Mandalay

Wow Mandalay...

It's hard to love Mandalay, it's polluted, noisy and dirty. It's hard to find restaurants to eat at, there are hardly any cafes to chill in. The sun from 10.30am to 4.30pm is so unrelenting.

It is made up for by the sincerest people that can be found anywhere. Hold up a map and you can be sure someone will to your rescue. Left your mobile phone in a cab? Call the cab company and the driver will bring it back on the same day.

And best of all, come sunset and the city is transformed. The shadows cast gives a different dimension to everything.








At the Jewellery market where foreigners are hardly found.




Young monks watching the sunset, not sure if the work of the tourism board; buses of them are spotted at u bein bridge.



Young nuns join in the fun too.







Lovely Innwa. Can so imagine a banyan tree opening here. Great respite from the polluted streets of Mandalay.







Scenes at Innwa- not much has changed since colonial times. Locals wear longyis and drive horse carts. Europeans set up nice tables for lunch.




Young monks doing their homework at the teak monastery at Innwa.



Sunset at Mandalay hill

Wishing you were here,
Mr and Mrs Koh

Balloons over Bagan

The best way to experience Bagan is to go up for a balloon flight. Which we did at 5.30am. Champagne and croissants followed for a perfect end.













Wishing you were here,
Mr and Mrs Koh

Nightmare Train Ride from Yangon to Bagan

After reading conflicting reviews of this train, we decided to brave the 19-hour journey on it. Haha! Maybe we really shouldn't have.

Hands down, it is the dirtiest train we have ever been on and the lack of air conditioning means the windows are open throughout the night. Which sounded fine really, cool and crisp country air, right? The problem starts after nightfall where we saw the beautiful sunset from the train. Once dark, insects from the wild get attracted into the cabin which is lighted all night long. We saw a praying mantis, lots of beetles, tiny flying things we couldn't identify and of course a cockroach. The locals are completely indifferent to the bugs and don't even notice them on the floor as they walk. Our waiter in the dining car swept a poor beetle back and forth while serving us.

We heard much about the random and sudden bumpiness due to poor maintenance of the rail tracks. While it didn't make us nauseous, it made us dance to oppa gangnam style without really meaning to. Which was funny at first, and then not so funny when it rocked while we were trying to drink water.

Ok, the silver lining was that the toilet was thankfully bearable and I didn't have to hold for the entire 19-hour journey.

















Wishing you were here,
Mr and Mrs Koh

Quirky Yangon

Telephone booths- as in little tables by the road with 2 or 3 cable connected telephones that anyone can pay to make a phonecall.


Water stations- every 300 meters or so there will be water dispensers with a mug. Not suitable for the saliva conscious. (Sorry! we didn't take any photos.)



Vintage buses- bus conductors work hard in yangon; they yell out the route at every stop and help passengers up and down the buses that never seem to come to a complete stop




Vintage movie tickets


Wishing you were here,
Mr and Mrs Koh

Golden Triangle 20th Oct - 8 Nov 2012

Finally, we are leaving for our trip tomorrow. All along, HM wanted this trip..ie to cover Myanmar, Laos & Thailand = The Golden Triangle. Planning for this trip started about 9 months ago. It was tough for her and easy for me cos she did everything, yes literally everything by herself, in the wee hours, after she finished work. I'd just shaked legs and gave a 'yes' or 'no' reply when she was trying to seek advice during her planning. (But at times, I was not sure if she was planning the trip on her laptop or watching Korean dramas).

The past one week or so was not easy too due to all the problems we faced in our respective jobs. Hence, packing for the trip was left to the last minute. Even now, I am not sure if we have brought all our necessary stuff, may have missed 1 or 2 items. Anyway, can't think too much about the packing anymore as both of us are 'injured'. HM has stiff neck - her head can only turn 45 degree to the left or right; me, I fell this morning and had a swollen ankle.

Seems like not a good way to embark on this trip. But who cares..looking forward tomorrow as 明天会更好 (lame, lame, lame)..