Year: 2018
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Mawlamyine: Pagodas and Poems Minus the Grime
Maps can inspire false impressions. In cities, for instance, they reveal the avenues and boulevards and winding streets; the parklands and rivers; the cafes and restaurants, museums and temples. But they don’t portray the imperfections: the rubbish, the smells, the noise, the potholed roads or lumpy footpaths or the chaotic traffic, or the heat and humidity …or the poverty. Then […]
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Another Day Around Ye
“I apologise if anyone in my village does wrong to you,” said the boatman as I paid for our just completed journey up the River Ye at Jaun Yua in Mon State, southern Myanmar. Fortunately, he also worked for the local emergency rescue. Before the boatman made the above comment, I had already gained an impression some locals were becoming disgruntled […]
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Dawei Dayze
Dawei is one of those in between Myanmar towns – enough travellers venturing there to provide some creature comforts, like a good cafe or two, and a wider variety of dining options, while retaining a friendly, casual atmosphere of somewhere less visited. And it has a great ice-cream shop (depicted above), reminiscent of one I frequented in Mandalay when there […]
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A Moment in Myeik
Myeik, sometimes known as Mergui, is off the traveller’s circuit in southern Myanmar. While tourism potential abounds the infrastructure hasn’t been established yet, apart from comparatively expensive day trips to nearby islands. Other day trip options exist, but weren’t available in early November during my brief stay. Foreigners are not quite the novelty they once were, but few are still […]
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A day in Ye
People wanted to feed me, women wanted to marry me, kids got excited, men wanted to buy me drinks. And, of course, some people were totally indifferent. Ye (pronounced ‘yay’) is in Mon State, Myanmar and, for the moment, is a little off the main travel route. Photos in this slideshow were taken during one day while journeying by motorbike […]
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Ranong to Khawthaung visa run the fun way.
March, 2018. I recently completed this Thai visa run as an alternative to obtaining a 30 day extension through an immigration office for 1900 baht (and possible bureaucratic and/or logistic hurdles depending on where you are trying to do it). It also fitted in with other travel plans. Ranong is a Thai border town along the Andaman Coast that is more interesting […]
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Penang by George
Georgetown by any other name would still be …Penang, because that’s what most people refer to it as. Though, strictly speaking Penang is an island and Georgetown is its capital. On the other hand, both are deemed cities. Penang is also a state. Even more strictly speaking, Georgetown should be split in two noun-wise – it’s George Town, named after […]
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