Wonders of Southeast Asia

November – December 2015

Intro

Couldn’t think of a better name for this journey – it was filled with some of the world’s best sights and cities that, quite honestly, any one of them could have been the focus of a stand-alone trip!

This is actually one of the reasons why, apart from a few days in Bangkok in 2001, it’s taken me so long to finally get to this part of Asia! There was too much to see in such a small area, that I kept postponing it until I could manage to take off enough time!

The anchor of the trip (and I apologize in advance for the necessary pun here) was, of course, Angkor Wat. That I’d been to over 150 countries, but had not yet seen Angkor Wat, was a shock to most fellow travelers, and even a source of personal stress and embarrassment!! This made it all the more satisfying when I finally laid eyes on it. And it was everything I could have imagined!

I built my itinerary around that ‘star of the show’ and (after a quick stop in Hong Kong) preceded it with a few days in Vietnam to see the Dragon Bridge of Da Nang, wander around the awe-inspiring Cham ruins of My Son, get some shirts custom-tailored in charming Hoi An, and experience just enough of Saigon’s bustle to fall in love with it.

Then it was off to Cambodia with the first stop in the busy, exotic capital of Phnom

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Penh. After exploring the big city, it was finally time for the Temples of Angkor, with Siem Reap as my base for three days of exploring some of the most extraordinary temple complexes in the world; even more extraordinary that each one had its very own style and allure. While extremely hot, humid (and they say this is the cool season?!?), and definitely physically tiring, there was no ‘temple fatigue’ to be had! A day trip to the remote mountain-top World Heritage Site of Preah Vihear near the Thai border rounded off the Cambodian portion of the trip.

From Siem Reap, a last-minute flight cancellation had me routing through the unplanned destination of Bangkok on the way to Laos, where in just three hours I managed to hire a taxi to take me downtown where I saw some sights I missed out on 14 years ago, like the gorgeous Wat Benchamabopit and Wat Ratchanatdarom temples; saw some sights, like the aptly-named Grand Palace, for the second time; and even managed to stop at the famous Thip Samai noodle shop to sample the best street-side Pad Thai I’ve ever tasted!

Finally in Laos, laid-back Vientiane was a great warm-up to one of the longest ‘road trips’ I may have ever taken. Thanks to another unexpected flight cancellation, I was forced to travel through Laos by land over some incredibly beautiful, insanely windy and mountainous terrain, through the karst landscapes of Vang Vieng, to the otherworldly Plain of Jars in Xiengkhouang, and finally to perhaps the most charming town on the trip, Luang Prabang. Even after a couple of relaxing days, beautiful Luang Prabang is one place I definitely wish I had more time to explore and enjoy.

If I had to pick a second “anchor” highlight around which this trip was planned, it would be the Yi Peng Lantern Festival in the next stop, Chiang Mai, ‘capital’ of Northern Thailand. Chiang Mai was such a cool place to wander around and explore, but adding in all the non-stop street life, activity, and throngs of people due to the concurrent Yi Peng and Loi Krathong festivals made the city even more fun. Convenient day trips took me to many nearby attractions, including the wonderful Elephant Nature Park in Mae Taeng, beautiful and hippie little Pai, Chiang Rai with its famous ‘White Temple’, the border town of Mae Sai (where I sampled and fell in love with the amazing Northern Thai dish of Khao Soi), and the infamous former opium-producing region of the Golden Triangle.

From Chiang Mai, a convenient direct flight to Mandalay brought me to the final country on the itinerary, incredible Myanmar. If I go into any level of detail on the wonders of this amazing place, this intro will quickly turn into more of a novel than it already is! Myanmar just floored me. Mandalay and its wealth of history and fascinating old capital sites; the Inle Lake region with its beautiful stilt-villages, traditional fisherman, canals, and old temples; really strange yet awesomely non-touristy Naypyidaw, the newly-built capital of the country; and finally, buzzing-with-life Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city and recent former capital.

I purposely left one sight out from the list above — Bagan. Wow. Bagan deserves its own paragraph. Bagan deserves its own post, really. The most eye-opening thing for me, is that this trip should have been anchored around Bagan all along, because Bagan quickly arose to become the #1 highlight of the whole trip. More than the Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai; more than the Temples of Angkor; more than Luang Prabang or Saigon or Hanoi. More than anywhere actually. I decided, after seeing Bagan (and this was not a thing I would say lightly, I really thought about this!), that it is the most beautiful, most amazing sight I have ever seen. In my life.

