Our trip started in Yangon, Myanmar (formerly Burma). A few years ago when the present government took over they changed all the names in Burma. Yangon used to be Rangoon.The highlight of the city is the Shwedagon Pagoda. Said to be 2500 years, this most holy of all Buddhist shrines in Myanmar epitomizes the serene grace of the country. Visited the National Museum with its enormous Lion Throne and Mandalay Regalia, and the nearby reclining Buddha at Chaukhtatgyi. Took a flight to the Shan States in eastern Myanmar which is the home to many of the hill tribes with their black robes and colorful turquoise turbans. Next we spent a couple days on Inle Lake famous for its floating gardens and villages built on stilts. A snarl of lake silt and weed produces a thick layer of humus that can then be turned into a floating vegetable or flower garden buoyant enough to support a human's weight for a time. The villagers tend their lake gardens from long, banana-shaped boats, and row standing up, with one leg wrapped around the oar, leaving both hands free to fish or maneuver the nets. Mandalay, the last Burmese Royal capital before the British annexation was next on our trip. The cultural heart of Myanmar, Mandalay is a city where traditional crafts, gold and silver working, tapestry making, and marble and teak carving of exquisite quality abound. Next stop was Bagan to begin our exploration of the Plain of Temples. A forest of pagodas, large and small, rises up from the delta, marking the site of a great deserted royal city, and giving glorious testimony to the enduring Buddhist practice of the Burmese. Bagan's temples are endlessly different and fascinating; each one with its own legend. Then we boarded the Pandaw a riverboat for a two-day trip down the Irawaddy River back to Mandalay. The Irawaddy can rise a staggering 100 feet during the monsoon season, but was an exciting navigational challengeduring this dry season in Myanmar. Visited several villages and schools along the river and enjoyed the charm of the landscape, the riverside temples and the distant sound of monks chanting. From Mandalay we flew back to Yangon and on to the next tour, which covered Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. This Indochina tour began in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

There we visited the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, National Museum, and the University of Fine Arts to watch children learning the apsara, the complex steps and choreography of the traditional Khmer ballet. Toured Tuol Sleng, the former high school turned into a torture chamber by the Khmer Rouge, and the Killing Fields of Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge killed approximately three million Cambodians between 1976 and 1979. The monuments and museum dedicated to this horrible period are quite moving, but also quite disturbing. Continued on to Siem Reap to see the famous Angkor Wat with its incredible bas-reliefs. Rode an elephant to the stunning Bayon Temple, a 12th century master-piece with superb carvings of warriors, musicians, animals and scenes of everyday life. The next day toured Banteay Srei or the citadel of women; a red sandstone temple built in the 10th century and dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Over the centuries the walls have faded to various pastel shades ranging from reds to browns to greens.

Hanoi, Vietnam was our next stop with a visit to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. His body is still on display in a glass coffin in a heavily guarded, temperature controlled facility. Actually, he looks pretty good for he died almost 35 years ago. He gets re-embalmed and touched up every year. Toured the Temple of Literature founded in 1070. This temple, an excellent example of Vietnamese architecture, housed Vietnam's first university, established in 1076 to educate the Mandarins. Took an excursion to Halong Bay with its 3000 karst islands - a natural beauty as impressive as the Three Gorges in China. Flew to Hue to visit the Imperial citadel; took a boat ride on the Perfume River; and visited the tombs of Emperors Tu Duc and Khai Dinh. Drove from Hue over the beautiful Pass of the Clouds to Danang; stopping at the Cham Museum, a repository of some 300 sculptures on the way to China Beach. Spent a morning touring Hoi An, a quaint old port town with wooden houses, bridges and temples reminiscent of
a Vietnam of centuries past. On to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, to see many more of the places made household names during the Vietnam War. Visited the Cu Chi tunnels, the impressive underground city network built by the North Vietnamese. In Saigon especially, but all over Vietnam, almost everyone travels by motorcycle. There are literally thousands of them - very fascinating to see hundreds of bikes at
a traffic light waiting for it to change green, but also a pedestrian's nightmare when crossing the street.

On New Year's Day flew to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Serene and timeless, Laos is one of Asia's most unchanged countries. Saw several more Wats or temples, the Buddhist shrine Pha That Luang which is a national symbol of Lao sovereignty, and several exciting and wildly colorful markets which were a delight to the olfactory senses. The last stop on the Indochina tour was the sleepy little town of Luang Prabang on the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers, nestled in a beautiful mountain setting. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is fittingly called one of the last Shangri-Las of Southeast Asia. Watched the daily early morning ritual of hundreds of saffron-clad monks with their black alms bowls being given offerings from the local people. Took a peaceful voyage down the Mekong River passing many small villages on the way to the Pak-Ou
caves. Hollowed out of massive limestone cliffs, the caves are full of gilded Buddhas of all shapes and sizes. The guided tour ended here in Luang Prabang, but we flew on to Chiangmai, Thailand for three days and then two days in Bangkok to visit some of the sights we missed on our previous trip to Thailand.

These are just some of the main highlights of these two incredible tours. Saw many other places in addition to those briefly mentioned above; the 38 rolls of film are a testament to our enjoyment of this latest adventure.