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From Agra, I took the train to Varanasi or Benaras (Indian name). Varanasi is one of the seven sacred cities of Hinduism. The other six sacred cities are Haridwar, Ayodhya, Dwarka, Mathura, Kanchipuram, Ujjain. Varanasi or the city of Shiva (Hindu Goddess) is considered to be one of the holiest cities in India. Varanasi lies adjacent to the Ganges river which is one of the most sacred rivers in the Hindu religion. Hindus make pilgrimages to Varanasi to bath in one of the 80 ghats or bathing areas along the Ganges. Hindus believe that bathing in the Ganges washes away your sins and if you die in Varanasi it is considered good luck because you will be liberated from the cycle of birth and death. As my friend said, "Varanasi is a city that is alive" It is filled with constant activity. Along the Ganges river there are nightly pujas, people bathing, cremated bodies floating down the river, and launders cleaning clothes on rocks. One morning I took a boat ride on the Ganges and watched the sunrise. As the sun rose over the river, the river was filled with activity - people bathing, launders washing clothes, other boats filled with Hindu pilgrims, the remnants of bodies floating by; it was an interesting experience. Off the river, the city is filled with a maze of narrow alleys. I would walk aimlessly down alleys getting lost, then finding my way again. I really enjoyed staying in Varanasi and experiencing the energy of the city.

On my last afternoon in Varanasi, I visited the town of Sarnath which is about 15 km or 10 miles north. Sarnath is where Buddha gave his first teaching after attaining enlightenment. Sarnath is home to numerous Buddhist temples as well as Jain Temples. While I was there I befriended a Jain priest and his two young sons at a Jain Temple. I ended up getting a tour of some of the temples by the two sons. At the end of the day, I went to the Jain priest's home for some tea. On my ride home from Sarnath, the streets were filled with processions of weddings and funerals with loud music blaring in between streams of bright lights.

After Varanasi, I ventured to Bodhgaya. Bodhgaya is located in the Indian state of Bihar and it is where Buddha attained enlightenment under a Banyan tree. Bodhgaya is a major pilgrimage city for Buddhists. A temple called the Mahabodhi Temple sits adjacent to the Banyan tree where Buddha was enlightened. Bodhgaya is home to temples and monasteries from all the major Buddhist sects - Tibetan, Zen, Thai, etc. But Bihar is the poorest state in India. Just outside the Mahabodhi temple where a gold statue of Buddha sits, beggars line the street and children wander around in dilapidated clothing. While I was there I volunteered at a local school helping the kids learn math and english. Also with some friends, I took a day trip to Radjir and Nalanda. Radjir is home to Vulture Peak where Buddha gave his first teaching on emptiness. Nalanda was once the home to one of the ancient world's great universities. At its peak, the university was home to 10,000 monks and students. It is said that when the Afghans burnt the library of books at Nalanda, the fire lasted six months.

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From Udaipur, I ventured to the town of Pushkar. Pushkar is home to the holy lake of Pushkar which is surrounded by numerous ghats or baths on the lake. Pushkar is a small towned filled with guesthouses, shops and both India and Foreign travellers and it is home to hundreds of temples. I spent my time there replenishing my book library, drinking chai, reading and hanging out with some friends and but mostly just taking it easy.

Octopussy and the temples of Pushkar remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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While we were in Jodhpur, my friend and I stayed in a cozy guesthouse aptly named Cosy Guesthouse. From the roof of our guesthouse, we got a beautiful view of the blue buildings of Jodhpur and the Jodhpur fort which is situated on a hill in the middle of the city. Our stay in Jodhpur was only two days but while we were there we visited the Jodhpur fort. Built on a hill overlooking the city, the fort offered a great defense against attacks in the old days and a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape. While exploring the fort, my friend and I caught a couple of guards throwing paper airplanes off the side of the fort. Their planes floated leisurely in the desert wind. (I tried my own paper airplane but it just took a nose dive straight down) We also visited a 600 year old Hindu temple located in the fort. Also, we bumped into some friends that we knew from Dharmasala. India is a large country but it is certainly a small world.

From Jodhpur, we met up with another friend on the train and four hours later we arrived in the dusty city of Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer is known as the Golden city and it too has a fort. Unlike Jodhpur, Jaisalmer's fort is really dilapidated because it is filled to the brim with guesthouses, restaurants, temples and shops. The main reason we went to Jaisalmer was to go on a camel trek into the Rajasthan desert. My friends and I booked a two-day trek because we were pre-warned about the uncomfortability of riding a camel (Two days later I had a pretty sore bum, buttock, etc, etc) Our group totaled six travellers (my two friends, myself, an another american, a french and an australian), a handful of guides/cooks and of course our transportation, a motley group of camels. My camel's name was Papu and he always seemed to be taking it easy and would occasionally trot to catch the rest of the group. I had many long talks with Papu about trying to keep up with the pack, although he was a good listener, he never seemed to follow my advice, oh well. The highlight of the trek was sleeping under the stars. It was a "starry" night and we saw nearly a dozen shooting star. It was a pretty cool experience.

A train ride into Rajasthan and the eye of a camel remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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From McLeod, with four other friends, I went to Amritsar. Amritsar is located in the Punjab state and it is home to the Golden Temple. The Golden Temple is the holiest temple of the Sikh religion. The bus station in Amritsar welcomed us back into the breakneck lifesytle of India. We were immediately pursued by rickshaw drivers and the accoustics in the bus station seemed to amplify every voice and sound. It felt like we were entering a riot.

My friends and I stayed in rooms that were attached to the Golden Temple. The Golden Temple is stunning. The temple offered free meals throughout the day. You could donate money or help wash the dishes. My friends and I helped wash dishes for an hour or so and the people smiled with joy. We heard that they served almost 30,000 people per day. Each day in the Golden Temple, the sacred Sikh book is processed out in the early morning and returned at night. One morning, my friend and I attended the procession of the sacred book. We huddled with the numerous Sikh pilgrims and watched the ceremony with curious eyes. It was a great experience. During our stay at the temple the Sikh's made us feel at home and welcomed us with open arms.

