It was time to catch the train again! We had three days before our flight back to Bangkok; having opted to fly out of Mandalay, we now had to get there. Our arrival into Naungshwe (for Lake Inle) had been by bus over the mountains,...
The day had barely begun; we were noisily slicing through the long green canal on a long wooden, motorized canoe from Nyaungshwe on an Inle Lake boat trip . The canal, a wide gap cut through the reedy marshes, was busy at this early hour with...
From the ancient ruins of Bagan we moved on to an eclectic and surprising day of cycling Lake Inle; an incredibly picturesque and iconic corner of Myanmar. Little did I know when we set off from Bagan that we would be spending the following day...
The alarm went off at 5am. It was one of those see-the-sunrise-at-(insert icon here) days. An early wake up call to see dawn over a travel icon: today we would greet the new day overlooking the many temples of Bagan. The famous Bagan Sunrise. We’d...
The plains of Bagan are arguably Burma’s most iconic view, a vista of thousands of Buddhist temples peppered across the landscape. Over three thousand brick stupas pierce the sky, constructed between the 11th and 13th centuries, once part of a great city that was at...
More than most other forms of transport, the train immerses the traveller into the country it crosses. A slow train can be a window into the lives of the people and an expression of how the country works. The Myanmar rail network is all this,...
After the golden delights of the Shwedagon Pagoda and the National Museum I couldn’t wait to explore more of Yangon. We set off on foot early the following day, before breakfast to take advantage of the cool morning air, to explore the city centre. Our...
Yangon, Myanmar. Travel plans often change, it’s the natural evolution of a long trip. You set out with a loose itinerary that unravels the further along you get. Other travellers rave about a destination, you spot something in a guidebook you thought you knew inside...
The Golden Land This week I’m doing something a little bit different here on Vagabond Baker: a week of posts dedicated to our travels in Burma. Each day, beginning tomorrow, I will take you along our ten day journey through Myanmar: from Yangon to Mandalay...
Khao Yai National Park is Thailand’s oldest. Just a few hours north-east from Bangkok lies a precious area of primary rainforest that is incorporated into the Khao Yai National Park. So precious in fact that UNESCO declared the forest a World Heritage Site in 2005. The...
I’d been off the rails for too long! Considering that the first three and a half months were travelled exclusively by train, we hadn’t been on one for seven weeks while traversing southern Vietnam and Cambodia. I was itching to be rocked along again. The...
Over the last few weeks I’ve taken you through some of the most incredible ancient temples in the world, the Temples of Angkor. I’ll conclude the series with a photo journey through the rest of the temples in the Angkor Archaeological Park that we explored,...
These simple pastries are shamelessly inspired by Jésuite Amandes, a triangular puff pastry filled with frangipane, that’s shaped like a Jesuit three-cornered hat. I devoured a number of them on a recent brief trip to France for a friend’s wedding. These Cheat Almond Pastries are not Jésuite Amandes. I’ve...
Beng Mealea is a Angkorian temple lost in the jungle that has engulfed it. Jungle roots have dislodged the ancient architecture turning much of the temple into a jumble of stones while long vines hang enticingly across ruined corridors. Constructed in the 12th century it...
Banteay Srei is exquisite, a 10th century temple that is 35 kilometres out from Siem Reap and the main Angkor temples. Its Khmer name, Banteay Srei, translates as the Citadel of Women, the intricate carvings and detail is thought so fine that only women, with...
Angkor Thom, the Great City is as enigmatic as it is impressive. A vast walled city which at its heart stands Bayon, the mighty temple of smiles. The city was built by Jayavarman VII after he reclaimed Angkor back from the Chams in 1181. The Cham had...
