Queen Inn - Shan Family

Upon arrival, I tried (not for the first time) to rid myself of “damaged” USD at the airport money exchanger. They wouldn’t take any of my ten $5 bills. I slammed my hand down and took my money and left. Not the mellow way I wanted to start the Inle Lake leg of the trip. All taxi’s charge 25000 kyat ($32) to Inle Lake, so we shared a taxi with a nice Spanish couple (living in Hanoi) for 12500 ($16). The government charges a $5 entrance fee per person as you drive toward Inle lake. Again, I argued with the guy about the quality of my $5′s and wound up giving him a bunch of crappy $1′s. Continue Reading

Plains of Bagan (Pagan)

As we walked up the dark winding stairwell outside onto the temple’s terrace, we stared in amazement at the endless stupas, temples and pagodas across the long flat plains of Bagan. We felt like we were zapped 900 years back standing in the middle of a medieval empire. In that moment we realized what an enchanting place we had found in Burma and what an unforgettable day it would be. As we go through the ups and downs of traveling, it’s places like Bagan that make us realize why we’ve taken a year off to travel and how lucky we are to be seeing all these amazing sights. Bagan is an archaelogical dream not to be missed!

Watch our video – Ancient Temples of Bagan
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