Ethical and Beautiful Shopping in Yangon

If there is one shop in downtown Yangon where you can buy a gorgeous souvenir and help make a difference direct to local artisans, Hla Day is it. The name of the shop means ‘beautiful’ in Burmese and it’s hard not to feel good when you walk through the door. Founder and Lead Designer Ulla READ MORE

The top four hotels in Yangon

My favorite hotel in Yangon is not, probably, the best hotel in town, but it’s certainly the most gorgeous. In a city which seems to open a new hotel every month, it’s pretty hard to choose the top four. There are a slew of brand new, high-rise places each one more shiny and slick than READ MORE

The Soothsayer at the Sule Pagoda

I’m a sucker for a fortune teller. And so, when I heard the second most famous pagoda in Yangon  had resident soothsayers, I headed straight there. When I arrived and saw the monstrous traffic that stood between me and my destiny, I almost lost my nerve. Because Sule Pagoda and its palm readers and astrologers READ MORE

Yangon in the Rainy Season – Things to do

If you visit Yangon any time between May and September, chances are you will get caught in the rain. A lot. That’s why most visitors come between November and February, when the temperatures are moderate and rainfall low. However, there’s a certain charm to the city in the rainy season. Not least of which is READ MORE

What to take on the Camino to Santiago?

What to take for a 800km walk, in one backpack? One thing is almost certain – what you start with is not what you will end with. Camino albergues are littered with discarded gear. Some depends on what you normally use. Do you walk in shorts? Pants? Whatever. Take it, but just make it light. READ MORE

The Camino Cough – it got me!

Yes it happened. I got sick. Very sick. Too sick to carry on. So what’s it like being sick on the Camino? The short answer is miserable. The long answer is interesting. Because you’re a long way from home. And on a mission. But you can’t get ahead with walking 20 plus km a day, READ MORE

Days 1 and 2 – St. Jean to Roncevalles

Twenty five kilometers over the Pyrenees is no joke under any circumstances. Add a 8kg pack, no training and jet lag and it’s bad! A few weeks before leaving I’d decided to stay over halfway at Orisson and got booked into their overflow gite at Kayola. Turned out to be a good choice, considering. The READ MORE