• Menu
  • Menu

Tag - Myanmar

View half way up Fansipan, Vietnam

10 mountains to climb in Asia

June 10, 20222 min read

Asia is a very big place and has a huge mountain range called the Himalayas included along with many other individual famous mountains and other ranges.

Choosing 10 was going to be hard, but I used a simple approach to this:

A. The ones that are easily accessible and can be tackled without specialist mountain equipment.

B. Acceptable for a novice or reasonable fit individual who fancies a challenge.

C. something different that appeals to me personally. (After all, it is me that will be climbing them, so I want to climb for a purpose not just because they are there.)

So don’t expect Everest or K2 to be included.

  1. Mt.Fansipan, Sapa, Vietnam.The highest mountain in Indochina. ( Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia) (3147m, 10,325 ft.) My first to conquer and an awesome feeling when I reached the summit. Even though it was cloudy and the view wasn’t what I had hoped for it was still a memory I will cherish. Read more here
  2. Mt. Fuji. Highest in all of Japan. (3776m, 12,388ft.)
  3. Mt Apo, Mindanao. Highest Mountain in the Philippines. (2895m, 9498ft.) hopefully next on my list in 2022.
  4. Mt. Kinabalu. Borneo. Highest in Malaysia (4095m, 13,435 ft.)
  5. Mt. Jayawijaya. New Guinea. Highest in Indonesia. (4884m, 16,024 ft.)
  6. Mt. Hkakabo. Highest in Myanmar. (5881m,19,295 ft.) Whilst Myanmar is mostly unchartered this seems a place to visit.
  7. Everest Base Camp. Nepal. (5364m 17,598 ft.) Why wouldn’t you if you could?
  8. Khuitien Peak, China -Mongolia border (4356m, 14,291 ft.) Visiting Mongolia is a long-sought-after dream.
  9. Tuanjie Peak, Qilian Mountains, China (6644m, 21,797 ft.) is another colossal mountain range and double the height I have climbed so far.
  10. Meili Snow Mountain, China, (6740m, 22,113 ft.) This one will be a challenge as it is the highest of all of the ones I want to reach.

2020

December 29, 20193 min read

New Year New Me

Or so I thought. This year actually took a turn for the worse, for everyone around the world.

I think we will remember 2020 for a long time and it will go down in history as one of those years the human race had to endure a world catastrophe.

Beginning of the end?

It had started well enough.

I attended my 4th wedding in Cambodia as Mr. Sok one of the chefs at the pepper farm got married in March.

It was a very happy occasion for all and it finished off a complete story of Cambodia, one which I will remember forever.

Pre-Covid Plans

But, having been travelling for over 15 months, and as I was entering my third actual dated year of travel. It felt like a good time to leave to discover new things.

I originally left the UK in Sept 2018 and spent most of 2019 living in Cambodia. Having expected to have been back home by this time I suddenly felt the need to visit and see friends and family.

This year it had meant to be the turn of Vietnam and Laos with maybe a finish in Myanmar, where I would hopefully see more of a beautiful country.

But, before all that, it started with a trip back to the UK in mid-march to surprise mum for her birthday. And what a surprise it turned out to be for both of us.

Because the 23rd of March 2020 will be a day to remember for a long time. I surprised her having been away for 18 months only to be surprised myself by Covid and our lockdown restrictions that left me stuck in the UK indefinitely.

Long Stay

It was to be almost 2 years to the day before I could actually get back onto a plane and fly back to  Cambodia where I had left for a two-week holiday.

The Sad part was the loss of several good friends who like many people succumb to Covid-related deaths.

Because we had lockdowns, we had mask-wearing, and a lot of helpful, caring, and compassionate people.

Suddenly away from the pressure and stress of everyday life and have time to help their fellow beings.

However, It came at a price that we now years later, have come to realise.

Inflation, cost of living, and food shortages are all effects of the shutdown of the economy during covid.

It means people’s lives will be affected for decades to come as we deal with the cost of a pandemic. Something that even today has given to speculation is not natural and may have its origins in man-made labs.

LOVE IT 😀

Thanks @jodilmorris for this perfect quote

Yangon, Myanmar

November 20, 20192 min read

Yangon has got it all

The city seems to have something unique, I only spent a few days exploring but already hooked on the place.

It has one of the most impressive Pagodas in the world.

I was mesmerized by the Shwedagon Pagoda when you walk around.

The food in Yangon has to be some of the most flavorsome I have tried ever in the whole of southeast Asia.

Smells of local street food certainly rival Bangkok in terms of variety and colours look vibrant. Choice of meals to satisfy even the most worldly traveller.

 

A nightlife that may rival Singapore as like SG there are many western ex-pats camped in Yangon. It is fast becoming the new place to work in Asia.

Especially, as  Myanmar opens up to the west and tries to repair the damage done by the Rohinga crisis.

Local places of interest such as the @ygnwalls, local art museums and little boutique shops offering gifts to satisfy any hardened shopper.

Definitely a return visit and also to experience many more of the places in Myanmar.

Everyone says each state has unique places to visit and tastes of food will vary between places giving me such a wide range of choices it may be a country that keeps me here a while.

 

 

Error validating access token: Session has expired on Sunday, 06-Aug-23 12:05:28 PDT. The current time is Friday, 04-Oct-24 11:33:17 PDT.