Mysterious medicines in Myanmar
When I take out travel insurance, I always assume “I won’t need it anyway”, but buy it “just in case”. Luckily I haven’t been in any major accidents that racked up hospital bills, but I do have some interesting doctor experiences abroad. I once spent a night in a hospital…
So what’s the deal with Mrauk-U?
Mrauk-U, pronounced Meow O, is a small town in the west of Myanmar, not far from Bangladesh. The town makes it on some itineraries because of the incredible temples and the possibility to visit some Chin villages. It is a pretty sleepy town, where most of the roads are still…
Travel theme: Gold
There is definitely no lack of gold in Myanmar!
Getting blocked
I arrived in Kalaw at the beautiful hour of 5AM. We had arrived early. If the bus driver hadn’t tapped me on the shoulder, I probably would have opened my eyes in Inle lake. My travel buddy Jelle and I were the only ones to get off at this stop.…
My Myanmar travel guide
I spent four weeks in Myanmar, the full 28 days that you are allowed to stay on one visa. I met many people who just had 10 days. Some people asked me “What on earth did you do for 4 weeks?” My question is “How can you only do 10…
A day around the mighty Shwedagon
The Shwedagon pagoda is perhaps the main attraction of Yangon. Even the Burmese themselves make pilgrimages to this gigantic pagoda. It is one of the most important ones in the country. I decided to combine a visit to the pagoda with some of the surrounding attractions. In front of the…
A visit to the Chin people
Myanmar has many minorities. Before Myanmar was Myanmar, it consisted of different empires and areas with different peoples. One of the poorest minorities in the country are the Chin people. Most of them live in the Chin state, but that is off limits to tourists. A few of them have…
The circle train, a moving market
The hostel I stayed at in Yangon was a really good place to get to know other travellers. The first night I met Douglas, who was also interested in riding the circular train, so after breakfast we walked to the train station. We almost walked past it, but I noticed a…
My Christmas in the hills
It’s Christmas time and what better thing to do than to get away from it all by joining a trekking trip through the countryside. When you’re travelling, Christmas can be a quite depressing period, even if you aren’t that much into it. Everyone is visiting family and you are just…