Paul's Oriental Travelogue

Yangon Nightlife: Or How I Happened to Make a Molotov Cocktail

Here's a scene for the upcoming Presidential library. So there I am at only 11:15 PM, on 37th street, Yangon, shouting threats and obscenities at the second floor of the huge colonial edifice that contains all my Asian possessions. The...
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Oh, you bastards

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I'm a member, let me in!

I just had a quick vacation in America. Yes, I went to the US Embassy to register my presence in Myanmar. I haven't done this before; Dave wanted to in Bangkok but we never got around to it. But Myanmar...
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On my latest trip to Burma I discovered a very unusual corduroy

[New scene. J. Peterman's office.] Secretary: Elaine, it's Mr. Peterman on the phone. Elaine: (answers the phone) Hello, Mr. Peterman, how are you feeling? J. Peterman: Elaine, I'll be blunt. I'm burnt out. I'm fried. My mind is as barren...
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Overlooking the precipice

Who am I kidding about the Burmese being slow typists -- there's no computer back there! Just a lot of stamps and papers, and now I have one. I first whiled away the hours until I pick up my visa,...
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Donald P. McGrane

A week and half ago in Vietnam I took care of some family business. Fourteen years before I was born, my uncle Donald McGrane was killed in Vietnam, along with three other men, when his helicopter was shot down while...
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First Time in an Embassy

At first the idea of a jaunt to Burma sounds like crazy fun. J. Peterman all the way. In fact it is a total farce and only just begun. I am thiiiiis close to burning down the Myanmar embassy. My...
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I Said Hallelujah To The Sixteen Loyal Fans

Sorry about the leave of absence. I've been caught up in the magic of Laos but I'm still alive. Here are three postings in the order they would have been if I'd written them in a more timely manner. So...
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Just tell them we were raided by sandpaper bandits

Well I had another motorbike accident. I'm still fine and there's still nothing broken. I know this kills a bit of the tension but some readers (the ones who'd have to pay to ship my ruined carcass back to America)...
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Billy Mumphrey

The story of travel in Laos is one of unbridled enthusiasm. With no real plan for Laos and no plan to complement my Southeast Asia On A Shoestring book with an actual Lonely Planet: Laos, I felt I could do...
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