Just west of Amritsar is the Pakistan border. Each night, there is an elaborate border closing ceremony between India and Pakistan. Both sides of the border are lined with grandstands and when we attended the ceremony, the seats were filled to the brim. The border is closed for two or three hours and each country performs a slow, comical ceremony. On our side, an Indian emcee encourages the crowd to cheer for India - "go, India, go" It is reminscent of a high school pep rally. The throngs of Indians always seem to be on a brink of rioting but at the last minute they would settle down. The ceremony is a hilarious spectacle to watch.

Suggested Books:

Tibet

Non-fiction

Freedom in Exile - Dalai Lama
Fire in the Snow - Palden Gyatso,Tsering Shakya
Reincarnation: A Boy Lama - Vicki Mackenzie
Wrestling The Dragon - Gaby Naher

Dharmasala, the Golden Temple and the border ceremony remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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From the start, everything seemed to work out. On my flight to Delhi, I befriended a nice English-Thai couple who regarded India as their second home. We shared a taxi to the backpacker area of Pahar Graj. Pahar Graj is a maze of alleys filled with small shops, scooters, bikes, dogs, and cows. Walking through the main bazaar you are befriended by Indian merchants trying to sell you everything from underwear to India rugs. During the day I would explore different areas of Delhi and at night I would eat dinner with my friends, watch some cricket and chat about India.

Delhi is crowded. There are traffic jams, pollution, the relentless sound of horns and lots and lots of people. I spent a total of five days exploring the different areas of Delhi. I rode a bike rik-shaw through the narrow alleys of old Delhi to the Red Fort. I used the new subway system to jaunt around the city. I visited the numerous sites dedicated to Ghandi - a museum, his old house and the site where he was cremated. And like most developing Asian cities, the influence of the West is abound. In an area named Connaught Place, stores selling western brands like Nike and Rolex are the main retailers. A McDonald's and TGIF attract throngs of India consumers. Western companies are slowly establishing themselves in India. One of my favorite spots was a place called Jantar Mantar. It was built for astrological purposes. Amidst the hustle and flow of Delhi sits the salmon colored oblong structures that were built in 1700's. My last night in Delhi coincided with Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. Everything was decorated in flowers and lights and the people lit fireworks throughout the night. It was a nice way to end my stay in Delhi as I headed to Dharmasala and the Himalayan mountains of the north.

Suggested Books:

India

Non-fiction

India: An Area of Darkness - V.S. Naipal
India: A Wounded Civilization - V.S. Naipal
India: A Million Mutinies - V.S. Naipal
Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts

Fiction

Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse
Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri
A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
Untouchable - Mulk Raj Anand

Passage into India remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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On the peak of Kala Pattar I got a panoramic view of the numerous Himalayan peaks including the top of the world, Mount Everest. Even sitting at 5,636m we were dwarfed by the peaks around us. Mount Everest was still two vertical miles higher than us with an elevation of 8,850m or 29,035 ft. While I was at Everest Base Camp I talked with an American/Canadian expedition team who I later heard were skiing down Everest and I had tea with a Korea group climbing a peak next to Everest call Lhotse. When I was in Gorak Shep, a three guesthouse town and the jumping point to both Kala Pattar and Everest Base Camp, it snowed for 36 hours. When it stopped snowing, I built a snowman, I got into a snowball fight and we all got amazing views of the numerous Himalayan peaks. Along the way I met a lot of cool people. After a day of hiking, we wound have tea or hot chocolate, chat, play some chess and warm ourselves around a Yak shit fire, yes, Yak shit. There were no trees to burn so the locals used Yak shit as fuel. I would say that the Yak is what the Buffalo was to the American Indians, they use it for everything.

But the trek definitely pushed me both mentally and physically. On the second day of the trek, my guide and I ascended 1000 vertical meters or 3300 feet and the last 300 m were straight uphill. All this hiking while I was carrying my 14 kg or 30 lb backpack. On another day, my guide took to me to a peak at 5100m or 16,700 ft to acclimate. It was cold and while we were hiking, it rained, and then snowed. It was some miserable conditions. Also, the elevation puts a toll on your body. The elevations makes it harder to breath while we hiked and slept. One of my friend's could not sleep because when he laid down he had a hard time breathing. That being said, the trek was well worth doing and something I would do again.

In between and after my treks and rafting, I hung out in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Royal Chitwan National Park. Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, is crowded, noisy and dusty. In Thamel, the tourist area, there are a bevy of guesthouses, restaurants, and bars to satisfy anybody's needs. I visited a couple of temple and some of the sights but most of my time in Kathmandu was transitioning from one adventure to another.

From Kathmandu, I visited the town of Pokhara. Pokhara was a nice respite from the noise and crowds of Kathmandu. It is a small town adjacent to Lake Phewea Tal. While I was in Pokhara I kayaked on the lake, visited the numerous restaurants in town and took it easy.

Royal Chitwan National Park is a large wild life reserve southwest of Kathmandu. While I was there, I went on a jungle walk, saw a cultural show and went on a elephant safari. To summarize my jungle walk - it was two hours of walking through the jungle and getting attacked by leeches, tree branches, and razor sharp grass and not seeing a thing, good times. On the elephant safari I did see a rhino and a baby rhino which was cool but the elephant ride was pretty uncomfortable. The elephant ride was like riding a bike down some stairs for two hours. I am so done with elephant rides! My favorite part of my visit to Chitwan was seeing the Tharu cultural show. They did various ceremonies and dances which included drums, fire and a peacock.

I was in Nepal for nearly two months and it was hard to leave. If you like the outdoors, Nepal is the place to visit. There are a plethora of outdoor activities to suit anyone's needs. If you have a chance to visit Nepal, you should definitely go.

