Author archive
20 January 2013
I set the alarm for 0500. It was an unusually warm morning; even in the lowlands including Yangon, it is normally quite cool. Despite that, it wasn’t warm enough to cycle in just a thin T-shirt. I felt apprehensive wearing my black raincoat cycling on the poorly-lit road from Nyaung U to get to Shwe […]
19 January 2013
Seven of us had agreed to go to Mt Popa today. We had organised a small pickup truck to take us there and back at about USD1 more than the public transport rate of USD7 per head (see, I told you Myanmar wasn’t cheap … that’s a lot of money for a 1h + 1h […]
18 January 2013
I had an amazing night sleep in the cold enclosed rooftop dorm until the prayers kicked in around 0600. I had been warned about lots of chanting from 0400 but it either didn’t happen or I had slept through it. After a simple but big breakfast, I rented a bicycle for less than USD2 for […]
17 January 2013
With a 0700 departure on the ferry, I got the hotel to order me a taxi for 0615. It turned up slightly late and there was a mild panic. To make matters worse, he took me to another deserted jetty which is used on some days of the week. Fortunately we made it to the […]
16 January 2013
Working half days I woke at 0700 after 11 hours sleep, to make up for the previous night’s interrupted sleep … when my body woke me up for the AirAsia sale which I had forgotten about. Also, sleep without pseudoephedrine is so much better! As Myanmar’s sights are largely temples and stupas, I had found […]
15 January 2013
Booking for next year Having retired too early last night, I woke around 1am. I realised that this was also the first day of AirAsia’s latest zero-fare sale (shortest fights are zero-fare but longer flights are at tiny prices). I managed to buy HKG-KUL-KCH-KUL-HKG for next Christmas for about NZD200 (11 hours flying) uninterrupted by […]
14 January 2013
Above: The countryside between Heho and Mandalay is very red. Would you do this to a friend? I’m leaving my hotel in Yangon today where I have been chatting to an Israeli guy there too. He seems to be in Yangon indefinitely, waiting for his friend to come from Bangkok at a date that hasn’t […]
13 January 2013
There was an early-morning feel when I stepped out of the hotel after breakfast at 0830. Businesses and stalls were just starting to open up and the air was still very cool in the shade. Walking to the Botataung Pagoda, it becomes apparent that Yangon is the Havana of SE Asia when it comes to […]
12 January 2013
Exploring & Airline Ticketing After breakfast, I took a walk around the Sule Pagoda neighbourhood. There were a few churches, mosques and a synagogue tucked between the many old concrete multi-storey blocks. More men wear pants now than during my previous visit, when the longyi (sarong). It is still common for women and children (and […]
11 January 2013
Above: Dinner on kindy-chairs. Due to natural light in my room being obscured partially by an external wall (and thick curtains), I didn’t wake up till around 9am. I hadn’t slept well last few nights; I seemed to wake up a fair bit feeling sweaty. I put the disturbed sleep down to the pseudoephedrine which […]