South East Asia & New Zealand

A 168-day adventure by Juliet Read more

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Trip start
September 10, 2019
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Day 1
Tuesday, September 10, 2019 UTC
🌧 25 °C
Altitude: 12 m
Myanmar Kanbe 16.840888, 96.16512816°50’27” N 96°9’54” E
Myanmar
September 10, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ 🌧 25 °C
Taking the first of many photos at Heathrow, Jaski and I start our adventure! We flew to Bangkok for a quick layover (and stated our 2nd day of travel) before changing planes, giving us a bird's eye view of the never-ending sprawl of Bangkok. The trip has truly started as we landed late at night in Yangon and got our first view of the Sule Pagoda. Found some dinner at a local BBQ restaurant, which seem to close early here.Read more
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Day 3
Thursday, September 12, 2019 at 12:57 PM
🌧 25 °C
Altitude: 58 m
Myanmar Shwedagon Pagoda 16.79825, 96.1495516°47’54” N 96°8’58” E
Exploring Yangon
September 12, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ 🌧 25 °C
We are in the middle of monsoon season and spend the day exploring the capital in the rain. We accidentally come across a popular couples hangout, the People's Park. Through the pouring rain we see lots of fun ornaments, lush gardens, canoodling huts, a lovers walk, abandoned aircrafts and steam engines. Next, we reach the beautiful Shwedagon Pagoda, a huge complex with mirrored and bejeweled temples around the main stupa housing the gold Buddhas and statues. We finished the day at Kandawgyi lake and boardwalk, which I suspect would be much nicer in the sun, still we had a quick walk and hid in a fancy coffee shop.Read more
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Day 4
Friday, September 13, 2019 at 2:51 PM UTC
🌙 25 °C
Altitude: 7 m
Myanmar Botataung 16.77314, 96.1595116°46’23” N 96°9’34” E
Downtown Yangon
September 13, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ 🌙 25 °C
Downtown Yangon is bustling; people and street carts cover the pavement, there are huge avenues and it’s filled with cafes and street food stalls. There are many colonial buildings which are crumbling and are being taken over by nature. The small Maha Bandula Park with the Independence statue and the huge river are popular attractions. We visit the upmarket Rangoon Tea House to try some traditional brew before accidentally ordering a double dinner because of our poor communication skills.Read more
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Day 5
Saturday, September 14, 2019 at 9:19 AM
⛅ 28 °C
Altitude: 14 m
Myanmar Insein Railroad Station 16.88592, 96.1083616°53’9” N 96°6’30” E
Guided tour & Circle line train
September 14, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
Accidentally ended up on a private tour with GuruWalks; our local guide was super friendly and kicked off by teaching us about "umbrella culture". We visited an old colonial embassy which had been converted inside to house all kinds of small businesses and families. Sadly (and unsafely), the buildings are falling into ruin due to ongoing disputes of legal ownership. Unusually for the region we saw representation for all the major faiths, including an Armenian church. We stopped at a “locals” tea house (quite different to yesterdays) for a selection of super sweet teas. Spent the afternoon on the sweaty Circle line train - although not currently a circle. We rode out to Insein with Miffy, who we met waiting for the train, which gave us the chance to see locals living their lives, which includes collecting and sorting the plastic waste. Finished off the day with a traditional Burmese foot massage.Read more
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Day 6
Sunday, September 15, 2019 at 6:15 AM
☁️ 33 °C
Altitude: 222 m
Myanmar Khangon 22.01447, 96.1080822°0’52” N 96°6’29” E
Mandalay
September 15, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C
We arrived awfully early on the overnight bus, which meant we got to see all the locals up for work at sunrise. The low rise, mostly concrete town isn’t that attractive but has some interesting tourist sites, including Mandalay Palace with a nightly music fountain in the moat, the colourful Zaygo market (everything you could ever want to buy) and Mandalay Hill. We took the covered but humid and sweaty staircase to the hilltop in time for sunset. Here we found all the tourists from the town, they'd all (sensibly but boringly) got taxis to the near top and the elevator the rest of the way! We met our first teenage English students, they really wanted to practice their English with native speakers.Read more
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Day 7
Monday, September 16, 2019 at 12:03 AM UTC
🌧 25 °C
Altitude: 109 m
Myanmar Mingun 22.05589, 96.0165122°3’21” N 96°0’59” E
Morning ancient cities cultural tour
September 16, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ 🌧 25 °C
1. Mahagandayon Monastery - An insensitive but interesting tourist attraction (not our choice). At 10.15am, 1000 monks begin their procession to their lunch rooms via the path of tourists. Some people had donations; biscuits, packaged cakes, sweets, note books and money. The monks disappear into a building, deposit their donations and collect their simple breakfast.