Nepal: Part 2 - Everest Base Camp and the places in between remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The Langtang National Park is situated about 150 km north of Kathmandu. Langtang offered a great trekking environment and the allure of less tourists. We trekked for 8 days through Langtang. Unfortunately, for most of our trek it was cloudy and rainy. We were greeted with rain, more rain, leeches, and hills that would go up 400m and down 400m. Although the trekking was tiring, each day we seemed to be getting stronger and stronger and felt less tired. Finally, after four days of hiking, we made it to Kyanjin Gumpa with an elevation of 3870m or about 12,700 ft. For a couple of hours the clouds cleared and we caught glimpses of the peaks surrounding Kyanjim. While we were in Kyanjin Gompa, we met a South African who was training to climb a 8000m peak in Tibet. We would later meet up with him in Kathmandu where we played cards and enjoyed some "quiet" beers until 3 am. During our trek, the mountains were hidden behind the clouds. Finally, on our final day of the trek, the sky was clear and we got amazing views of the mountains.

After trekking, we went on a rafting trip down the Sun Kosi river. Over the next eight days we traveled 270 km down the Sun Kosi and we went through the gnarliest rapids I have ever seen. The Sun Kosi starts off with rapids of class I and class II and slowly works up to class V rapids. The class V rapids had names like Jaws, the Meatgrinder, Dead Man Eddy, to name a few. On our second day rafting we hit our first set of rapids. As we worked our way through the rapids, we hit a wave and Parry was promptly ejected from our raft and so was our rafting guide. After the rapids, we asked our guide the class of rapids; we surmised that they were maybe class III or IV rapids. Our rafting guide, chuckled and replied that those rapids were maybe class I or II. Oh boy! And just as advertised, the class V rapids were crazy. The waves were between 10-15 ft high and they would toss the raft around. My friends sat in the front of the raft and they squealed like pigs when we were in the rapids. Pretty comical but the class v's were a pure adrenline rush. The rapids were definitely not for the weak at heart, but they were festive! At night we camped on the side of the river, made camp, ate dinner, tossed the frisbee and talked about the days rapids and the upcoming rapids. It was a great trip. It was a good start to my time in Nepal.

Nepal: Part 1 - Langtang and the Sun Kosi River remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Singapore is a nice place to visit after backpacking through Asia. It is super clean, efficiently run and a master-planned community. Singapore reminds me of Irvine, California. I jokingly refer to Singapore as the Irvine of Asia or I guess you could say Irvine is the Singapore of Calfornia. There are a bazillion shopping malls and in June through July they have the great Singapore sale where every mall has a sale. But unlike other Asian countries it is pretty expensive to partake in the tasty beverages in Singapore. Beers usually cost around $10 Singapore or $6 US a pint and a glass of wine costs around $20 Singapore or $12 US. Not that I am an alcoholic but drinking in Singapore is a budget buster.

Just north of Singapore is Malaysia. I visited Malaysia twice while I was in Singapore. Just across the border from Singapore is Johor Bahru or JB. I only spent an afternoon in JB shopping. It is the equivalent of Californian's visiting Mexico for the afternoon. Only a six hour bus ride from Singapore is Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur is home to one of the world`s tallest buildings, the Petronas tower. The towers are 1483 feet or 452m high. They are a magnificent work of art. Interesting enough, they really do not look that tall. I think it is because there are no other tall buildings around them.

Only an hour ferry ride away from Singapore is Bintan. Bintan is part of Indonesia and is a beach resort. I spent two days there hanging out with my friend and chilling on the beach (I guess what else is new). A cheap three hour plane ride from Singapore is Bali, also part of Indonesia. I stayed in Bali for a week and I had a great time. My friend and I stayed right near the beach and I surfed five out of the seven days I was there. Our hotel was in Legian which was just north of the city of Kuta. Kuta is the most well-known city in Bali. The city is very built up with a Hard Rock Cafe, Starbucks, and a KFC and it is home to numerous bars and clubs. Unfortunately, the past two Novembers Kuta has been hit by suicide bombers which Bali is still trying to recover from.

During my month in Singapore and the countries around it, I got to hang out with some friends, explore the numerous malls and sites, and just get ready to go back on the road again.

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Colombo is the capital of Sri Lanka. The city is crowded and traffic and pollution is a major problem. The taxi drivers were the craziest that I have used. My friends and I were nearly killed while riding in a local taxi. Other than the taxi drivers, my visit in Colombo was fun. I visited a local orphanage that my friend had worked at. We helped the kids draw pictures and I made them paper airplanes. I visited Galle Face Hotel which is one the oldest hotels in Asia and I shopped at Sri Lanka's only department store, Dell's. But like many places in the world, the local political situation has become increasing violent. In Sri Lanka, the relationship between the Tamil population and Sri Lanka government has slowly deteriorated. While I was in Colombo, there was a suicide bombing which killed the third highest ranking general in the Sri Lanka army. On the day of the general's funeral, there was a huge military presence in the city. On the street near my guesthouse, there were soldiers stationed every fifty meters armed with an automatic machine gun. A pretty crazy sight.

From Colombo, I headed south to Hikkaduwa. Hikkaduwa is located on the west coast of Sri Lanka and is a popular beach to visit and surf at. Unfortunately, I was unable to surf because of the monsoon season. But I spent my three days there checking out the many restaurants, reading and watching some of the World Cup matches.

From Hikaduwa, I took a tuk-tuk to Galle Fort. Galle Fort is an old Dutch fort built in the 1600's. The fort sits near the ocean and is surround by 10 meter high walls. I stayed in a local guesthouse which was owned by a jolly, white haired old man. For the two nights that I stayed at the guesthouse, we chatted and drank some of the local rum, anarak. I arrived on a Sunday and in the evening Sri Lanka families flew kites, played soccer and had picnics on the fort walls.

One of the last places that I visited before leaving Sri Lanka was Unawatuna. Unawatuna is a sleepy beach town with a plethora of restaurants, hotels and bars. It was a nice place to relax and just hang out. While I was there I hung out with a couple of people that I met, swam in the ocean and visited the many restaurants.

