But For the Sky

Author: Claudia

  • Yum: Durian Fruit

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    Claudia
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    This oversized grenade of a fruit is a love/hate affair. It has a nasty reputation for smelling like trash, but durian fans are willing to overlook its scent’s peculiar similarity to dumpster air in order to enjoy the sweet, rich, custard-like meat. Our introduction to the fruit was in ice cream format in Myanmar, where…

  • Yum: Khmer Cooking Class

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    Claudia
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    We didn’t get the chance to take a cooking class in Thailand due to the craziness of the Songkran celebrations, so we signed up for the next best thing: a Khmer (Cambodian) cooking class in Siem Reap. It was the perfect break from temple-hopping during the middle of the steamy hot day. We weren’t sure…

  • Yum: Bangkok’s Street Food

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    Claudia
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    The great thing about eating in Bangkok is you never have to look very hard for delicious food. There are stands and makeshift restaurants on every street corner selling all kinds of yummy snacks, from the ubiquitous and filling pad thai to roasted crickets to coconut-based desserts. Here is a sampling of the food we…

  • The Most Bizarre Pedicure

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    Claudia
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    It’s simple: you put your feet in a tank full of fish that nibble on dead skin. Dozens of the little guys attack your feet and ankles, feeding off tiny particles of dead skin. Fifteen minutes later, you pull your feet out, and they are softer and smoother than they’ve been in a long time.…

  • Celebrating the New Year in Myanmar and Thailand: A Wet Mess!

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    Claudia
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    We finally succeeded in being in the right place at the right time: not only were we in Myanmar for their election day, but we also managed to take part in New Year celebrations in both Myanmar and Thailand. The (lunar) New Year is celebrated over several days in mid-April in these two countries as…

  • Why We Loved Myanmar

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    Claudia
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    We left Myanmar with smiles on our faces and a warm, fuzzy feeling in our hearts. We both agreed that it was our favorite country out of the 15 we had visited so far on this round-the-world trip. And we’ve talked to many other travelers who feel the same. So what is it about this…

  • Pankam: A Palaung Village in Shan State

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    Claudia
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    A popular activity in most southeast Asian countries is trekking to minority hill villages. So we left enough time in our Myanmar itinerary to head northeast from Mandalay to a town called Hsipaw, from where we could trek and overnight in nearby Palaung villages that are said to be largely uninfluenced by Western culture and…

  • Yum: Noodles, Tea Leaves, and A Mysterious Dessert

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    Claudia
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    I don’t think we knew what to expect from Myanmar cooking, but we ended up finding some gems during our culinary exporations. Burmese meals often consist of a buffet of meat and seafood curries sitting in a ton of oil that you pick by pointing at what you want, and are served with a vegetable…

  • Mustache Brothers: The Randomest Show on Earth

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    Claudia
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    We talked a little bit about the Mustache Brothers show in our last post, but it’s such a spectacle that we thought it deserved its own post. There are three brothers: Lu Maw, Par Par Lay, and U Lu Zaw, but it’s essentially a one-man variety show with Lu Maw, the only English speaker, on…

  • Bagan: A Little Hair of the Dog

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    Claudia
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    By now you are probably sick of us telling you about temples. Your eyes start to glaze over, you wonder when we might post something about food again (soon, promise!), and you close the tab before reaching the end of our post. We can’t blame you, since we were still nursing a serious temple hangover…