THE RETURN TO MANDALAY or BYE BYE BURMA 28 Day Expense Report Included at the End I am outside Mr. Kid’s Hsipaw guesthouse at 5:30 am and the bus is right on time. The bus trip is surprisingly fast. I sleep the first 2 hours. We arrive in Mandalay at 10:30 am, earlier than […]
JUST ANOTHER DAY IN HSIPAW With one day to spare before heading back to Mandalay and a flight to Thailand, I want to spend it in and around Hsipaw. A larger town than Kyaukme, it is also a jumping off point for many treks into the surrounding Shan hill tribe area. The 6:30 am bus […]
TREKKING WITH NINE-NINE After meeting Nine-Nine, hearing his incredible story and sharing a meal with his family, I am feeling good about my choice to hire him for my final trek in Myanmar. My only regret is that the trek will only be two days with an overnight in a Shan village. Following an […]
TODAY IS EARTH DAY! Updated: April 22, 2019 For 49 years on April 22, more than one billion people take part in Earth Day. Earth Day now includes events in more than 193 countries, which are now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network. Individuals, communities, organizations, and governments acknowledge the amazing planet we call […]
Part XI of the My Month in Burma Series Authors note: A sincere thank you to all the readers who have wished me well as I heal from my accident. Your words have lifted my heart and given me many a smile these last few weeks. As an update, last week I had the […]
PART X: TREKKING BURMA’S SHAN STATE An uneventful, but long bus ride up a very curvy mountain road ends with a late afternoon arrival in Kalaw. I check into the Golden Lily Guest House where I find a basic single for US $7.00. They have some better rooms at a higher price but I pass […]
PART IX: THE ‘ANCIENT’ TEMPLES OF BAGAN Preface: From approximately 1050 to 1290 A.D., Bagan’s kings commissioned over 4,000 temples. Over the millennia looting, erosion and earthquakes took their tool . A massive earthquake in 1975 destroyed most of what was left. What you see, and it is impressive, has been rebuilt. UNESCO refused to certify Bagan as […]
PART VIII: THE BIG BAGO TOUR MAKES THREE FOR THREE 1/29/13–Hpa-An: Amazingly, Snowy wakes me up at 6:30 am. I have not slept well as I have woke coughing several times during the night. I decide to rest and send them on the monastery summit hike. I hate to miss it but it’s the right choice. […]
PART VII: HPA-AN, LAND OF LIMESTONE AND ANCIENT CAVE TEMPLES Big tour day: Seven stops. 10 hours. Two tuk tuks. Sore butt, lots of bouncing on dirt roads. Way fun! I have said it before and I will say it again, I do not go in for packaged tours as a rule. Both […]
PART VI: LIMESTONE CAVES AND THE FAST BOAT TO HPA-AN We are up early. After packing and enjoying a final breakfast from the Breeze’ veranda, we are picked up at 7:30 am and tuk-tuked to the ferry dock across town. I am a bit sorry to leave lovely mellow Mawlawyine but it is time […]