Southeast Asia

Ha-Ha-Ha Long Bay

August 31, 2011 by Bino 10 Comments

The sole reason why we decided to have a 3-day Hanoi trip instead of making it a Saturday-Sunday affair was because of Ha Long Bay. The name has been entrenched so strongly in many a travelers’ minds that it’s become one of the must-visit places in Southeast Asia. With a name that literally means “Descending Dragon’s Bay,” how could one possibly pass this up?

While limestone karst formations are not peculiar in the region (Guilin in China; Krabi in Thailand and Coron in the Philippines all come to mind), what separates Ha Long Bay from the rest are the sheer number of these rising up from the sea – there’s over 3,000 of them! It makes for a very fine view, especially during sunset where the scenery can appear like a painting baked by the golden colors complementing the limestone silhouettes.

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Things to Do in Vientiane – Ideas For Southeast Asia’s Sleepiest Capital

January 4, 2011 by Bino 9 Comments

basking in the golden sunlight – Pha That Luang

Ahead of my November visit, I was told by all the guidebooks to expect a very sleepy town in Vientiane considering that it is the capital of a country with fewer people than Singapore but 300 times the size. The first encounter I had with the city was on arrival after an annoying flight delay due to rain in KL, during the night before our bumpy trip to Luangprabang. I did not really expect much in terms of fun things to do in the capital.

Vientiane is a town in many sense of the word. It is compact, no tall buildings and still quite provincial. But by no means was it sleepy… or did I miss anything?…

Easy Daytrips Around Luangprabang in Laos

December 18, 2010 by Bino 8 Comments

The area around Luangprabang in Laos is filled with a number of popular daytrip opportunities. Two have practically become must-see destinations that they’ve been included as part of any default itinerary of Luangprabang-bound visitors.

Kuang Si Falls

We spent our first evening haggling with the many travel agencies in town for a good deal to take us to two sites – the famous Kuang Si Falls as well as to the much talked-about Pak Ou Caves. Both are near Luangprabang. Both are also within one hour car ride away and are described as “must see” places. The friendly chap who entertained us at the travel agency we settled with gave us a supposedly good deal for both daytrips. He even showed us the other receipts for the day containing supposed suckers who signed up at a higher price. “We are not Europeans!” was my default justification to be charged fairly. So did it work? We were able to bring our price down by only $1 per person – nothing fantastic, but still better than nothing. We shopped around and the prices were pretty much standard across the board….

Exploring the UNESCO World Heritage Town of Luangprabang

December 12, 2010 by Bino 4 Comments

The 8-hour car ride from Vientiane was one of the bumpiest I’ve been in. The driver couldn’t speak English but seemed as if he was on a mad dash to see who could get to Luangprabang first. Our van literally jumped every few minutes as it also had to contend with the relatively poor state of the roads. We came ahead of many other buses and vans plying the same route – and ended up arriving in the town a good 2-3 hours earlier than most. Not too shabby, except that our driver kept at this speed despite the harrowing cliffs that were prevalent in the few hundred kilometer journey.

at luangprabang night market

Luangprabang was literally our first real destination in this trip. We took a short plane ride to KL, where we also spent the night. Next day, our flight to Vientiane got delayed because of an unexpected massive downpour – and we spent that night in Vientiane. So by default, we were on “transit” for 2 nights, albeit in different places.

I had high hopes for Luangprabang – given that it is a UNESCO World Heritage Town after all and I heard quite a lot of rave reviews about it, both from friends and from independent travel magazines. But after we had crossed into the city limits, it looked like any provincial town in Southeast Asia. The town is quite spread out, but the overwhelming majority of the attractions are actually situated in the main street called Sisavangvong Road….

Burmese Days Pt. 2 – We’ve Only Just Bagan!

January 13, 2010 by Bino 13 Comments

We left Rangoon for an early morning flight to Nyaung-U, the gateway to the ancient city of Bagan. Having been to both Angkor in Cambodia and Borobudur in Indonesia, I wanted to see with my own eyes how this much-raved about archeological zone compared with the other two.

ladies catching up on the morning gossip

Our flight from Rangoon departed very early in the morning. For the journey, we were brought to the domestic airport which in all honesty, looked like a dilapidating monstrosity. As I had requested to avoid government-run joints, the travel agency arranged for me to take Yangon Airways, a small outfit consisting of just 2 planes. Conditions were better than I expected, and we were actually served snacks during the flight. I was fortunate enough to get a window seat. As we were landing in Nyaung-U, the pilot was quick enough to point out the swathes of temples scattered beneath us. We were finally in Bagan!

bagan!

I had arranged for a car to take us around the different temples in the huge archeological zone. Many of these were haphazardly restored by local authorities without supervision from UNESCO so it was left out from the World Heritage List. Otherwise, I believe Bagan rightfully deserves the title.

one can find buddhist frescoes inside some of the old stupas

postcard sellers in bagan

We spent two days exploring many of the main temples as well some of the minor ones in Bagan, as recommended by my trusty guidebook. Midway in the journey, I realized that it would be unfair to compare Bagan with Angkor or Borobudur as they are all different from each other. For Bagan, the highlight would definitely be the scenery. Many of the large temples are open for climbing, and the view from the top is definitely breathtaking especially during sunrise and sunset. The silhouette of the pagodas in the distance contrasted against the yellow sun is definitely a highlight of any trip to Burma.

this ain’t no painting

shwesandaw paya – offers a good sunset view so come here before the crowds do!

Like Angkor and Borobudur, souvenir vendors were standing by at every major temple. Although not as pushy as their Cambodian or Indonesian counterparts, the vendors in Burma would actually strike conversations with tourists (with the intention of making a sale of course) and follow them inside. This proved to be an annoyance, although the locals just take it all in good humor.

shwezigon paya

The next day, we ventured into Mt. Popa – an extinct volcanic crater with a temple at the peak. Considered to be the center for the 37 nats (spirits), the climb to the top consisted of 700+ steps amid Macaque monkeys competing for space with humans. The 25 minute climb was by no means easy but the view from the top was certainly spectacular. In the afternoon, we went back to Bagan and I rented a bike for an hour just to try it out. For the rest of the afternoon, we visited more temples. My personal favorite’s Sulamani Pahto, with its impressive frescoes inside depicting the Buddha.

mount popa — the “extinct” crater

the actual mount popa

in sulamani pahto

a good view

We ended our second day in Bagan watching the sunset again, this time from a different viewpoint. The colors were again magnificent, and the crowd of photographers seemed even bigger this time. I came to realize that spending my Christmas holiday here was a very good decision after all.

what can i say? the sunsets here are really something else!

Recommended Top 5 temples in Bagan:

Sulamani Pahto
Ananda Pahto
Upali Thein
Manuha Paya
Dhammayangyi Pahto

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