Sri Lanka was hit pretty hard by the 2004 Tsunami. During the bus ride south I saw numerous memorials for the victims and I saw the remnants of many washed out buildings. It is estimated that around 30,000 people died from the tsunami. Galle was one of the hardest hit cities. The tsunami wave was estimated to be over 10 meters high. On the train ride back to Colombo I saw a train that was wiped out by tsunami. It is an estimated that 1500 people were killed, many of them children. It was a very tragic event which the Sri Lankan people are still trying to recover from.

Colombo and the Coasts of Sri Lanka remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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After arriving in Sri Lanka, I met up with two other Habitat team members and we took a taxi to our hotel. One of the first things that I saw was the heavy military presence on the streets. On the side of the road were military personnel toting automatic machine guns. Recently, there has been increased violence between the government and Tamil population.

Our Habitat team consisted of eleven people from Canada, England, Northern Ireland and the US. Our group had a large range of ages and personalities. Add this with some serious hard work and the product was an amazing and fun experience.

During our two weeks in Sri Lanka, our team helped build four houses in the Kaleduwa village. The Kaleduwa village is situated in the middle of Sri Lanka near the city of Dambulla. During the day, our group worked at four different sites. At each site, we worked next to the family that would be living in the house. The house sites were very basic with no running water or electricity. The tools that we used to build the houses were very basic - just a couple shovels, trowels, and a wheel barrel. Everything was done manually - mixing cement, sifting sand, moving the bricks, etc, etc. Interestly, each site built different size houses and used different building techniques. Although the work was very tiring, seeing the work that we completed each day was extremely rewarding.

Beside helping the build the houses, we visited a local school and played dodgeball with kids and we taught the kids the hokey-pokey. Also our guesthouse staff taught us how to play cricket. The local villagers treated us very well. When we arrived they put on a welcoming ceremony with dancers and music and they held a cultural night with singing, dancing and music.

One of the highlights for me was learning the local Sinhalese language. This was the first time during my trip that I stayed at a place longer than one week. On our last day in the Kaleduwa village, we dedicated a house and I gave a speech in Sinahalese.

Along with volunteering, the local Habitat Group organized trips for us to see the local sights. We visited Sigiriya or Lion Rock which was home to the King's palace around 470 BC. The palace was built on top of 180m rock and had an intricate irrigation system built in the rock itself. We went on a Safari and saw a variety of birds, water buffalo and elephants. We saw the Dambulla caves which are seven caves with images of buddhas inside each cave. We visited the city of Kandy where we saw a cultural dance show and visited a hotel and restaurant named Helga's Folly. Helga's Folly had a motley collection of artifacts and ornately decorated rooms. Also, we visited Pinnewela Elephant Orphanage where orhpaned elephants are brought to live.

Along with volunteering and checking out the sites, the group that I worked with were alot of fun. After a long days work, our group hung out, chatted, played games, dranks some beers, told jokes and exchanged stories. I have not laughed so hard in a long time!

Suffice to say, it was an amazing and very rewarding experience and something that you should definitely do yourself!

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Our trek to Inle Lake was three days and two nights and we covered around 50 km. Our first day we visited a festival which had gambling and a giant rocket contest. Each village built a full size version of a bottle rocket and the rocket that went the farthest won money. Most of the rockets crashed after take off but one I swear went into orbit. I think it flew almost 300 meters. Our first night of the trek we stayed in a house in local village and our second night, we stayed in a monastery. Throughout our three days of walking, we saw gorgeous landscapes filled with lush green fields and rocky mountains and met the most friendly people. It was a great experience.

Inle Lake is a vast lake that is surrounded on all sides by mountains. The lake is 22 km long and 11 km wide and is home to almost 70,000 people. While we were in Inle Lake we visited stilt villages that were built on the lake, we saw floating gardens on the lake that grew all sorts of food and we visited a monastery where the monks taught cat how to jump through hoops. Also, I enjoyed some of the best homemade woodfire pizzas at a local restaurant.

After Inle Lake, we traveled to Mandalay. Two words that describe Mandalay is hot and dusty. The highlight of Mandalay is Mandalay Hill which gives you a panoramic view of the city and is a great spot to see the sunset. Also, my friends and I ate at a street vendor which offered a delicious curry and chapita meal for $.33. A day trip outside Mandalay is Minguin, Sanguin, Inwe and Amapura. Minguin had a unfinished temple which was 50 km high and a 90 ton bell which they thankfully did not ring when I was there. Sanguin had over a 1,000 temples built there. Amapura had the world's longest teak bridge measuring 1.2 km.

Just north of Mandalay was Pwin OO Lwin. My friend and I took the train there. While we were in Pwin OO Lwin we rented bikes and visited the Botanical garden. Also, there was a golf course in Pwin OO Lwin so when in Rome ... Suffice to say after a hour at the driving range, I realized why I had not played in two years, I suck! But I did meet some cool locals who were pretty good and they tried to talk me into playing but I thankfully declined.

One of the most popular places to visit in Myanmar is Bagan. Bagan is home to over 4,000 Buddhist temples and one Hindu temple. The best way to see the temples is by bike which my friend and I did. There are a plethora of temples - tall, small, wide, short, etc, etc. On our way back on bike, we got caught in a torrential rainstorm. By the time I got back to my guesthouse I was completely drenched and so was my digital camera. Luckily two days later, it came back to life. The temples were very beautiful and definitely worth checking out.

One the last places that I visited in Myanmar was Mount Popa. Mount Popa is sacred to the Myanmese people because it home to 37 Nats or Spirits. Visiting Mt. Popa was an interesting experience. While the temple was really nice, it was the wild monkeys that were the real story. They jumped on people, shit all over the place (no shoes were allowed in the temple), and they were scary. I even saw a monk aiming a slingshot at the monkeys, not a good sign. With that being said, I have a great time in Myanmar.

