SCENIC LOOKOUT
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By boat from Mawlamyine to Hpa An
Following construction of a road, the boat trip from Mawlamyine to Hpa An in south eastern Myanmar became obsolete public transport for locals. Now the journey is reserved for foreigners as a leisurely alternative to bumpy bitumen. However, apart from an unnecessary temple excursion adding an extra hour and a 1,000 kyat tuk-tuk fee, it’s a pleasant and interesting way to […]
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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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Otway Odyssey
Waterfalls, lakes and primordial forest. And satin bowerbirds! These photos were taken on a recent mid-winter visit to Otway National Park in Victoria, around Apollo Bay. The highlight, mostly because I hadn’t seen it before, was Lake Elizabeth. The lake was formed in 1952 when a landslide damned a section of the East Barwon River upstream from the town of […]
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White Night could need a white knight
In 2016 I wondered if Melbourne’s White Night was losing its shine. After attending this year’s event the doubts remain. Again, there were great sights at the bookends, but much less to observe in between, apart from buskers. There was also a similarity about some of the displays, and perhaps it could benefit from more reinvention. IMO the event was […]
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Tequila Torquay
These ‘tequila’ sunrises were taken in the Downunder Torquay as opposed to the one in Britain. No mixed drinks, Mexican or otherwise were consumed, though it was mid-winter and a stiff drink might have helped ward off the chill. I settled for a brisk walk.
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Benalla let’s it all hang out
The rural city of Benalla in Kelly Country, North East Victoria, recently held its second Wall to Wall street-art festival, where town buildings are set aside for local and international artists to use as their creative canvas. As a former Benalla boy, I can say that past things ‘arty’ haven’t always been greeted with unanimous enthusiasm, but the whole community […]
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