Looking forward to your next Vietnam JBR Kimbo! It's one country I haven't been to... it hasn't been top of my list for some reason...maybe because about 60-70% of the people I meet are a bit negative about it. Others love it and say the scenery is stunning so will be very interested to hear what you have to say.

Burma is THE place to go for all things Buddhist ...Buddhist temples, golden stupas and monks everywhere. It's amazingly photogenic country, and far more "authentic" than anywhere else I've been in SE Asia. (My avatar is a photo of lady I met in a hill village there BTW). It feels rather like you're in a time warp and have gone back100 years in time. It's well worth seeing but it's pretty hard-core transport-wise if you don't want to contribute too much money to the regime by using air transport and "luxury" trains. Think 24 hour journeys on very clapped out and uncomfortable buses on terrible roads....they'd be deep mud during the rainy season so maybe not a good idea this trip. But think about it if you ever come back during the winter months when it's dry season. There's an atmosphere there that is quite unique and the people (as opposed to the regime) desperately need your money. I didn't meet anyone, even rebel leaders, who wanted independent tourists to stay away. People going there on package tours were another matter.

Luang Prabang is also a good place to go if you're into Buddhist things. It's a bit more geared to tourism but it has lovely old temples, teak houses, exquisite hand woven silk, rice cakes drying in the sun, mist rising off the Mekong in the morning and breath-taking mountain scenery between there and Vang Vieng. There are nice treks to hill villages north of Luang Prabang where the mountain scenery is also beautiful and you can explore the countryside surrounding Luang Prabang on a hired bicycle.

I was there out of season (October) though, and it was a few years ago. I've heard it's become a lot more touristy in recent years and is absolutely mobbed in peak season over Christmas and New Year. Not sure how busy it would be in the summer months.

If you decide to go there I wouldn't recommend traveling by slow boat from Northern Thailand ...you'll find it extremely uncomfortable as they pack in tourists like cattle and you spend two days on very hard and cramped wooden seats with an overnight stop in a rat hole called Pak Beng en route. Fly there if you can and go back south to Vientiane by road.

Are you sure the dental work in BKK will take 3 months? That seems incredibly long. Remember there aren't the usual delays waiting for appointments you have in the West. My root canal and crown only took a few days and I just walked in to BIDC without an appointment.

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“Not all those who wander are lost.” Tolkien.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.