Myanmar (Burma) [antikvár]

MIC nuiiiulo ROBERT REID Coordinating Author Moulded by Oklahoma (USA) public schools, Robert moved to a crappy basement apartment in New York with his still-warm journalism degree. After that he lived in San Francisco, London and Ho Chi Minh City, where he worked at Vietnam News and travelled a lot around Southeast Asia. After Asia, Robert worked at Lonely Planet - as a commissioning editor then a publishing manager. He now writes full-time from a Brooklyn apartment with a view of the galaxy-famous Verrazano Bridge. Robert wrote the introductory chapters, Mandalay, Around Mandalay, Bagan Central Myanmar, Temples of Bagan, Western Myanmar, Pyin U Lwin section, Directory, and Transport. The Coordinating Author's Favourite Trip I was a little worried about the bus trip between Ngapali Beach {p314) and Pyay (p283) - a bouncing, fish-filled, sure-fire vomit ride. My bus mate - a local in jeans and ballcap (little guy, maybe 37) - lets go a raspy laugh at anything uttered. '1 paid US$15 to stay there.' Ho ho ho! 'Another passport check?' Ho ho ho! A woman gets off in Taunggok snarling,'! don't want my daughter to throw up all night'. Ho ho ho. At a 3am tea stop. Rasp buys me tea and cake and teases a heavy-set woman; 'She looks like she's 50.' (Much laughter. Her too.) I'm asked how old she looks. 'I would've swore 27.' (More laughter.) Turns out she's his wife. I wake him in Pyay at 5.30am and hand him an 'I V NYC T-shirt. Ho ho ho. Somehow we made the journey without even unfolding the vomit bag. Taunggo Ngapali Beach MICHAEL GROSBERG Yangon, Around Yangon, Southeast Myanmar & Northeast Myanmar Michael was raised in the Washington DC area, studied philosophy in Michigan and Israel and then worked in business in the Northern Marianas. A long overland trip through Asia followed, finally ending in exhaustion, carrying his clothes in a laundry bag in Amman, Jordan, with his sanity still intact. After stints at journalism and NGO work in South Africa, Michael pursued graduate work in comparative literature in New York City and has since taught at various universities. Despite the long economy-class flights and his inherited distaste for air travel, he has continued to make repeated trips to Southeast Asia. LONELY PLANET AUTHORS Why is our travel information the best in the world? It's simple: our authors are independent, dedicated travellers. They don't research using just the Internet or phone, and they don't take freebies in exchange for positive coverage. They travel widely, to all the popular spots and off the beaten track. They personally visit thousands of hotels, restaurants, cafés, bars, galleries, palaces, museums and more - and they take pride In getting all the details right, and telling it how it is. For more, see the authors section on www.lonelyplanet.com.