On December 21, 2002 we flew from Los Angeles to Singapore to begin a two week trip to
Burma followed by a week in Cambodia. This is the home page for the entire trip. The details -- hotels, restaurants, guides, etc. --
are presented in coordinates. There are two additional pages,
one for Burma and one for Cambodia
Our timing was perfect. In terms of the three weeks that we were there, we had nearly perfect weather, only one day of rain, and it only rained when we were inside or under cover. It was comfortable t-shirt weather most days, cool in the evening. In terms of the long run, the tourist infrastructure is in place: CNN and hair dryers were available in all but one hotel. English is spoken well enough to get what you want, most of the time. One day at lunch a request for frog’s legs with ginger was delivered to the table as fried broccoli with ginger; but that got resolved quickly. Most important, tourists have not yet overwhelmed the places of interest.
We were able to walk freely almost everywhere – perhaps too freely for the good of some of what we came to see. Many of the places we have visited freely on past trips are now fenced off. That will be true in Burma and Cambodia in the foreseeable future as hordes of tourists arrive from across Asia and around the world.
Japanese are arriving by the bus loads. French are returning in tank tops and short-shorts that show no respect for the sensitivities of the local people who are Buddhists. Germans and Italians are everywhere. Americans appear to have been intimidated and are staying home or visiting “safer” places. We were warmly and openly welcomed everywhere we went.
If Frank Sinatra has tempted you to travel The Road to Mandalay or you have wondered about the wonders of Anchor Wat, go as soon as you can! Travel this good won’t last long.
Elephants are a common theme in South East Asia. The photo above shows the hand of a young many who was outlining the elephants and other beasts on a piece of artwork. There a young men selling this type of art at most of the major tourist spots in Burma. The other hand is that of a member of our travel group.