travel bite: the food of Burma
APPARENTLY Burmese food has a bad rep. I was told of this by the Lonely Planet. However overall both mine and others’ personal experiences were of the opposite persuasion. (Bar the ‘cheeseburger’ that was all artificial cheese slice but no burger. But then again why should the Burmese know how to make burgers when their … Continue reading
travel bite: Bagan, Burma
YOU can smell the earth awakening from its sleep, unfurling before the coming sun. Early morning buzzing sounds begin, birds caw and the echoes of crickets and squeaks of squirrels can be heard. A gentle dawn chorus of tweeting follows. Young dogs play in the dry earth of fields. A horse, anchored to its cart, … Continue reading
travel bite: Yangon (Rangoon), Burma
THE city’s streets are dark. At intervals there is the odd fluorescent tube, a candle, a dim shop light. Sounds and smells become guides. Uneven terrain is blindly navigated underfoot. In what light there is a man is spied on his back, spreadeagled, his body contained within a metal framed trailer. It is parked in … Continue reading
travel bite: Tad Lo, Laos (Pt 2)
YOU know that you’re at a good point in life when your biggest conundrum is whether or not it’s acceptable to pick-up-a-pig. Well, piglet to be specific – the sow would provide too much physical exertion for one day… It’s whilst sitting at Mama’s observing preparations for the New Year Pii Mai Laos celebrations that … Continue reading
travel bite: Tad Lo, Laos (Pt 1)
I HAVE been transported to a little piece of heaven. A bamboo hut leaning askew; shaded porch overlooking grazing cattle meandering across scorched fields. The cows are calling out to each other in the twilight, great groans – as though involuntarily – escaping them. The wooden decking beneath my feet is flanked with faded floral … Continue reading
travel bite: Vientiane to Savannakhet, Laos
VIENTIANE was a shock to the system. Having arrived from the intensity of Hanoi – a city that constantly induced in me rapid switches between love and hate for the place – Laos’ capital seemed like a joke. This relatively sleepy Asian city, boasting a significant lack of motorbikes and touts (in fact just a … Continue reading
and all that's in between 