october 8-29, 2004

i had been thinking to see chiang mai, second largest city in thailand, located at the north, near to laos and myanmar (burma) borders. i was then planning and planning, but finally gave up...

so i just bought lonelyplanet guides, grabbed a ticket to chiang mai, packed my things, and left to chiang mai.

i ended up backpacking for 3 weeks in 3 countries, most of the time i travelled alone; except when i was in mandalay - myanmar, i joined a couple from austria and a girl from spain. four of us shared rooms and a taxi to get around mandalay.
when i was in luang prabang - laos, in some occasion i travelled with a british guy, we even explored the town by bicycle...

here's some photos:

golden triangle - thailand

mae sai - thailand

after white water rafting - mae tang river, up to grade 4

taxi in mandalay - myanmar

our tour guide and driver in mandalay; kyaw zin, we called him 'jason'
he's knowledgeable, helpful and speaks good english
i'd recommend him if someone needs a tour guide in mandalay
he usually hangs around ET hotel - 129A 83rd street, mandalay.
i wouldn't recommend the hotel, though.

my travelling buddies squeezed in the taxi
from left to right: michael, heidi and marta

mandalay fort

mingun paya - 1 hour boat ride from mandalay
built by king bodawpaya in 1790, the work halted in 1819, since he died.
leaving a huge brick base; 50m in height, only a third of the intended height.

drug dealers in action

carrying my backpacks in the street of yangon