Mandalay. What a name to evoke mental images of exotic Burma from the times of Kipling. Here I now am in 21st century Myanmar and the town is full of sights for the many tourists who visit here at this time of year. I am struck how different I feel from the two week package visitor and feel privileged to be able to get a deeper insight into this fascinating country. The royal palace has been reconstructed after heavy bombing by the Allies at the end of World W...

It's a flower festival in Pyin oo Lwin and the owner of my hotel tells me it is something I should not miss. He is right! The gardens were originally landscaped and designed by experts from Kew and they really are experts. The town is an old British hill station to enable the administrators to move away from the searing heat of the plains to the cooler air here. There are many Myanmar visitors and very few western tourists. It is a colorful and joyful atmosphe...

Today I take a journey on one of the world's great train journeys from Hsipaw to Pyin oo Lwin across the Shan hills. The old colonial ticket office is still operational and I buy an upper class ticket for the six hour journey for about £2. I am joined by Richard, the Californian who I met yesterday and who is on the same schedule as me for a day or so. Women with fruit and bakery items on their heads service the passengers at the train windows and soon w...

I am currently reading a book called 'Twilight in Burma' - the story of the last Shan princess and this afternoon, I visit the place where the story is based. To cut a long story short - the prince of Hsipaw was one of 33 princes in the Shan states and continued to be the figurehead in this area after indeoendence in 1948. He married an Austrian woman named Inge. In 1962, he was taken by the military government and was never seen again. The house where he and ...

Once again on this blog, pictures are more important than words. Inle Lake is truly wonderful! Staying on the quieter, less commercial south end of the Lake in a homestay has been an inspired decision. We get a sense of this place where people live on the lake itself and learn to swim from a very early age! There are numerous channels within the lake and then the wider lake itself where fishermen work and tourists come in good numbers. I love the challenge o...