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I landed in Yangon previously known as Rangoon which people think is the capital of Myanmar but it is not anymore. (The government has moved the capital to a more secure city). One of the first things that you come across in the airport is the government run money exchange which is exchanging 450 Kyat per $1. Um, the current exchange rate is 1300 Kyat for $1. It is a nice first impression.

My friends and I stayed stayed in Yangon for two days. Yangon is a bustling city where you see everything from pick-up truck taxis packed with people, modern hotels catering to package group tourists and monks receiving their alms early in the morning. While we were in Yangon, we visited a small paya or temple called Sule Paya and the grandaddy of the temples in Myanmar, Swedagon Paya. The Sule Paya sits in the center of Myanmar and it was walking distance from our guesthouse. When we visited the Sule Paya, we met some young monks and they practiced their english with us. The Shwedagon Paya is a magnificent and colossal temple. The main stupa is 98 meters tall and is believed to be over 2,500 years old. It is estimated that there is well over 53 metric tons of gold leafs and over 5,000 precious stones decorating the paya. Suffice to say, the temple left a lasting impression on me.

After Yangon, we traveled to Bago, a highway city just north of Yangon. We Visited a cigar factory, a giant reclining buddha and the Shwemawdaw Paya, a smaller version of the Shwedagon Paya. The city of Bago was a dusty, loud, and hot place. The most time that you should stay there is one day days, oh well.

From Bago, we went to Kyaiktiyo where we visited the Golden Rock which is located at the top Mt. Myaikto. The ride to the base of Mt. Myaikto is in the back of a dump truck. Imagine around 40 people sandwiched together, a steep, winding road and a driver who has a lead foot. It was a very adventurous ride. The walk from the base to the top of Mt. Myaikto took us about 45 minutes. The top of Mt. Myaikto gave us a panoramic view of the lush, green surrounding mountains and a close up view of the Golden Rock. Unfortunately, only men were allowed to actually touch the rock, so I was the only one in our group who could do so. The rock is a massive, gold-leafed covered boulder which sits precariously on the edge of a cliff and it is believed to be balanced due to a precisely placed Buddha hair. I refrained from pushing the rock because I did not want to accidently push it down the mountain. (I am not saying that I could do it, but knowing my luck it is best not to try).

Experiences in Myanmar remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Before I go on, let me give a brief overview of Myanmar. Myanmar is located in Southeast Asia and is sandwiched in-between Thailand, Laos, China, India and Bangladesh. Myanmar is widely recognized by it's former name Burma which was changed about twenty years ago.
Like many countries in Southeast Asia, Myanmar is a very impoverished country with the average person making about $10 or below a month. The main culprit is the oppressing government that is in power. The government uses most of its money on the military and little of it trickles down to the rest of the population. Also, the government faces human rights violations by the UN so the EU and the US have imposed economic sanctions which has further hindered the country's growth. The price of petro and rice fluctuates daily due to the instable economy. So the question is, why travel to Myanmar? I decided to visit because I wanted to see state of the country and I had heard many good things about Myanmar. After my visit, I felt that visiting was the right thing to do because tourism is one of the few ways the Myanmese people can subsidize their living and through my experiences I can share my stories about the government and people.

Of course, growing up in the US and traveling around, there are things that I consider be part of everyday life. Like using the internet, the roads and infrastructure, electricity and freedom of speech. But while traveling throughout Myanmar, I realized how lucky I am.

The internet is extremely slow and many sites are banned by the goverment like yahoo mail and hotmail. The roads were extremely bad. The "main" highway was barely wide enough for one car let alone two buses and most highways were mostly dirt. Electricity is usually only available for a couple of hours at night and sometimes not at all. Even the capital city of Yangon only had power at night. Most people had generators to bridge the gap but then gasoline was not always readily available, a catch-22. But the most overwhelming limit of rights is that there is no freedom of speech and due process. If a local gets caught talking or acting out against the government, they are sent to jail. There is no trial. I met a man who had marched against the government in 1998 and he was arrested, imprisoned for seven months and since then has been unable to find a job. A performance group had made a joke about a military general and they had been sent to hard-labor camp for five years. Pretty harsh consquences.

With that being said, through all the adversity that the people of Myanmar endure their spirit and friendliness are what I will remember most about of the Myanmar.

Into the heart of Myanmar remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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For rest of my time in Bangkok I visited the famous Bangkok weekend market and hungout with my friends that I met on the trek and during my trip. One of the friend's that I hungout with I first met in Vietnam, bumped into him Cambodia, bumped into in Krabi and finally bumped into him on Khao San Road. It was his last night in Bangkok and he was heading home after eight months of traveling. We grabbed some beers and exchanged travel stories, not too shabby.

Bangkok, Kanchanaburi and the end of Thailand remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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My next stop was to Koh Phi Phi Island with an overnight stop in the city of Krabi. While I was in Krabi, I went on kayaking trip where we paddled into mangroves and visited a small island where our group was nearly attacked by wild monkeys. Suffice to say, I don't like wild monkeys.

Koh Phi Phi is on the West coast of Thailand and was one of the islands that was hit by the Tsunami. Koh Phi Phi has slowly recovered from the Tsunami but there are still signs from the devastation like cement slabs where bungalows once stood and shells of stores that have not been rebuilt. With that being said, Koh Phi Phi offers white sand beaches with warm tropical water, a bevy of activities like snorkeling, diving and cliff jumpning and a variety of food and bars to suit almost anyones tastes. Most of my time on the island I spent at the beach where I tossed the disc aka the frisbee and enjoyed the ambiance.

Also, just off Koh Phi Phi lies the small island of Koh Phi Phi Ley. Phi Phi Ley is most known for being the beach where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. My friends and I took a boat to the island where we snorkeled in the small coves filled with vibrant colored fishes, swam to a deserted beach and of course, we visit Ao Maya or "The Beach". Not a bad experience.

