by Calvin Sun | Aug 8, 2011 | China, Fit for Foodies, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea
The last time I was in Beijing was exactly 10 years ago and I was 14 years old. Has it changed much then? Yes. I feel there’s a greater air of confidence among the city life, the infrastructure and cleanliness have improved from the 2008 Olympics, and the people...
by Stephanie Quan | Aug 7, 2011 | Let me tell you a Story..., Myanmar, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, Way Way Off the Beaten Path
On my last day in Myanmar, I decided to look up an art gallery I had read about in Smithsonian. The article outlined a series of artists who made art that skirted government censorship; artists who made paintings of women trapped in spiderwebs and lied about the...
by Calvin Sun | Aug 6, 2011 | Let me tell you a Story..., Myanmar, Mythbusters, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, Travel Warnings, Way Way Off the Beaten Path
I had to wait until I got out of Myanmar to post this without getting prematurely deported or thrown in jail. I got a small rush writing this while still in the country, but I didn’t want to take my chances before leaving Myanmar for good (as if posting this in...
by Calvin Sun | Aug 6, 2011 | Epiphanies on the Road, Fit for Foodies, Myanmar, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea
The 66m long reclining buddha of Chaukhtatgyi Paya Traveling to Myanmar is like being in a time warp. Imagine a place untouched by McDonalds and Starbucks, where images of 1960s Southeast Asia become real life here. Cone-hat wearing villagers bike along a dirt road...
by Calvin Sun | Aug 6, 2011 | How Did You Do That?, How's the weather?, Myanmar, Public Transportation, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, Walking Tours, What Dreams May Come
Press play. And then start reading. Pretty much any M83 song will do here. The Kyaiktiyo (pronounced: “Chachiyo”) Golden Rock has been a pilgrimage site for thousands of Burmese Buddhists, but for the determined traveler, it’s an immersion in the...
by Stephanie Quan | Aug 6, 2011 | Cambodia, Let me tell you a Story..., Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, Way Way Off the Beaten Path
defenses up again. haggling again. sleeping in a building that’s about to be torn down. there’s a rave going on outside. got a massage by a blind person… It may just be the place where I’m staying (by the lake, near a cluster of cheap...
by Stephanie Quan | Aug 5, 2011 | Introspection, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, Thailand
21 hour layover in Bangkok was, as predicted, overwhelming. THE DENSITY. e.g. 1. Khao San rd. This is where apparently all of the backpackers congregate at night. What you will find on this road: street food every 10 feet, local musicians covering american classics,...
by Stephanie Quan | Aug 4, 2011 | Cambodia, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, Thailand
Not quite the wild, actually. More like into the unknown. Calvin and I parted ways this morning. It was a little sad. He wrote his address in my notebook next to all the other addresses of people, we’ve traveled with. Of course, he pointed out the sentimentality...
by Calvin Sun | Aug 3, 2011 | Myanmar, Mythbusters, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, What Dreams May Come
I present to you, the famous jumping cats of Nga Phe Kyuang! Or would you fancy a video instead? Inle Lake is like the big brother of Srinagar’s Dal Lake. It’s simply gorgeous. Except for the jumping cats of Nga Phe Kyuang, it’s not really a place to...
by Calvin Sun | Aug 3, 2011 | Crisis, How's the weather?, Myanmar, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, Walking Tours, What Dreams May Come
Remember the game we used to play when we were young? We’d see a flash of lightning, count the number of seconds before hearing the sound of thunder, and then multiply that number by the speed of sound to find out how far away that lightning strike was? I tried...
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