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 […]
Bicycling Can Be Dangerous to Your Health I always strive to be honest with my readers and today is no exception. Due to the injury to my left (and dominant) hand, it will be a slow process to write this and I will go for brevity. I left Chiang Mai, Thailand on Monday for a […]
A Review of my Recent Cooking Class in Chiang Mai, Thailand As a chef, as well as a long-term traveler, I have tried several cooking classes in my global wanderings. So it was only natural that I would investigate the numerous cooking classes available here in Chiang Mai. I digested (no pun intended) around a […]
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 […]
PART V: GO SOUTH YOUNG MAN! with apologies to Horace Greeley Leaving the tourist trail– Mawlamyine Bound– Dateline: 1/23/13–Yangon, Myanmar I have been in Yangon three days now. It seems longer mainly because I have mostly run out of things to do. It is taking me all this time to get my bearings in Myanmar […]
PART IV: The 158-year-old Jewish Synagogue Burma was once the home to a vibrant community of Jews numbering over 2,500 at its peak prior to WWII. I had heard about this synagogue for some time and had wanted to visit. One afternoon while looking at a map I was surprised to find that it […]