2. Min Gun bell - Second biggest bell in the world but due to technical difficulties it never made it into a pagoda.
3. Mya Thein Tan - AKA the big white pagoda; bright stark white against the blue sky and the lush green background. We danced around other people for the shady spots, so we didn’t burn our feet. We encountered the first tourist hawkers, ladies following you (and embarrassingly fanning you as you sweat profusely).
4. Temple in a rock - No shoes and midday heat so we dashed the 50m inside. The tiny alter inside is a tad underwhelming compared to the rock.Read more
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Day 7
Monday, September 16, 2019 at 4:58 PM
⛅ 27 °C
Altitude: 37 m
Myanmar Taungthaman In 21.8917, 96.0612621°53’30” N 96°3’41” E
Afternoon ancient cities cultural tour
September 16, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
5. 45 Buddhas temple - A beautiful gold and pale blue crescent shaped building, with 45 golden Buddhas inside. The driver came with us to visit the temple as his family sponsored a section of the temple. We may have missed the amazing lush views of Sagaing hill from the rooftop if he hadn't.
6. Soon U Poonya Shin - A huge gold Buddha in a mirrored and bejeweled room. Outside had some lovely tile work (and cool to stand on!).
7. Ancient Ava or Innwa - We were dropped at the jetty for a quick boat ride (car engine obviously) over to the other side of the river. The ancient city is now mostly banana plantations and rice fields interspersed with historical buildings, aging pagodas and a monastery. The area is a tourist trap with no signs to tell you how to get anywhere and we had to use the touristy horse & cart. After the first stop we caught the driver punching the horse; so we swapped drivers and refused to pay, he didn't seem bothered.
Throughout the day we stopped at a few factories, including gold leaf made by hand (beating molten gold for 5 hours between handmade bamboo paper!), wood carving and silk weaving. The amount of handmade work is quite insane.Read more
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Day 7
Monday, September 16, 2019 at 11:30 PM
☁️ 24 °C
Altitude: 37 m
Myanmar Taungthaman In 21.89169, 96.0612621°53’30” N 96°3’41” E
Sunset ancient cities cultural tour
September 16, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
8. U Bein teak bridge - The oldest teak bridge in the world, therefore suitably wobbly with no handrails. There were plenty of tourists but most didn't bother to go to the far side, so we found some quiet spots to enjoy the beautiful sunset. One of the most iconic places we visited in Myanmar.Read more
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Day 8
Tuesday, September 17, 2019 at 1:00 PM
⛅ 32 °C
Altitude: 187 m
Myanmar Dedok Chaung 21.70718, 96.3562521°42’26” N 96°21’23” E
Waterfall fun
September 17, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C
Miffy recommended a driver who could take us to a secluded waterfall in the hills and it didn’t disappoint. The pools were genuine turquoise and the rocks had a fine silk coating of limestone, giving the water a milky appearance. Great place to relax for the day; quiet, cooler weather, beautiful water and a free fish spa. Some intrepid Chinese found a higher pool which we couldn't work out how to get up too. But they showed us the way; using a piece of rubber piping (apparently not just abandoned) as an abseiling rope and some positioned bamboo! When in Rome… Finished the day with a lovely sunset over the city.Read more
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Day 9
Wednesday, September 18, 2019 at 5:00 PM
⛅ 32 °C
Altitude: 71 m
Myanmar Potokbyu 21.42608, 95.3500121°25’34” N 95°21’0” E
Mandalay to Bagan by boat
September 18, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C
Full day on the Irrawaddy river; a slow way route but we avoided another night bus and was actually very relaxing. It's a quiet time of year so the boat was barely a quarter full. Lunch was surprisingly good and we even got afternoon tea - rice doughnuts with dipping syrup. We stopped at a village to watch water pots being made by hand, they’re then air dried and sold all over Myanmar.Read more
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Day 10
Thursday, September 19, 2019 at 9:52 AM
⛅ 31 °C
Altitude: 73 m
Myanmar Bagan 21.16826, 94.8626621°10’6” N 94°51’46” E
Morning at the temples of Bagan
September 19, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
With a private driver and guide we headed out to see as much as possible in a day in the rain.
1. Shwezigone pagoda - A stunning gold temple complex right in the middle of the new city. Our guide taught us a great photo trick, originally used by the architects during building.
2. Nagayon temple - Still retains much of the original painted decoration inside. Amazingly you can still get up and close.
