Pictorials
Exploring Angkor
By Tony and Thomas on February 17, 2010 | No Comments »
Angkor is overwhelming – as expected. At $60 for the week pass, this just might be the most expensive monument we’ve ever visited. Perhaps, it’s almost worth it. 
As you can see from the pictures above, we’ve had a blast exploring the area with Lisa and Garrett as well as Beverly, who arrived later. For those of you who dream of visiting Angkor Wat, book your flights as soon as possible – this place is going to get busier and busier until it one day drowns under the weight of its own popularity. That hasn’t happened yet, but it will.
Manga-licious
By Thomas on January 19, 2010 | No Comments »
You’ve got to love Bangkok! Vibrant, colorful and very “animated”, the city and its people are never boring. Tony and I even stumbled across a Manga costume festival featuring neon wigs and outrageously extravagant outfits. From Japanese comic heroes to notorious villains to red-eyed vixens to sexy Manga kittens, the carnival of colorful costumes was all about attitude – and young Thais are excellent at that!
Snapshots from Myanmar
By Tony and Thomas on January 13, 2010 | 2 Comments »
As we move on, here are a few personal snapshots from the land of gold. We love Myanmar and hope to return to this magical country again soon. There is much, much more to explore!
Myanmar Pictorial
By Tony on January 9, 2010 | No Comments »
We’ve gotten several emails asking for more photos of Myanmar. Of course, a country as visually stunning as this begs for a full pictorial, so here it is …
The Shwe Dagon Pagoda
By Tony on December 10, 2009 | 2 Comments »
There are endless reasons to visit Yangon, but off in the distance, towering above the city, you can see one attraction that literally stands above all the rest – the incredible Shwe Dagon Pagoda. One of the world’s most impressive structures, the Shwe Dagon Paya towers over the city flaunting its opulence.
Said to house eight of the historical Buddha’s hairs, the pagoda is one of the most revered Buddhist sites in the world. It is definitely one of the most bejeweled. The 322 ft. (98 m) gilded central stupa is topped with an ornamental umbrella piece decorated with 5,448 diamonds and 2,317 rubies. The umbrella’s top bud is a single 76 carat diamond. Not too shabby!
Westerners are often shocked to discover that many of the temple’s Buddha statues are backed by flashing neon halos. Many find this a kitschy distraction from the ancient pagoda’s beauty. We, on the other hand, found it a rather interesting nod to neighboring India’s habit of using flashing neon lights in its Hindu structures.
I have been dreaming about visiting the Shwe Dagon since I was a teenager. Unfortunately, we arrived during the regilding process, so the lower sections of the stupa were covered with bamboo scaffolding and woven mats. Bummer! Oh well, just one more excuse to come back to Myanmar. All the same, even with the scaffolding and mats, the pagoda is a phenomenal sight.
