Asiana has fully lay flat seats but not on all their planes, just some routes. UAL is 100% fully lay flat across the board. Our Asiana flight from Singapore back to ORD unfortunately does not have the fully flat seats but we have taken them before and the slightly angled seats are OK with us not to mention their service which outshines UAL any day.

We have flown ANA and they have the fully flat seats and their service is very impressive. We are scheduled to fly them to Singapore next Feb. I am sure you will like them.

Stay safe. We are interested to see what you think about the electoral process and how they handle the results. Enjoy the cruise.

Have a happy Birthday..and all you other fodorites.

Glad to hear you're settled in in Mandalay. Happy Birthday and have a great cruise.

Happy birthday Kathie. Glad to hear that Burma's treating you well so far.

Just caught up with this thread, Kathie. Hope you and Cheryl have a wonderful time in Burma. Happy birthday and safe travels.

Don't forget to vote and vote often

Hope you have a great trip. They were building the new section of rooms when we stayed at RM..based on your recommendations. Look forward to hearing about your travels.

Welcome to Burma, Kathie & Cheryl! So looking forward to reading about this new adventure.

I, as well, am eager to hear your impressions of ANA when you return.

We both go out of our way now to fly them trans-Pac. I've flown pretty much every carrier across the Pacific at this point and, to me, nothing beats their amazing service, great food and pretty damned comfortable lie-flat product (sorry, askoksena, but I still think they beat the pants off of Singapore's A380 trans-pac in business!)

Hoping Cheryl takes a ton of pictures! Happy and safe travels!

I am worried that you may have joined the army as a junior officer...

Cannot wait to hear Kathie's first-hand account of the political process unfolding all around her.

A little late in wishing you safe travels (just returned from chilly Iceland), but hope you have a great trip!
Karen

Hello everyone, checking in from Yangon after our cruise. The Pandaw cruise was simply fabulous and I will give you lots of details later. We are having a great time.

It has been fascinating to be here at elections - tiny villages on the Chindwin had long lines at polling places on voting day. Lots of people wanted to talk about the elections even if all they could say was "The Lady, The Lady!" At this point, the NLD holds enough seats to form a government, even though not all of the votes have been counted.

Thanks for all of your good wishes - I will post more later.

Glad to hear you are loving your trip. I can only imagine the excitment in the country after the election. Happy for them for the potential.

Thanks for the update. Glad the cruise went well and looking forward to all the details.

Can't wait for the details. Safe travels!

So good to hear you enjoyed Pandaw.

One of my friends worked a polling booth in Mandalay from 4 am to 11 pm. She said her fingers were cramping from all the writing, everything is manual. The count at her booth was 3776 for the NLD, and 741 for others.

We leave on Wednesday, can't wait !

Glad you enjoyed the cruise ;)

So happy to hear you enjoyed your cruise. Cannot wait to hear about it.

Nice that it was a peaceful election. Looking forward to our GTG next Sunday. Enjoy the rest of the week and hi to Nickie and muffin.

Just back from an incredible lunch at Le Planteur.

sartoric, our guide was able to read the elections results to us in all of the small villages (they post them immediately after the election). In all but one town, the results mirrored your report - overwhelming majority for the NLD. But in one village, the majority was for the government party. Our guide was looking at the results and a local came up to him and said the village was challenging the count, as no one believed the government party really took that many votes. Before the election, there was lots of talk about whether the government would try to steal the election. So far, it doesn't appear that they will. But the challenge will be the transition - the transfer of power. Hopefully, it will go well.

I can't believe how much Yangon has changed! It looks cleaner, and the worst of the sidewalks have been repaired - those missing covers from the sewers have been replaced at least in the heart of downtown. Buildings are being fixed up, cleaned up, new hotels are being built, and there're are probably 5x as many taxis as before and they all appear to be complete cars. Unlike before, when the taxis were missing big hunks of the interior and whole fenders, these taxis have seats intact and many have functioning air-conditioning! But the streets are busier, no question.

Bob and Karen, we look forward to seeing you in a week. We will have lots to talk about. We are meeting Nicky and Muffin tonight and we will give them your regards.

I have started working on the trip report, but it won't be posted until we get home at Thanksgiving.

Looking forward to the TR, and the pictures of course.

We were Yangon in Februrary 2014 and the sidewalks were a huge mess. I am amazed that they have got them fixed, but good for them. Looking forward to your TR.

Agree with your sentiments about the transition to power, let's hope it is smooth.

Bring on the trip report ! Yay.

On the 26th we'll be having a long travel day getting from Mandalay to Siem Reap, 2 short flights, but hours at DMK which I'm dreading. How cool it would be to have your words and Cheryl's fantastic photos to pass the time. No pressure ��

Amazing changes, since we were there, Kathie. Election results inspiring. Thanks for reporting and keep it coming...

We had a marvelous time with Nicky and David last night. What was going to be drinks and an hour of conversation turned into two and half hours. It's always a pleasure to meet "old friends" from Fodors.

yestravel, I don't mean to imply that all of the sidewalks are fixed, only that it is starting.