Songkran, the full moon party and the Beach remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I was in Chiang Mai for 5 days and while I was there I stayed at a cool guesthouse named Julie's Guesthouse. Julie's offered good accommodations, cheap food and a chill common area which made meeting people really easy. It seemed like all the people that I met there had been staying in Julie's and Chiang Mai for at least a couple of weeks. I think the allure of Chiang Mai was that it offered the best of both worlds - the hustle and bustle of the city and the outdoor activities of the mountains surrounding it. While I was in Chiang Mai I visited a local disco and I heard Thai versions of songs by popular American hip-hop bands like the Black Eyed Peas, pretty funny. Also, I went on a one day trek into the mountains that were south of Chiang Mai. Along with visiting the local hill tribes and swimming in a waterfall, the two main highlights of the trek was riding an elephant and bamboo rafting. I was looking forward to riding an elephant but the experience was only okay. The elephant didn't seem too happy and I realized that if the elephant fell over which almost happened, I would be smashed flatter than a pancake. I have to say there is about a 72% that I will not ride an elephant again but you never know. On the otherhand, bamboo rafting was a blast. The raft was made out of about 10 long bamboo poles and four of us navigated down the river. At the end of our rafting, we got into a massive water fight with about 30 kids and we lost miserably but it was good times.

To Chiang Mai remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Vientiane is the capital of Lao and it lies around 25 km from Thailand. My friends and I crossed Friendship Bridge from Thailand and made our way to Vientiane. Although Vientiane is the capital of Lao it is not a large city. You can easily navigate it on a motorbike in one day. My stay was short, I was only there for one day and night. While I was there, I rented a motorbike and toodled around the city, I visited Laos' most famous wat, Pha That Luang, a golden wat and visited a local bar called Riverside Bar where I had hung out with a group of 8 other backpackers whom I had met after I arrived Lao.

My second stop in Lao was Van Vieng. There is one main street in Vang Vieng and not a paved street in sight. (Although the streets will probably be paved in the next six months) The "bus" station in Van Vieng is a large dirt tarmac that was an old landing strip. When we first arrived at the dirt lot I asked my friend why we had stopped and he replied, "Umm, we're here." After 6 days in Vang Vieng, I barely noticed the dirt streets and I had a great time. Van Vieng sits along the Nam Xong river and offers a variety of activities like rock climbing, kayaking, hiking and of course, tubing. During the day, you choose your desired activity and at night you grab dinner at the numerous food places which are constantly showing movies and reruns of Friends. The most popular daytime activity is tubing. You rent a car tire tube for $3.50 a day and your are dropped off about 3 km north of the "city" and you drift down the river. Along the river, locals sell Beer Lao and they have built elaborate bamboo swings and platforms that you can use to jump into the river with. Good times, good times.

My final stop in Lao was to Luang Prabang. While Luang Prabang was only around 160 km or 100 miles north of Vang Vieng, it took us around 6 hours to drive through the windy mountainous roads. Luang Prabang is a charming city located on the Mekong River. Every night there is a local market which sells local arts and crafts and offers a variety of delicious and cheap food. For a 18000 Kip or $1.80 you could get a dish of food and a large beer, not too bad. While I was in Luang Prabang I took at boat trip to Pak Ou which is comprised of two cave temples and Bang Xang Hai or "Whiskey" village which produces a local whiskey which will put hair on your chest. I also visited Kuang Si Falls which is just outside the city and took a swim in the waterfall.

After 12 days in Lao, it was time to move on to Thailand. There are two main ways by boat to get to Thailand, the slow boat or the fast boat. The slow boat takes two days and you have to stay overnight in a border town. The fast boat takes 6 hours and goes directly to the Thailand border. My friends and I choose the fast boat for obvious reasons but the ride was quite a journey. The fast boat was no more than 12 feet long and 5 feet wide with a big engine mounted on the back. The tip of the boat was used to store our bags and 8 people were seated two-by-two on 4 rows. My sitting space was about 2 ft by 2 ft. I now know what a sardine feels like. For 6 plus hours I sat in the tiny space while the driver sped up the Mekong River. Of course, we later heard that a couple months earlier a fast boat had crashed and killed a couple of foreignors. Riding the fast boat was quite an interesting experience but if you ever have the option, take the slow boat from Luang Prabang to Thailand.

Lao-a-bunga remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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From Battambang my friends and I took a circuitous route to Lao through Thailand. We took this route because it was cheap and it gave me an opportunity to check out Bangkok and the legendary Khao San road. My impressions prior to visiting Khao San were mixed because of Alex Garland's The Beach's description of it. But after getting there, Khao San road wasn't too bad. Khao San offered almost anything that you wanted or needed. It had cheap and delicious food from local vendor carts, a plethora of places to stay, numerous drinking holes and everything in between. Not too shabby. Also while I was in Bangkok, I was able to add more pages to my passport. (If you ever need to add pages to your passport, do it abroad because it's free and they usually add the new pages on the spot). After about 24 hours in Bangkok, my friends and I caught the overnight train to Lao.

Battambang and the Road to Lao remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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We stayed in a bungalow just across the street from Victory beach. Our bungalow cost $6 a night and the place offered cheap food and a draft beer of Angkor for $.50. I sometimes wonder why I left Sihanoukville. The ocean water was amazing. The water temperature was about 25 Celsius or 75 Farenheit and it was sometimes warmer outside the water than in it. I spent my time there hanging out on the various beaches, toodling around on a motorbike and eating some pretty good grubb. Also while I was there I went running in the mornings. I got to see the locals starting their day, kids going to school and even a wedding reception. Not a bad way to spend five days.

My next stop was Siem Reap and the Temples of Angkor. The bus ride from Sihanoukville to Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) is long. It took us almost 11 hours to get to Siem Reap due to the numerous stops and the not-so-bus-friendly roads, oh well.

Siem Reap is a small river town that hosts the guests of Cambodia's main attraction, the Temples of Angkor. During my stay in Siem Reap, the temperature was hot and humid with an occasional rain storm. The Temples of Angkor were amazing. There are over 12 temples in Angkor. We purchased a three day pass and it still didn't seem like enough time. The temples are all unique. Each temple differs from each other due to the different techniques and materials used to build them and the influence of the ruling party when each was built.