3. Ananda Temple - The Buddha statue smiles differently depending how close you are standing, if you're on the closest path (monks) = small smile, middle path (royals) = mid smile, furthest path (public) = big smile. A very clever architectural trick of the light.Read more
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Day 10
Thursday, September 19, 2019 at 1:30 PM UTC
⛅ 28 °C
Altitude: 72 m
Myanmar Bagan Temple 21.17173, 94.8585521°10’18” N 94°51’31” E
Afternoon at the temples of Bagan
September 19, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
4. Small unnamed pagodas - Some of the 2000 odd small old family temples which makes Bagan famous. Some with interesting bird nests on show.
5. Manuha temple - The temple of giant Buddhas! They built the statues first, then built the building around them, just leaving a tiny path and worship space.Read more
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Day 10
Thursday, September 19, 2019 at 8:30 PM
⛅ 28 °C
Altitude: 74 m
Myanmar Nyaung-U 21.19313, 94.9032521°11’35” N 94°54’12” E
Late afternoon at the temples of Bagan
September 19, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
6. Thatbyinnyu temple – Just a quick pitstop outside to look at the design.
7. Nagayon temple - A well preserved temple showing many of the original hand painted decorations.
8. Dhammayamgyi temple and a disappointing sunset -To really understand the scale of Bagan, you need to take a hot air balloon up but we still had a good bird’s eye view from the sunset mound.Read more
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Day 11
Friday, September 20, 2019 at 10:01 AM
🌧 26 °C
Altitude: 668 m
Myanmar Popaywa 20.91634, 95.212820°54’59” N 95°12’46” E
Mount Popa
September 20, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ 🌧 26 °C
Enroute the shared taxi stopped at a random tree house so we could see a cow grinding peanut oil and home distilled palm sugar alcohol bubbling over open fires; it did have a good view point. Unfortunately, there was also a weird procession of lone beggars who camp out on the road every 20m as you near the temple. The mountain is famous for its 777 steps, the monkeys and the cleaners asking for donations to clear up after them. The views at the top are amazing, you can see for miles and get a full 360 view as you walk around the underwhelming pagodas and temples, not counting the interesting Nat temples.Read more
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Day 12
Saturday, September 21, 2019 at 11:27 AM
⛅ 23 °C
Altitude: 884 m
Myanmar Möng Hsawk 20.58093, 96.9396420°34’51” N 96°56’23” E
Biking around Inle lake
September 21, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Needing to move after another night bus, I borrowed a hotel bike and hit the quiet roads for the first half of the Inle lake cycle route. The countryside is stunning, lush green hills and beautiful lakeside reflections. I walked along the Maing Thouk wooden bridge which leads you to houses and businesses on stilts. Hardly saw another tourist and the locals let me observe local life in action. The Red Mountain vineyard was an unexpected site. In the afternoon we rode in the opposite direction, through hills and villages to the hot springs, which we had to ourselves. We found a special place for dinner, which supports a women's charity, the owner chatted to us about her work and we ate two delicious local dishes - ginger salad and tea leaf salad.Read more
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Day 13
Sunday, September 22, 2019 at 1:58 PM
☁️ 21 °C
Altitude: 861 m
Myanmar In-u 20.58631, 96.9101820°35’11” N 96°54’37” E
Inle lake boat trip
September 22, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Today we completed the top attraction in Inle Lake; a private boat trip around the floating villages, workshops, farms and the jumping cat monastery. A pleasant day floating, looking at the traditional fisherman, visiting the craft houses and watching the locals use their unique foot oarsmanship. The monastery did indeed have plenty of cats, ornate carvings and lovely views over the lake. The floating farms produce a third of Myanmar's tomatoes among other fruit and veg. Quite remarkable.Read more
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Day 14
Monday, September 23, 2019 UTC
🌙 28 °C
Altitude: 9 m
Myanmar Kanbe 16.84095, 96.1735316°50’27” N 96°10’25” E
Burmese food & drink
September 23, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ 🌙 28 °C
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Day 16
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
☀️ 32 °C
Altitude: 8 m
Thailand Khlong Saen Saep 13.74932, 100.5282113°44’58” N 100°31’42” E
Thailand
September 25, 2019 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
Back in Bangkok for our first chance to explore the city. The morning was spent visiting the top attraction - shopping malls. Followed by a trip to Jim Thompson's house, who was the man who first bought Thai silk to the USA, making a lot of money, and possibly working for the CIA before mysteriously disappearing in the Cameron highlands, Malaysia. He bought a lot of beautiful artifacts, pictures and statues to fill his Bangkok house which is now a museum. The house was originally 6 different teak houses which he combined into one. We stopped by the Erawan shrine and watched the dancers before heading to Lumphini park, which is apparently where everyone goes after work for their exercise. Finished the day at the trendy Artbox market.Read more
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Day 17
Thursday, September 26, 2019
☀️ 33 °C
Altitude: 6 m
Thailand Grand Palace 13.75011, 100.491313°45’0” N 100°29’29” E
The Grand Palace
September 26, 2019 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
A hectic day seeing the top temples in central Bangkok; The Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew), Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho) and over the river the Temple of the Dawn (Wat Arun). The number of people at the Grand Palace was quite insane, definitely the busiest place we’d been so far on the trip. All the buildings are stunning with intricate designs, hand painted murals and mirrored tiles. We finished off our final day in Bangkok with rooftop cocktails at Above Eleven.Read more
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Day 18
Friday, September 27, 2019 at 8:06 PM
🌙 26 °C
Altitude: 29 m
Vietnam Hồ Tây 21.05298, 105.8240221°3’11” N 105°49’26” E
Vietnam
September 27, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌙 26 °C
Hanoi weekend street party - Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, the road around the lake is pedestrianised, food and drink street vendors line the route and tons of people are out busking, singing karaoke, playing Dá Cầu (foot badminton) and dancing. All round great atmosphere with thousands of people out enjoying the fun till late.Read more
