I didn't realise how bad the recession was in Europe, and particularly in France, until I found myself on a boat from Mandalay to Bagan. There must be no food in France! French people must have moved here because they cannot afford to eat, the poor dears. I can't think of any other reason for the scrum of French people when they were giving out toast at 8am. Surely it can't be just greed or bad manners. Surely not! I write this aboard the Malikha 6, a reaso...

I have the answer to Formula 1s lack of teams problem. They need to get a Burmese team. These guys really know how to overtake. We hired a private taxi to get us up to Pyin Oo Lwin (POL from here on in), the old British summer capital. A place to go to escape the heat. There are lots of options to get around Myanmar: posh bus, not so posh bus, trains (v slow), strange pick up things with bench seats in the back, some rickshaws, motorbike taxis, shared taxis...

We passed through Mandalay again, staying at the ok but a bit noisy Arawaddy River Hotel as it was convenient for an early start the following day. It has a great rooftop bar but is also next to a monastery that broadcasts monks reading from the holy books through loud speakers for most of the night. We spent 45 minutes in a travel agent booking 1hr flights from Bagan to Mandalay, watching a team of three 'work the Internet' then a team of two work the visa mac...

I have the answer to Formula 1s lack of teams problem. They need to get a Burmese team. These guys really know how to overtake. We hired a private taxi to get us up to Pyin Oo Lwin (POL from here on in), the old British summer capital. A place to go to escape the heat. There are lots of options to get around Myanmar: posh bus, not so posh bus, trains (v slow), strange pick up things with bench seats in the back, some rickshaws, motorbike taxis, shared taxis...

A day or so in Mandalay began to get us into the holiday mood. J and I realised that we don't act like many tourists, shuttling from temple to temple, historical sight to historical sight. We tend to like to visit some, and enjoy wandering backstreets and sitting in local cafes just as much. In some places this approach can put you in places where 'spider senses start tingling' but we haven't felt like this at all in Myanmar. In general, South Eat Asia feels s...