Craig, things really have changed since you were last here. It used to be that change in Burma as glacial (before global warming glacial) at best. Now the pace of change is amazing. I think a Pandaw cruise might be something you and Jeane might really enjoy.

Satoric, I'll do what I can to get something posted before your interment at DMK.

Thanks Kathie, you made me laugh again. I have an escape plan, but as we all know, the best laid plans....

Kathie, are you still in Yangon? Did you get a chance to do a walking tour of the old Victorian buildings? I remember how gorgeous the architecture was when we were there in 2013, but the buildings were in a state of disrepair. Are they being fixed up, along with the sidewalks? My favorite was an old telegraph office, that was still in use. We spent quite a bit of time in there observing people sending off telegrams.

CaliforniaLady, yes, I am still in Yangon. We did a waking tour of the old buildings in 2011. We didn't repeat the walking tour this trip, but have seen many of the buildings while we have been out and about. A goodly number of those buildings are being fixed up and turned into hotels and such. There is also a lot of new construction going on.

The US fast food places are moving in - we noted Pizza Hut and Tony Roma's during our travels. The traffic is simply terrible. They are building a "bridge" (elevated highway) between the airport and downtown which will help a bit. Thank goodness they don't allow motorcycles on the streets of Yangon!

The Strand has become a tourist attraction. We've run into tour groups in the lobby, with a guide telling them about the history, and there are plenty of gawkers. As guests of the hotel, the crowds are annoying.

Those aren't gawkers, they are groopies--- you two are famous..

We had a nice time in Yangon. We ran into Nicky and David two more times, and ran into a couple from our cruise as well. The Strand Arcade has lovely, lovely arts and crafts in the galleries. Too bad we have no space for more stuff.

Now in Bangkok, where we anticipated having a great internet connection, but the VPN keeps dropping every few minutes. This does not inspire my confidence for online financial transactions.

We are not at our usual haunt on the river, but staying at the JW Marriott (free is hard to beat!). We have quite a list of things to do in Bangkok (many of those involve eating). Later this morning, we'll go out to Siam Paragon so Cheryl can buy glasses.

I'll try to find time to work on my Burma trip report.

Rooms at the J W are rather small and nothing special, but the club lounge is one of my favorites! Of course, I like the location along Sukhumvit. Hope you enjoy your stay there. You might also like the Marriott at Sukhumvit soi 57. Their roof top bar and dining was quite nice. I think a sushi bar has been added.

Have fun on your dining expeditions! I'm not a foodie but I would guess that the two of you will give the top rated places an accurate review!

Cheryl must have more pairs of glasses than any other woman in Seattle

Thanks, Carol. We got an upgraded room (but not a suite) and the size is fine. You are right - the club lounge is special. We arrived just in time for a drink and some nibbles last night.

Cheryl had a successful shopping trip for her glasses. She always likes the glasses she buys here better than those she buys in Seattle. She is disappointed that she won't have the new glasses for the gtg on Sunday.

We made the trek out to the Jim Thompson outlet. We bought a few things, but it wasn't the haul that it sometimes is. I saw the sign for their upcoming pre-Xmas sale... I'll bet it's a doozy. Carol, will you be here then?

Bob, do you know of a good laundry place near the JW? Their laundry prices are shocking!

You can save money by taking your laundry into the office just inside the JW garage.

We have also used laundries next door at plenochit center-- basement as I remember... There is a bridge from JW to that building-- up one story in JW

Phloenchit center also has a great Lebonese restaurant in the basement, should you like Lebonese food.

Looking forward to seeing how Nahm turns out as I plan to try it in a few weeks. As for Cheryl's glasses, has she ever had her eyes examined in Bangkok? I need to find a new eye doctor here at home and have my expired eye prescription updated. But, since I'm leaving for Bangkok pretty soon, I thought I could possibly just have it done at Bumrungrad as I have a medical ID card for there. I just need to find an eye doctor there.

Keep having fun. Can't believe you're not on the river, but in my usual territory. Smiles. I'm counting down the days to get back to the Rajadamri apartment. I'm really getting used to staying back in Rajadamri as I did years ago before moving to Sukhumvit for many years.

Happy Travels!

Kathie..don't look for a laundry in the garage basement..that's at another hotel. Pholoenchit is the place to go..up one from the bridge I think.. Strange hours if I remember.

Thanks, everyone. We will make a foray over to Phloenchit Center to look for a reasonably priced laundry. And we'll take a look at the Lebanese restaurant too, Carol.

Guenmai, Cheryl had her eye exam done at Paris Mikki where she bought her glasses. No extra charge. If you would use an optometrist in the US, the exam at the store in Bangkok would be just fine. Cheryl said it was a very thorough exam. If you have eye problems that require an ophthalmologist, then I'd make an appointment at Bumrungrad.

Today is our lunch at Nahm - we are looking forward to it. I'll give a full report, of course.

Have a great lunch...

Do there have a fixe prix lunch?

K is wrong there is a laundry office in the garage

Glad to hear you're both enjoying Bangkok.