Weekly Photo: Sun Bear

Near Kuang Si Falls there is a Sun bear reserve established to help Sun bears that have been mistreated and cannot be returned to the wild. They are vegetarians and seem rather lazy. All they did was sleep. They even slept in hammocks, which was rather amusing. Sometimes, they just people watch, like this Sun …

Weekly Photo: Cobra Lao-Lao (Whiskey)

Lao-Lao is the name of the local hooch in Laos. It’s a rice whiskey that nearly everyone drinks. I tried a shot of this from a vendor who also had lao-lao with scorpions and other such creatures. This stuff is strong! I felt it, and I’m not a lightweight. The cobras were once thought to give …

Weekly Photo: Kuang Si Falls

The Kuang Si Falls just outside Luang Prabang in Laos are really beautiful, even during the dry season when I went. The falls cascade down through the hills leaving small pools behind, created by the calcium in the water (that also gives the water a bright blue color). You might expect the water to be …

Weekly Photo: Prayer Flags on the Mekong

April in Laos is one of the hottest times to of the year. It’s just before the rainy season and the temperatures get well into the 100s F, exposing large sandbars on dry the Mekong River. For Buddhist New Year in early August, Buddhists build symbolic representations of Mt. Meru, the center of the Buddhist …

Weekly Photo: Taung Kalat, Mount Popa, Burma

Tuang Kalat (“Pedestal Hill”) is often referred to a Mount Popa, but it’s actually a volcanic “plug” near Mount Popa. A Buddhist monastery is located at the summit of Taung Kalat and it’s 777 steps to the top. Throughout the entire, steep climb you have to fend off monkeys, vendors, and “donation” requests from people …

Weekly Photo: Fisherman on Lake Inle in Burma

Lake Inle in Burma is a beautiful lake that reminds me of the Tonle Sap in Cambodia (though not nearly that large). The fisherman on Lake Inle, however, have a trait that is uniquely their own. They wrap one of their legs around a paddle and in a circular sweeping motion they paddle their boats. …

Weekly Photo: Shwedagon Pagoda

Probably the most magnificent sight in Yangon, the Shwedagon Pagoda, also called the Great Dagon Pagoda, is a gilded, golden marvel. At over 2,500 years old, it’s the oldest pagoda in the world and was supposedly built to enshrine 8 hairs of Gautama Buddha. Whatever the reason it was built, it’s a beautiful site, especially …

Weekly Photo: Borobudur

Borobudur is an ancient Buddhist monument in the Muslim country. Located just outside Yogyakarta in Central Java, Borobudur was built in the 9th century and then abandoned in the 14th with the rise of Islam in the region. Raffles, the famous British ruler of Java, brought it out of obscurity in 1814 and it is now …

Weekly Photo: Monkey at Koh Phi Phi Beach

Koh Phi Phi is the island chain made famous by the movie The Beach staring Leonardo DiCaprio. This photo was of a monkey on Koh Phi Phi Don, the largest island in the chain. We were watching a storm coming in an the monkey just decided to join us. By the way, Phi Phi is …