There’s something very special and yet very creepy about exploring the ancient temples of Bagan at sunrise. It’s eerily dark and quiet outside with just the sound of bats wings flapping over your head and the scurrying of rodents on the stone floors as you walk inside the temples. Narrow stairways lead up to the…
Author: laurenwinslowllewellyn
Monks, Pagodas and Sunsets in Mandalay | Myanmar
Mandalay is a big city with plenty of sites in and around the area. We’d spent two days out of the city, exploring the Mingun pagoda up the Irrawaddy River and also in the waterfalls to the east. So on our final day we took the free bicycles from our hotel and whizzed around the…
Finding paradise in Myanmar | The secret waterfalls around Mandalay
When we thought of Myanmar images of hot air balloons drifting high above pagodas popped into our heads. We envisioned it being a country purely to visit for the temples and one legged fisherman of Inle Lake. We were fools to think that. Myanmar has some incredible waterfalls that need to be seen to be…
First impressions of Myanmar and exploring Mingun Pagoda
We had the opportunity to visit Myanmar back in 2009 but we decided not to as we ignorantly thought the only reason to visit was to see pagodas. We’d seen our fair share of temples already in South East Asia so Myanmar was missed off our itinerary, but now, almost 10 years later we are…
Rainy season on a beach in Koh Chang | Thailand
As we stepped off the plane in Bangkok we were hit by a wall of heat and humidity. It was wet, our skin instantly felt damp and after a long day flying from Uzbekistan we probably smelt damp too. The temperature was 10 degrees cooler than the Stan’s yet the humidity was quite stifling. It…
Best places to visit in Central Asia
We ended up spending almost two months in the Stan’s. Our adventures started in Almaty, Kazakhstan, working our way through the mountains of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and ending the trip in Uzbekistan. The area is still relatively untouched by tourism, but more so than in recent years so organising visas, day trips and accommodation is…
Exploring the Silk Road Cities in Uzbekistan
We were really excited to visit Uzbekistan, the altitude and heat had got to us while exploring the mountains so the idea of leisurely strolls around Silk Road cities sounded like a rather appealing change. We crossed the border from near Panjikent in Tajikistan, the border only reopened this year after a long time being…
Exploring blue lakes and gushing waterfalls in the Fann Mountains | Tajikistan
Life is very calm in the Stan’s, we don’t get hassled, taxis don’t honk for our attention, it’s all just very peaceful and easy – except for when we arrive at a shared taxi stand and suddenly dozens of men crowd around us. It’s bizarre! They fight to get our bags out of the taxi…
The Pamir Highway | Part Two, Driving alongside Afghanistan in the Wakhan Valley
Day 5 | Bulunkul (3737m) to Langar (2740m) Before we left Bulunkul Village I asked Genghis if he could take us to Bulunkul Lake about 2km from us as I’d heard the morning reflections were amazing. The rumour was true, the view was absolute perfection with the colourful mineral hills mirrored in the glassy water….
The Pamir Highway | Part One, The high mountains of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
The Pamir Highway is a highlight for anyone travelling the Stan’s. It’s the second highest international highway in the world, climbing up to a staggering 4655m! It’s got a few nicknames like the Roof Of The World, due to its height, and also the Heroine Highway as apparently most of the heroin that’s trafficked through…
NON STOP TRAVELLING 