The small town of Kalaw is the starting point of a mostly downhill, 3 day trek to Inle Lake. The walk offers a unique look into the farming methods and lifestyles of several ethnic groups including Palaung, Danu, Pa-O, and Taung Yoe hill tribes. The often talked about Karen tribe, also known as the "Long Necks" due to the heavy brass rings the women wear, were nowhere to be found along the trail. Unfortunately, many have taken refuge in Thailand to escape persecu...

Spread out over a large plain bordered by the Irrawaddy River, Bagan is an ancient city that went through a massive building spree between the 9th and 13th centuries. Over two thousand temples and pagodas still stand today making it Myanmar's equivalent to Peru's Machu Picchu or Cambodia's Angor Wat. It's probably Myanmar's top tourist destination. And this brings me to the next thing I learned about Myanmar. Not all hotels are approved to host foreigners creatin...

It's December 11, 2015 and it's been a long time since I've posted anything. At all. In summary, my blogging absence can be directly attributed to living in Peru for 2 1/2 years, spending time in places I blogged about before, and simply not giving a **** about providing updates. With the growth of Facebook and the instant gratification that comes from social media twits and tweets, etc., it seems like detailed blog entries that require time and effort to compose...

In probably the fastest country visit ever, I crossed over to an island of Myanmar(Burma) for an hour and a half before returning to Thailand. I now have another 30 days stay stamped into my passport for Thailand which I need to stay here through New Year. The officials on both sides know why people come here and they have the easy come-and-go process worked out so it's fast and smooth. So I can now say I was in Myanmar and have the stamps to prove it....but I ca...