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Day 19
Saturday, September 28, 2019 at 3:59 PM
☀️ 32 °C
Altitude: 29 m
Vietnam Red River Delta 21.03703, 105.8394921°2’13” N 105°50’22” E
Morning exploring Hanoi
September 28, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
1. Tran Quoc Pagoda.
2. Quan Thanh Temple - A Taoist temple (our first). The alters are packed with ornaments and offerings and a lot of gold. The walls, doors and ceilings are all highly decorated.
3. Thăng Long Imperial Citadel – A small old fort in the middle of the city.Read more
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Day 19
Saturday, September 28, 2019 at 11:00 PM
🌙 25 °C
Altitude: 35 m
Vietnam Temple of Literature 21.02776, 105.8341621°1’40” N 105°50’3” E
Afternoon exploring Hanoi
September 28, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌙 25 °C
4. Train street -Trains runs along this very narrow road with cafes lining each side; table and chairs are folded down or pushed back to make way for the train to go past. The cafe owners and a guard ensure all the tourists are off the track. Luckily a very loud horn signals its arrival!
5. Ngoc Son Temple – An island temple in the lake with a bridge that is lit up at night.
6. Hanoi post office - Pretty...no idea why it’s stranded in the middle of the lake.Read more
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Day 20
Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 12:23 PM
☀️ 32 °C
Altitude: 41 m
Vietnam Hồ Hoàn Kiếm 21.02525, 105.8463921°1’31” N 105°50’47” E
Further exploration in Hanoi
September 29, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
1. The One Pillar Pagoda - Exactly as described and highly unusual.
2. Ho Chi Minh complex - The huge Ho Chi Minh mausoleum of, a museum dedicated to his life and work (very strange inside, not much in English and lots of interpretative "art" - very confusing). Unfortunately, his stilt house where he was meant to have actually lived a simple life was closed for a long lunch break.
3. Parliament, state building and St Joseph’s cathedral.
4. The beautiful Hanoi opera house
5. Lo Hao (Hanoi Hilton) prison - The French built this prison to hold both male and female political prisoners. Pretty awful place and disgusting conditions. Torture was the norm and an imported French guillotine for executions. A lucky few escaped over the years. The almond tree (still there) provided shade during the 45min yard time and leaves and fruit to chew and make medicinal compounds from. The Americans captured during the war were also kept here when it was referred to as the Hanoi Hilton!Read more
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Day 21
Monday, September 30, 2019
☀️ 32 °C
Altitude: 44 m
Vietnam Hồ Hoàn Kiếm 21.02356, 105.8515621°1’25” N 105°51’6” E
Scholars temple & Women's museum
September 30, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
More sightseeing in Hanoi. The Scholars temple was calm with dark wood, carving and vast gardens and I learnt the tail of the stork and the tortoise which you see in every temple. The Women's museum told the story of women at war (where they were successful guerrilla warriors) and fashion through the ages and tribes. Also had a stroll down cute book street and admired the mish-mash of architecture.Read more
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Day 22
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
⛅ 22 °C
Altitude: 2,748 m
Vietnam Đỉnh Phan Xi Phăng 22.30816, 103.7782222°18’29” N 103°46’42” E
Trekking Sapa - Day 1
October 1, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
Two days trekking through the bamboo forest and rice fields with our young, giggly and informative guide and an army of local helpers (in cultural dress and flip flops) who multitasked making string, carrying children, collecting snacks and helping us through the wet fields, down grassy slopes and across streams. Our guide introduced us to a new drinking game - pass the garlic clove with chopsticks, the price for dropping it ... a shot of rice wine. I only got 2 shots, others were much worse off. We had a nice group dinner at our modern homestay where we stayed the night.Read more
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