Greencaviar Travel

Myanmar, Burma When entering a place that has two names one must watch the streets where we place our feet as both traveler and citizen of the globe a world of extremes gilt domes of temple worship bordering the tents of cities meant to be impermanent but never seem to disappear how the hills are in our hands how the displaced are gems among the treasures and that everything is precious NOTE: 1. Photos by the author 2. I decided to publish this poem after watching the "Families Belong Together" rallies across the country.

I spent my fair share of time in the northern part of Thailand, volunteering at the elephant farm five years ago. I really enjoyed my stay with a local family and learned about their culture and where I began to understand why Thailand is called 'The Land of Smiles'.  For some reason, I never had a strong desire to visit Bangkok, probably because big cities are off-putting to me. It’s only now that I realized how much of a missed opportunity this had been and glad to include it in my epic Southeast Asia travel this year. I began my trip to Bangkok with the knowledge I learned from volunteering in the northern part of Thailand where I felt safe. Right after landing at Suvanabhumi airport and going through customs, I went straight to a transportation booth to ask where I could find a cab to my hotel. Instead of pointing me to the cab waiting area, I was led to believe that I was in the right place. A man pointed me to the clerk at the counter who started preparing a receipt ...

The Land of A Thousand Temples and Beautiful Sunsets One of the most compelling travel photos I had seen from a page of a travel magazine was a photo of  hot air balloons over a hundred temples, and over the hazy horizon and mist lifting from the ruins as the sun rises.  That photo inspired me to travel to Myanmar (formerly Burma).  But due to the high cost of travel to Myanmar and the political unrest, my dream remained on my bucket list for a while. After debating whether it was 'responsible travel' to go despite the country's negative political news, I asked myself "If not now, then when."  I finally decided to join nine other intrepid travelers on Discovery Tours. Although there are still places that are out of bounds for foreigners, our itinerary followed the main tourist route.  I want to share some photos of the incredible sights along the way. Yangon Our journey began in Yangon, where we visited some museums, the Bogyoke Aung San Museum, and d...

It's More Fun in the Philippines Part 1:  Trekking in Sagada Not long ago, Sagada, one of the municipalities of Mountain Province, was isolated and essentially an unchartered frontier. It became famous for its hanging coffins and coffins found in the crevices of limestone rocks. For this reason alone, most people find Sagada a fascinating place to visit. Today, tourism in Sagada is going through crazy rapid growth, not only because of its ancient culture and undiscovered beauty but for inclusive mountain adventure – trekking, hiking, caving, spelunking. And it seems that the municipality of Sagada tries to capitalize on its mountain playground. All visitors in Sagada are required to register with the Government Tourist Bureau and pay forty pesos for registration. Visitors must hire a registered tour guide. The price for tour guide services, tours, and activities offered by different tour operators are pretty much the same. Most tour or trek starts at The Church of St. Mar...