City Rumble – Angkor versus Bagan

This week’s city rumble takes us back… in time! Back centuries to when ancient stone cities ruled the roost of large areas of South East Asia. Angkor is the city that ruled lands in Cambodia and Thailand from the 8th to 14th century AD. Its stone structures and Bas Reliefs are simply amazing. With a …

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The Beauty of Bagan – Part One

There’s no doubt about it, Bagan is THE must see destination of Myanmar. What is Bagan? Well, Bagan is an ancient city in Myanmar, sort of in the middle of the country 5 hours by minibus from Mandalay and a good day’s journey from the former capital Yangon (Rangoon). The temples of Bagan are spread …

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Review – Top Garden Guesthouse, Chiang Mai

The last of my reviews of the budget places I stayed at in my recent journey to Thailand and Myanmar, I returned to Thailand after 17 days in Myanmar and headed up to Chiang Mai, a place I felt at least had changed even more than Bangkok in some ways since my 1999 visit. Not …

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A Day on a Lake – Part One

Inle Lake, Myanmar, is one of the country’s busiest tourist spots. People can take a room on or around the lake at several hundred dollars a night, but the backpackers and tourists with more limited funds will head for Nyaungshwe and get a room there. There’s a river that connects Inle Lake to Nyaungshwe and …

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Sunday Spotlight – Mandalay

Yes, Sunday Spotlight is back this time with a city from my most recently visited country, Myanmar. Mandalay, made famous to the west by Rudyard Kipling and a poem he once wrote, possibly sounds a little romantic. For example: Come you back to Mandalay, Where the old Flotilla lay: Can't you 'ear their paddles chunkin' …

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Gateway Countries – Vietnam

Yes, the Friday series is back with another ‘gateway country’. This week we head on down to South East Asia, and just to shock and awe and confound you, I’m not calling ‘Thailand’ on the region, rather I am going with Vietnam as the best gateway to the region. In a region which boasts Thailand, …

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