Middle-aged flash packers

What an action packed day! We’d booked a boat trip yesterday. Usually I’m not a fan of these tours that pretend they’re cultural then take you to people’s shops selling stuff you don’t want. However, we were interested to see life on the lake and the delightful sales lady promised we wouldn’t be taken anywhere…

Fab day today. Started with breakfast presented on a miniature longboat. Fruit, yoghurt, dim sum and vegetable tempura. Followed by omelette, bacon, toast, pastries and jam. And avocado juice. And a carrot, orange and celery shot. The only chores we had to do today were sort out the laundry and find some transportation to the…

The homestay’s cockerel was a little premature with its crowing as it was still dark when it woke me up. My hips and backside were numb from the wooden floor. I fidgeted about for a bit before I gave up and started writing my blog. The village looked very misty this morning and there is…

After a very uncomfortable tummy in the night I decided to forgo breakfast and finish my blog and packing instead. We were all slightly nervous about the trek and how basic/hard it was going to be. We paid extra to go on a private trek and also to go on the less touristy trail. It…

We set off on a lazy meander to find the viewpoint described by the hotel manager. A place well signposted, to be found after the bamboo pagoda, a 2 hour walk max from the hotel. Lovely views over Kalaw. It was a beautiful day and there were lots of photo opportunities. Flowers are abundant here…

We made the flight to Kalaw without any mishaps. We were feeling a lot better by then although Steve said I looked very grey. Kalaw is a little hill town in the Shan state of Myanmar. It was popular with the Brits in colonial times as an escape from the heat of the cities. For…

You know I said the meal at BBQ food was one we were going to regret? In the early hours of the morning, with amazing synchronicity, Steve and I woke up with uncomfortable bloated tummies. Feeling very queasy, we tossed and turned throughout the night unable to get comfortable. This went on until I eventually…

Today was temple, palace and pagoda day. Steve and I walked along the side of the palace moat, watching large catfish and carp swimming about in the muddy waters. Some young lads caught a really large fish with a hand line. They were a bit shifty as there were signs up saying no fishing. The…

The last time we came to Bangkok there were protests and the roads around the area we stayed in were closed. Instead of cars there were activists in tents. We didn’t realise quite how blissfully quiet that made it at the time. Roll forward 5 years and Sukhumvit feels a very different place. I’m not…

Did you know Rudyard Kipling never actually went to Mandalay? So his poem was in fact conjecture even though he does make exceedingly good cakes. We, on the other hand, are the real deal and will be physically present in Mandalay and many other Burmese places. Our motley crew of battle scarred road warriors (bit…