I wish we had known you were in Chiang Mai. We were there for a couple of weeks in early November 2025 and we for sure would have loved to have met you. I'm so sorry about what is happening in Myanmar. It breaks my heart. We really want to go back there but we know we can't. I often think of the kind man who ran the hotel we stayed at in Oak Shit Pin. I hope he is alright. I want to see him again someday. Thank you for keeping in touch. Hopefully we will meet sometime.

It’s lovely to hear from you again, Zay Ya. I’m glad you’re doing well in Chiang Mai. We have such fond memories of Myanmar and Oke Shit Pin. It’s so terrible what is happening there still. I hope your family is safe. All the best to you, thank you for keeping in touch.

Hello, it's been 4 years since my last comment. I've currently been working as a foreign math teacher in Chiang Mai for over 2 years now. Situations in Myanmar hasn't improved, but in fact it's getting worse. Still , photos with scenery of my hometown are always the best. Oke Shit Pin is quite a small town wtih only two schools, one market, one hospital and one police station. My father is still operating his clinic there since 1996 or 1997. I will drop the Google Map link so that you can have a look. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Dr+Mg+Mg+Clinic/@18.6862135,95.0096242,21z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x30b881af56dfc581:0x63285c476b7c7f88!8m2!3d18.686246!4d95.009513!16s%2Fg%2F11j7vkct5c?authuser=0&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDEyMS4wIKXMDSoKLDEwMDc5MjA2OUgBUAM%3D

Portugal and Spain are wonderful places to cycle (I hear, no direct experience). Have a great time.

Bruce/Andrea
We have been to that part of the world just once (Thailand/Cambodia) and had a great time but not on our bikes. Maybe one day! We are off to Portugal/Spain in early September and will be reading your blog in our down time over there. Really enjoy your writing! I too hope some good emerges in Myanmar and other areas of conflict in the world.

Thank you, Keith.

Myanmar is my favorite country to visit mostly because the people are so wonderful. I'm distraught about what is going on there now. I hope in the end something good emerges. The Myanmar people deserve to live in peace and to pursue their dreams.

Thank you, Keith. Your words mean a lot to us.

In the firehose of news, Myanmar’s misery fades from the international stage but the brutality continues unabated.

The Irrawaddy, Myanmar Now, and Frontier Myanmar are all excellent news outlets reporting on current conditions in country. It certainly is not a place where tourists should be right now.

We do hope you enjoy the journal. Maybe we’ll see you in a Mandalay tea house someday, in a peaceful and prosperous future.

Thanks Andrea for posting the video of your Myanmar adventure. I thought it was excellent. I will be going back to read the blog of your trip. I don’t know how I missed it. I did read “This Time Tomorrow “ and thoroughly enjoyed it. I will also be doing some research on what is currently happening in this part of the world. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. Have fun with those grandchildren!

We stayed in Hotel Yadanar Pone and the man in charge was so nice and very helpful. He was actually one of my favorite people we met on our entire three month trip. I will always remember him.

Zay Ya,
I really wanted to go up to see this pagoda but being on bikes and not knowing if there was a hotel for tourists in One Shit Pin we decided we couldn't take the time. Maybe we can come back someday. The walkway is very beautiful. I love the old pagodas in Myanmar. Thank you for contacting us. We would love to meet you some day.
[email protected]

I put my email address in a previous comment, we want to know more about your hometown. We were treated with great kindness there.

How I wish we could have met you there!

Hi Zay Ya! We are delighted to meet somebody from Oke Shit Pin! Please contact me at [email protected] because I would love to talk to you about our time there.

You can ask me questions if you want since that is my hometown. There's still need a lot of descriptions to be made with Google. Unfortunately, it's not a good time for tourism since we were back to square one under military rule again.

I found your blog on Google when I was searching info of my hometown. Thank you for visiting there. I might be able to give you a nice tour if we have met.