Nats, Caves, and Giant Spiders

There is some kind of serendipity that visits on occasions when I travel – and usually more often than not when I’m in company with my travel companion, Karyna. This time, none of the six internal airlines in Myanmar had any places to fly from Bagan to Inle Lake. Much research revealed the possibility of […]

Weaving, water, and wineries

Inle Lake in the early dawn is magical. A gentle mist rises, the sky goes from indigo to mauve to blue, and as a backdrop there lie the mountains that cover so much of Shan State. In the far distance is China. And occasionally into view comes a fisherman setting up for the day. No […]

Biking Bagan

I’m not much inclined to get up before dawn. The more so when it’s New Years Day and I’m engaged in trying to navigate unlit streets on an ancient bike with no gears. My body is telling me it wants to be asleep, and my brain is just about registering all the signs of a […]

Bengal & Benares

Calcutta, or Kolkata as it is now known, is a huge city and once the seat of British India. You would have to say that they made a pretty good job of constructing such a giant edifice that nobody would doubt their divinely-ordained power. And out the front is a huge open space which has […]