The most popular and widely known temple is Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is awesome. The temple is surrounded by a large moat and a 1300 x 1500 meter wall. It has a massive three-tiered pyramid crowned by five beehive-like towers rising 65 meters from ground level. I watched the sunrise there and it was amazing! I climbed the 45 degree steps to the beehive-like towers and I got a panoramic view of the surrounding jungle which was so peaceful. Visiting the Temples of Angkor is a must do!

The highlights of my time in Siem Reap included watching the sunset from Phnom Bakheng, playing cards (Hearts) with my friends, giving blood and exploring the numerous temples of Angkor. Good times, good times.

Sihanoukville, Siem Reap and the Temples of Angkor remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The road to Phnom Penh alternates between pavement and dirt with an emphasis on bumps - many, many bumps. The land in Cambodia is flat and arid and the temperature is hot and humid, especially during the dry season.

Cambodia itself is an intriguing country. In the northwest, they have the temples of Angkor. These are magnificent temples that were built thousands of years ago. But Cambodia's recent history has been marked by turmoil. One the worst parts of their history occured less than thirty years ago with the reign of the Khymer Rouge from 1975 to 1979. I recently read the book Brother Number One: Pol Pot. This book documents Pol Pot and the Khymer Rouge's rise and fall from power. During their reign, it is estimated that between 1 to 3 million people died including most of their intellectual population. A very sad and troubling time.

Cambodia is still trying to recover from the Khymer Rouge's reign and it is a very poor country. I got my first glimpse of the poverty at a river crossing on my way to Phnom Penh. While our bus was waiting for the ferry, we were bombarded by kids peddling drinks and food to us. Just past them other kids were searching through trash while they carried their younger siblings. A sad sight to see. In Phnom Penh, it is estimated that 20,000 kids live on the streets.

Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia with a population around 1.5 million people. My stay in Phnom Penh was for only one full day but during my stay I visited the Killing Fields and Tuol Seng Museum. There was a movie made about the Killing Fields. The Killing Fields are located about 15 km or 10 miles outside of Phnom Penh. It is estimated that 15,000 men, women and children were murdered there. There is a temple in the center of Killing Fields that contains the skulls of some of the victims and they show the brutality of the Khymer Rouge. All around the temple are ditches with signs marking the mass graves of the victims who were buried there.

Tuol Seng Museum or S-21 was an old high school that was converted into a prison by the Khymer Rouge. Pol Pot used S-21 to torture and murder people that the Khymer Rouge believed were conspiring against them. No one was immune to their brutality. Pol Pot tortured and killed colleagues who had been loyal to him for twenty years. While S-21 was in use, an estimated 12,000 people were killed and only 12 people survived.

Although my time in Phnom Penh was short and melancholy, it is definitely a place to visit. I had some delicious food from the local food stands and the river side area is very nice to see.

Entering Cambodia ... remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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After taking an overnight bus from Hoi An, I arrived in Nha Trang. Nha Trang is roughly the halfway point between Hanoi and Saigon and it is a mid-size city with great beaches. When I arrived, I was greated with hot weather and clear blue skies. It's a hard life but someone has to live it. I liked Nha Trang not only because of the weather and the beaches but because it has something for everyone - nice beaches and warm sea water, a plethora of bars and clubs to visit and a variety of places to eat seafood, local food and different ethnic foods. I spent my days chillin' on the beach and the nights visiting different restuarants and bars. I also took a day tour of some of the islands just off the coast of Nha Trang. Not a bad way to spend a couple of days in Vietnam.

Next up was Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon. I arrived after an overnight bus from Nha Trang and the weather was hot and humid. My stay in Saigon was very short, just two days but while I was there I visited the War Remnant Museum formerly named the American War Crimes museum and Cu Chi Tunnels which are about 50 km outside of Saigon. The War Remnants Museum had a lot of interesting pictures of the Vietnam war and it had an interesting exhibit about the effects of Agent Orange, Napalm and chemicals that were used during the war. The Cu Chi tunnels were a maze of tunnels that were built during the war. The tunnels ran for miles and had different levels and size rooms throughout them. They were an amazing work. Of course, two days in Saigon is not enough time to experience the city, but I will be heading back to Saigon in early May to meet up with my old roommate and just hang out.

Nha Trang, Saigon and the end of Vietnam remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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About 20 km or 12 miles from China Beach is the city of Hoi An. Hoi An is mid-way between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). It is adjacent to the Thu Bon river and has small french colonial buildings of differing colors. Hoi An has something for everyone. It is near the beach, about 3 km away. You can get tailored clothes for cheap prices - a tailored suit cost about $50 and takes about a day to be made. A variety of small restaurants that offer local cuisine and almost any type of food you are jonesing for, even swedish meatballs. There are numerouse bars offering cheap drinks and a relaxed ambiance. A fun town to visit and stay in.

On the outskirts of Hoi An, lies My Sun. My Sun was a religious centre back in the late 14th century. My lonely planet guide book raved about it. Although it sounds nice, my visit there was very disappointing because only part of the temples were still standing because the rest had been bombed by the American's during the war, nice.

China Beach and Hoi An remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Sapa is a small city in the mountains about 375 km northwest of Hanoi. Sapa was a former hill station of the French and is home to many of the Vietnam's indigenous cultures - Red Dao, Hmong and Tay people.

We were greated with blue skies and warm weather upon our arrival into Sapa. After checking into our room which cost $9 a night, we rented a couple of motorscooters to tour the area surrounding the town of Sapa. We attempted to find a waterfall but we got lost twice (Seems to be a recurring event for me), crashed the motorbike (no harm no foul) and our motorbike was backfiring because we put a higher grade of gas in it, pretty funny. But after all this, we bumped into another person that we knew from Hanoi and we decided to venture down into the valley below Sapa. The road down into the valley is a gravel road with sheer drops down the side. (I don't like cliffs, the last one that I got near, I fell off, but that's another story) As you descend down the road you see the valley below that is filled with farming steppes, green hills and a river that runs through it. A breathtaking sight. The day consisted of a visit to a local village called Ho Bien village, playing frisbee in Sapa's town square and eating all sorts of food at a local food stand.

