Living and working in Yangon This post is the first in a series focusing on Yangon, Myanmar. It is predominantly meant to provide an additional perspective on the logistics of living and working in Yangon. Recognizing that my knowledge and perspective on the city will change I'll be updating it over time. 2016 Update: So it has been a little over two years since I wrote this post and it has turned out to be surprisingly popular post resulting in me often meeting people who are like 'hey I read your blog'. But it's not just my new found fame…
Cambodia
So I have to admit, if you had asked me which country was next on my hit list, I probably wouldn't have said Cambodia. You see, as an Australian I have the wonderful privilege of being located next to a huge number of countries which I'd describe as being very 'Me' in that they're warm, diverse and easy to visit. But I also happen to work in an industry where my business is looking at all things international, so the choice of Cambodia was not my own. Spiders and Dolphins Of course as is true of all good expeditions it's…
San Francisco
I've often been asked by friends 'Giles, how can you have a phobia of hipsters but be so fond of San Francisco'? Well that's a good question. Such a good question as a matter of fact, that I'm going deal with it in the only responsible way: by all together ignoring it. You see, hipsters are people too and the only bartenders who don't look at me funny when I ask for a cocktail involving pickle brine. As a result, they're okay by me. Kind of like bears, they're probably as afraid of me as I am of them. Now…
Langtang
If somebody from the future had told me that I'd be willing to pay good money to lug a backpack around and not shower for seven days I'd be sceptical to say the least. However, when the nearest beach is further away than the nearest mountain you have to make a choice. The trek I chose to do is in 'Langtang ' which, for those who aced geography, is right next to the Nepal/Tibet border (north of Kathmandu). For those who aren't good at geography here is a map: Nepal – the meat in the China/India sandwich For those of…
Taipei 101
My impression is that nobody really knows where Taiwan sits in the world of touristy-flavoured adventures. I for one, am was no exception, in fact I must admit having chosen this as a holiday destination solely based on its lack of Visa requirements and the flights being cheap at the time. Admittedly both reasons aren't particularly inspiring. Despite this, it was the fiscally responsible choice and therefore the only logical one. Being painfully aware that the dialogue I learnt from Crouching Tiger hidden dragon would be unlikely to be of use to me outside of situations where I am required…
Visiting the 8th (to 21st) Wonder of the world
So as I said earlier I'm not one to take too many risks when I travel. I like to have things organised for me in bite-sized chunks. I find this to be particularly important in the Philippines because I'm still finding my feet and if I bugger it up I'll have to charter my own tour (see my trip to Palawan). The problem was that all the travel agents were either jerks or too expensive (some were expensive jerks too), so I decided to go about organising my own tour which was all going smoothly. The bus tickets I would…
Guns, Guns and Steel
When I first arrived in the Philippines I spent the first weekend with a copy of the lonely planet and a notepad listing all the things I wanted to do/see while in the Philippines. Being focused (at the time) mainly on the prospect of being able to talk about my travel afterwards, I used what I would like to term the 'fanboy' approach. Essentially the technique revolves around reading your chosen travel guide and just going along with their recommendations. On the list was Corregidor Island, a small parcel of land nestled inside Malina bay. It has been a key…
How Haggling Saved My Life
A Dutch auction is an auction started as high as the salesperson thinks they get away with, without alerting the buyer they're getting ripped. For me, who's not your average moron on the moron bell-curve this has been quite a costly learning process. If I was to paint this blog post as a coming of age story my trip to Palawan would have brought me up to infancy. Getting to Palawan, from Manila is a relatively painless affair and requires a taxi and a ticket. For anyone who has been or who's going to visit, if a taxi driver spends…
Where I Spent the End of the World
I imagine a lot of you have wondered where I would spend the end of the world (in particular so you could share the occasion with me). Well after a lot of time, money and science the optimal choice was obviously inside a volcano. After all if there is anything I remember from primary school it's that putting baking soda and vinegar in a cardboard cone is a lacklustre affair and consequently the most boring (and therefore safest) place to be. So on the 21st of May 2011 I traveled out of Manila to Mount Pinatubo the last place God…
Putting the ‘Man’ in ‘Manila’
Like all great men, I've decided to start where it all began. The ninth floor: Having paid many a Peso to secure myself a shoebox in the city, I was pleasantly surprised that once I opened the balcony door I had twice the space and a view overlooking Ortigas, Manila. It being three weeks since I first set foot in the city it is hard to remember precisely what my first impressions were but from the best of my recollection: 1. Heat. Yep, not surprisingly Manila (and I'm told the Philippines more generally) is hot. Hot to the extent that…