Clinical Volunteering In Yangon: Finding Truth In My Intentions In Burmese, Yangon means void of danger. After nearly a month of sightseeing, I was ready to volunteer and connect with a local community of medical staff to take away the dangers that patients in the rural jungle villages might suffer from. Nothing felt more reaffirming of “Yes, I want to be a doctor” than seeking a presence… Read More
Shan State: Over The Gokteik And Across Inle The more I travel the more I find alone-ness to be dangerously addicting. I submerged in this feeling I have tried explaining before as I took a train across an engineering wonder of the rail world and a boat ride through parts of a famed lake. Two of Myanmar‘s most iconic landmarks would have been ideal at… Read More
Shan State: Adventuring Around Hsipaw Usually ignored by most backpacker itineraries, Hsipaw and it’s ever-growing popularity was a nice little town that many use as a base for jungle treks and village home stays. I checked out the ruins in “Little Bagan,” listened to a tragic love story in the historic Shan Palace, and befriended a couple Oregonian hippies who… Read More
Kachin State: Elusive Elephants At Lake Indawgyi When visiting Myanmar’s largest lake one will find a ring of quiet villages, a floating pagoda, and few foreigners. Working elephants have been traditionally used by the Burmese for logging and some were still around the lake. Upon learning this, seeing one of the gentle giants quickly became my sole goal for this destination. … Read More
Kachin State: Bilingual Hitchhiking Through Myanmar’s Red Zone Ashley met a guy in Laos who said he boated from Katha to Bhamo, and then hitched from to Myitkyina. So here we were, ready to give it a shot. Did this random guy mention that the road would be restricted to foreigners due to the regular spats of military violence? No. Did this random… Read More
Kachin State: Taking In Katha And Bhamo Katha was the setting for one of George Orwell’s first novels, Burmese Days. A favorite read for backpackers in Myanmar, I made sure to grab my own copy before I got there. Bhamo was to the west and had a bamboo bridge that got washed away and rebuilt by villagers each year. Both towns don’t… Read More
Scooting And Sweating Through The Temples Of Bagan 2,200 Buddhist temples dating back to the 11th century scatter across 26 square miles in a multitude of shapes and sizes. I had a wonderful time at this top tourist destination, and that was saying something considering two setbacks—May was during hot, triple-digit season, and most of the viewpoints were under restoration, severely limiting options… Read More
Starting My Burmese Days In Yangon So began my Burmese Days in this busy, dirty town discovering gems that were both obvious and subtle. While aware that the Schwedagon, with its several metric tons of gold and jewels, was known for being the most impressive pagoda in Southeast Asia, I was also adjusting to high temperatures and seeking opportunities with the local community.… Read More
Update: My Heart, Barbacoa, The Confederate, And A Sprinkle Of Qatar Today I begin again. Today I see that being on the road makes me act with my heart. I am way less likely to be an asshole. Not that I really am, but everyone has an attitude at university. The worldview is so narrow and everyone is focused on exams. Or social functions. … Read More
In Conclusion My Summer Taught Me How To Do Life Better Becoming a better person. Connecting the pieces of my past. Mindfulness. You and I both knew prolonged periods of indulging in wanderlust and fending for oneself is enough to instill these cliché transformations upon anyone, but this is my written version. And just wait, because this was only four months. 6. I am better at recognizing differences in… Read More