Our second day in Sapa we trekked down into the valley. Our group consisted of a local guide, Tom, myself and two friends and two women from Korea - Su and Sa. During our two-day, one night trek, we learned about the three main indigenous cultures living in the valley of Sapa - the Red Dao, Hmong and Tay people. At the beginning our trek, we visited the Hmong people. The Hmong people are the poorest of the three indiginous people and can be recognized by their blue dyed clothes. They live in small sparse houses and live a very simple life. After visting the Hmong people, we trekked down to the Taven village which is home to the Tay people. The Tay people are the wealthiest of the three indigenous people. The Tay people are good entrepreneurs and value education very much.

In the Tavan village, we stayed in a local house and slept on the second floor of the house. The night we sleep there it rained and it was cold because bamboo ain't insulated. The highlight of our stay in Tavan was our dinner. Our group ate dinner around a small table with the hostess of the house. After we ate, she brought out some rice wine and made everyone take something like 15 shots (Reminds of my days in college), even the two Korean women. (They tried to dump their shots out but the hostess wouldn't have it, she kept giving them bigger shots) [ Halfway through the night, the Korean women decorated the house with the rice wine]

Our last day in Sapa, we hiked out of the valley. On our way out we visited the Red Zhao. The Red Zhao people came from China and can be recognized by their colorful scarfs. Farming is their primary skill along with making wicked yet smooth rice wine.

As we left Sapa, the weather turned cold [ Snow was forecasted the next day ] and our overnight train ride home was highlighted by a drunk local Vietnamese man who was awake our entire 9 hour train home. I can say that I didn't get a lick of sleep. Good times, good times.

Halong Bay

Halong Bay is about 170 km east of Hanoi and it consists of limestone islands that protrode from below the water with jungle vegetation growing atop them. And some of the islands have large caves inside. Although the weather was overcast during my visit it didn't take away from the beauty. My tour of Halong Bay was a two day-one night episode on a Junk Boat. My trip highlights included jumping from the top of the boat (about 15 feet) into the water below, touring a massive cave and meeting people from all over the world. I met a couple from Holland who were biking through Asia, an American living in Israel, a guy from Australia and a girl from New Zealand who drank a case of beer by themselves, a Japanese guy who was biking through China and Vietnam and a Vietnamese-American who bought fresh crab both days and let me have some. If you have a chance to visit Halong bay it's picturesque scenery will not disappoint.

Sapa and Halong Bay remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Hanoi is a city filled with cars, buses, trucks, motorbikes and people on the move. The stale air is filled with smog, the sounds of karoake, cars honking, laughter of children, and the ringing the catherdral bells. A quiet moment can only be achieved with either a pair of ear plugs, turning up your ipod or getting out of the city.

So with two other people from my hostel, we decided to venture out of the city to see the parts of Vietnam that we had only read about in our Lonely Planet guide book. Our first adventure was to Mai Chau, a collection of villages, huts and farms spread out through a large valley about 135 km west of Hanoi. Now of course we could have tried to book a tour but the price was too much and like I always say , "we don't need no stinken' tour guides." The adventure is the adventure ( A true yogi-ism). So the night before our planned departure we went looking for the bus station, which seemed easy enough. A couple of hours later and some help from some local Vietnamese we had the name of the bus station we needed to use but we never found it that night.

The next morning with a day pack full of clothes, we took a taxi to Da Long bus station. Now, when I think of a bus station, I think of large buses that are parallel parked and a nice clean bus station. Well in Vietnam it's not quite like that. Da Long bus station had a dirt parking lot and a cornucopia of minibuses heading to places that I had never heard of. Once the three of us walked into the parking lot we were bombarded by peddlers coaxing us to their minibus, like vultures circling to dead meat. We boarded a minibus which was destined to Mai Chau ( we would later find out that we had to transfer at Ha Binh with an additional cost). Now a minibus looks like a big minivan that seats about 28 people. The bus that we boarded had about 10 people on it which didn't seem too bad. (There were numerous stories about minibuses being filled to the brim with people) Well, 30 minutes later the bus was filled with 43 people not including the driver and we were the lucky ones with seats. Pretty much every inch of space was in use except the area between our heads and the roof. Our row had five people in four seats and an old lady and man were sleeping on my friend. Pretty hilarous!

Roughly five hours later with a stop in Ha Binh Bus Station which had the world's worst bathroom, we arrived in Mai Chau. The road down into Mai Chau gave us a breath-taking view of the valley below - Steep, lush mountains surrounded the basin that were filled with green rice pattys and small enclaves of houses. Our three days in Mai Chau were filled with sunny skies and temperatures hovering around 24 C or 75 F

In Mai Chau, we stayed in a stilt house village which was surrounded by rice pattys, water buffalo and roosters that were up early! A stilt house is pretty self explanatory - a house built on stilts with the second floor housing the sleeping quarters and the first floor was used either for storage or a place to sit. The first floor in our house was used to sell silk scarfs and had a table for us to sit and relax at. Accomodiations were sparse - a padded mat on the bamboo floor on the second floor and a curtain around your "room" but the price was cheap - 50,000 dong or $3.25 a night. Each night the owner of the house cooked a delicious meal consisting of vegetables, meat, fish and rice for a mere 30,000 dong or $2. Those have been the best meals that I have eaten in Vietnam so far. Mmmm, Mmmm good! Although our stay in Mai Chau was short ( just two and half days and two nights), we had a great time. During our second day in Mai Chau, we rented a couple of motorbikes and cruised around the valley. The day was filled with winding roads, small villages, little kids saying hi to us and a glimpse of Song Da Reservoir - Vietnam's largest reservoir.

Minibuses, Motorbikes and Mai Chau remains copyright of the author ejgalang, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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