I landed in Ulanbaatar in the very early am. My pre-arranged ride was not waiting at airport so I found a taxi who promptly delivered me to my guest house, 20 mins to town w/o traffic. Two story guesthouse. I ended up on the second floor - frustrated because the inside door to the guesthouse was locked and it was 430am. Knocking over and over again resulted in no action from within. I began to prep a rudimentary sleeping arrangement in the … [Read more...]
Wineries in Thailand? Yes! A Visit to Thailand’s Smallest Winery, Alcidini Winery
Compared to our time intensive work of visiting hundreds of wineries in the world famous Napa Valley, visiting wineries in Thailand is a fairly straight forward endeavor. We were told there are only 6 wineries in the entire country, 4 of which are in the vicinity of Khao Yai; without spending much time at all, we have already visited 50% of the countries wineries. Our latest winery visit was to Alcidini (the latin name for a local Kingfisher … [Read more...]
A Perfect Vibe, Koh Mak, Thailand
A number of islands in Thailand or beach destinations, especially in the southern part of the country can be over tourist-ed at times and or are destinations for travelers who want to party. For many years I've been attracted to some of the islands in the north closer to the Cambodian border including one of my favorite islands in Thailand, Koh Kood. However, recently I made the trip to Koh Mak, a tiny neighboring island accessible via one of two … [Read more...]
Visiting Bagan, Myanmar
Bagan is the land of ancient temples - these stone spires dot the dusty landscape of what is called the Bagan Plains. We are visiting in the middle of winter, yet the temperatures are very warm during the day and pleasant at night; apparently rain has not fallen here for weeks. Coming from Inle Lake, some 6 hours away by bus we were startled by the dramatic difference in landscape. Inle Lake has plenty of water - in fact villages are built above … [Read more...]
Glimpses of Inle Lake, A must visit when in Myanmar
My formula for epic trips is something like this: travel with friends, seek out a diversity of unique and fun experiences, enjoy a bit of adventure, always imbibe in a bit of alcohol, find a balance between the natural and urban worlds, find good value for the money and meet other travelers. When Bohemian Vagabond suggested we visited Myanmar, I admit I wasn't super excited - having only visited once before near the Thai border and never … [Read more...]
The Evolution of Travel
Travel has changed so much in the past few years - during my latest trip abroad, this time to Myanmar, some of these changes were quite noticeable. Long gone are the days of Internet cafes where one would see travelers hunched over keypads staring at klutzy box like computer screens - often in the mornings or evenings after spending the day sightseeing. Today one is more likely to see one staring at a mobile phone - with travelers having … [Read more...]
Enjoying a Diversity of Experiences in Yangon, Myanmar
After landing at the modern airport in Yangon we quickly purchased a sim card with a local phone number. We were told that in the last few years the price of Internet and cell phones have dropped dramatically. One tour guide told us that in the last 10 years mobile phones have gone from costing more then $1000 to now being relatively affordable. Our taxi driver informed us that traffic in Yangon can be intense - horrific at times - traffic … [Read more...]
Wine Tasting in Myanmar
When traveling abroad, I always seek out wineries whenever possible. To some, going wine tasting in Myanmar might be somewhat of a surprise - an anomaly and to an extent it is. However, there are two wineries in the country, (Aythaya Vineyard and Red Mountain Estate) both in the vicinity of Inle Lake. Red Mountain Estate Winery is located on the outskirts of the small town of Nyaungshe. As one arrives, one quickly sees vineyards lining the … [Read more...]
Songkhran, Thai New Years
Historically April is the hottest month of the year in Thailand. Presumably the warmest days are mid month - conveniently this is when Songkran is held every year. For several days one of the world's biggest waterfights takes place throughout the country. Our Songkran began slowly - joining a colorful procession of people parading through a temple grounds. Hawaiian style colorful shirts are the norm during the days of Songkran - the brighter the … [Read more...]
Visiting North Korea (not really)
During a recent visit to Yangon, Myanmar a friend of a friend working in the city informed us about a North Korean restaurant within a 10 minute drive of where we were staying (the Merchant Art Boutique Hotel). My only other experience with North Korea was in Dandong, China. An old military bridge (today called the Friendship Bridge) extends half way across the Yalu River. I was there in the middle of winter and I remember it was extremely … [Read more...]
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