After a life-changing experience in Myanmar (sounds dramatic, but every trip to a new country changes you in some way, I just think Myanmar affected me more than usual!), it was back to Vietnam for a few more days to ‘unwind’ in Hanoi before returning home. (For me, ‘relaxing’ just means staying in the same city for more than two nights. I was in Hanoi for three). In those three ‘relaxing’ days, I walked all over the crazy, never-boring, moto-infested Old Quarter; had some delicious pho bo, banh mi, and egg coffee; explored the architecture of the French Quarter; took a day trip to laid-back Haiphong, Vietnam’s third largest city; and cruised around gorgeous Ha Long Bay. At least the cruise really was relaxing!

So there it is. The incredible wonders of Southeast Asia. A truly epic trip that was long overdue, but so insanely worth the wait! And now, when someone asks me, “What’s the most amazing thing you have ever seen?“, you know my answer. Bagan. Amazing, amazing, Bagan!

Journey Map

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Galleries

Hong Kong

Da Nang

Mỹ Sơn

Hội An

Ho Chi Minh City I

Featured Image

Htilominlo Pagoda, Bagan, Myanmar

One of the most important questions on this trip – should I or should I not wear a longyi? Is it culturally insensitive for a tourist to do so, or is it the complete opposite? For me, it boiled down to the facts – the longyi is a simple, easy to wear, cooling, leg-covering, respectful garment to wear when visiting Bagan’s many temples. So, with that, here I am sporting my longyi in front of one of the most extraordinary temples in one of the most extraordinary cities on the planet!

Featured Video

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#wndrlustr_seasia

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Nov 24

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#lao food! ping kai (grilled #chicken), nam khao (crispy fried #coconut rice with sour pork), and my absolute favorite - delicious #laab kai (minced chicken salad) ...

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Dec 4

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close up shot of my #sketch of the exquisite #sulamani #pagoda at #bagan #myanmar ...

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Nov 22

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just a few of the 6400 #buddhas that adorn the wat sisakhet #temple in #vientiane #laos ...

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Dec 5

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anybody want some #thanaka? I`ll give you a good price, discount! this thanaka seller is wearing the fragrant, #sandalwood-like #makeup / #sunscreen on her cheeks. almost all women in #myanmar wear this, and I hope this traditional custom doesn`t change as the country does! ...

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Nov 24

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just before #sunset, street vendors begin transforming #sisavangvong road in #luangprabang into a lively but very relaxed #nightmarket full of great local #handicrafts ...

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Nov 14

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woman preparing white rose, (banh bao vac), shrimp #dumplings wrapped in a translucent rice dough, another delicious hoi an specialty 🙂 ...

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Dec 8

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the #colonial #riverside #streetscape of #yangon, #myanmar`s largest city (and it`s capital until 2005 when it was moved to newly built naypyitaw) ...

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Nov 16

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a DJ spins some beats with the #saigon skyline in the background at glow sky bar ...

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Dec 13

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last shot from atop the #lottecenter in #hanoi - i love how the two main #streets look like they`re literally cutting the city into quarters! ...

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Nov 19

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another gorgeous #sunset in #cambodia near the preah neak pean #temple #angkor ...

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Sketches

People's Committee Building [City Hall]
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
15.11.2015

Banteay Srei
Banteay Srei, Cambodia
18.11.2015

Angkor Wat
Siem Reap, Cambodia
19.11.2015

Patuxai
Vientiane, Laos
22.11.2015

Wat Chiang Man
Chiang Mai, Thailand
26.11.2015

Sulamani Pagoda
Bagan, Myanmar
02.12.2015

Temple of Literature
Hanoi, Vietnam
08.12.2015

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Blog

The Question Every World Traveler Dreads

Samer Kawar April 14, 2016 0 Comments Blog, Featured, General Travel, Journeys, Myanmar, Published Work, Southeast Asia, Wonders of Southeast Asia amazing places, asia, bagan, best in travel, burma, myanmar, southeast asia, travel, wanderlust, world travel

I’ve been to many amazing places. Each destination has a story and stirs deep emotions within my insatiable traveling soul. So when someone asks, “Where’s the most amazing place you’ve ever been?” – I dance and I dodge. “Come on, there HAS to be one!”