January 16 -19 When in Malaysia, Cameron Highlands are not to be missed. Even if you don’t trek, you can visit tea plantations, stuff your face with local strawberries, play golf, or generally just chill in a nicer and cooler climate compared to the rest of the country. Located in about 1700m altitude, the temperature … More 76 – First taste of jungle in Cameron Highlands
January 13 – 15 The great thing about Asia is that not only no one expects you to make any ahead planning, but no plan will work out the way you thought, so there is no point in trying. Just go with the flow and see what happens. Things do work out in some way, … More 75 – I Kissed Johnny Depp!
January 10 – 13 I am stranded in Bangkok, because either AA or JAL managed to leave my luggage in Los Angeles. I’d put my money on AA. I cannot really get mad with the japanese, because they apologize like 769 times per sentence, and it’s not the poor girl’s on duty fault anyway. While … More 74 – BKK (reprise)
…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)
Kacenka on the road 