After six days of temple hopping, we were keen to experience something a little bit different. Luckily our next stop was Inle Lake. This lake is Myanmar’s second largest, measuring twenty-two kilometres long by ten kilometres wide. This picturesque lake sits in a valley between two mountain ranges, in the Western Shan State. While the scenery is spectacular...
After spending an awesome three days in Bagan, we headed off to Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city and its last royal capital. Mandalay is often overlooked by travellers, which is odd because it has so much to offer. We had planned two days there, but we left feeling that it really wasn’t long enough. Mandalay is a cultural and religious centre of...
One of the highlights of any trip to Myanmar is a visit to Bagan. Bagan is an ancient city built on the banks of the Ayeyarwady River, in the heart of Myanmar. A long time ago it was the capital of a powerful ancient kingdom. Nowadays, its archeological zone is home to the largest concentration of Buddhist temple ruins in the world. It’s also one of the most visited...
It had been a long time since we’d set foot in a hostel. After months of backpacking around Australia in my twenties and many bad experiences, I’d kind of put the hostel world behind me. But after our recent stay at the 5FootWay.Inn Project Boat Quay, my opinion of hostels has definitely changed. It turns out that they’ve come a long way in the last ten years. My...
As we began our descent into Yangon, we gazed out the plane’s windows and were amazed at Myanmar even before touching down. The first thing that we noticed was the huge number of golden pagodas scattered around the landscape. Some were small, some big, but they all shone so much in the bright sunshine that they were easily visible from up above. This definitely...
When we booked our first trip to Hawaii, my plan was to avoid Oahu as much as possible. My expectations of Oahu were very low. I always pictured it as Hawaii’s tourist-hub, over commercialised, full of high rise condos and tacky tourists attractions; and to be honest, this was also our opinion of Hawaii in general, and it stopped us from heading there for ages. But...
It’s not hard to find a good hike on any of the Hawaiian Islands, and Oahu is no exception. It has more hiking trails than you can realistically conquer during a two week holiday. If like us, you’re a hiker, you may find it tricky to choose from them all. But, on the eastern edge of Waikiki’s coastline, lies one of Hawaii’s most iconic landmarks, the Diamond Head...
The Australian state of Victoria is heaven for the wine lovers out there. With wine regions scattered all over the state, you could visit a different winery every day and not run out of choices for months. Living in Melbourne, we are lucky to have several wine regions just over an hour’s drive from the city centre. The closest one to us is the Mornington Peninsula...
Over the years we’ve become frequent visitors to the small town of Daylesford, in the Macedon Ranges of Victoria. Just a short ninety-minute drive from Melbourne, it’s easy enough to get to if you’re after a weekend of quiet relaxation. The area is home to the largest concentration of mineral springs in Australia and is therefore very popular for romantic weekend...
No visit to Sri Lanka is complete without a visit to the Sigiriya Rock Fortress. Sigiriya Rock is one of Sri Lanka’s wonders, and it’s a must-see attraction on any visitor’s itinerary. Sigiriya, meaning Lion Rock in Singalese, is an ancient city in the central Matale district of Sri Lanka. It’s easy to spot this two hundred meters high rock as you drive through the...