Rats
October 30 – November 1 Day 3 of the sightseeing: 4 am start to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat. By all means, do it. Just don’t expect too much. This is what it looks like on the travel catalogues (heavily photoshopped). This is the reality. The sun doesn’t rise until 6am, but make sure … More 65 – Siem Reap – Angkor Wat (Chapter 3)
October 28 – 29 Apparently, according to TripAdvisor, apart from playing Lara Croft among the Khmer ruins, the best thing to do in Siem Reap is the friday night pub-crawl. I give it a try, mainly because it’s a date with a former university friend of mine who now lives here. If you are around … More 64 – Siem Reap – Angkor Wat (Chapter 2)
Kacenka on the road 