In July of 2014 my husband and I returned to Cambodia (my fourth visit, his second) and went on from there to spend a week in Burma where neither of us had been before (hence the "old and new" in the title). I fell quite behind on my trip reports and only finished writing this one on my own blog a few months ago. I never got around to posting here, so please accept my apologies for the delay.

The short version is this; we returned to Siem Reap to spend time with the Ponheary Ly Foundation which we've been involved with for a long time and visited several of the schools they support for updates.
In Siem Reap we stayed at the feels-like-home Seven Candles Guesthouse, spent a night at a village guesthouse in the remote village of Srayang (near Koh Ker), and trekked though the jungle near Koh Ker visiting temples most tourists never see.
We didn't go to any of the more well known temples around Siem Reap because we've seen them before, but you can find them in other postings on my blog (or in my previous trip reports here) if you're interested. Needless to say, our time in Siem Reap was different from what most people experience.

From there we flew to Burma, where we followed the tried and true tourist triangle. We flew to Bagan to see the temples and then on to Inle where stayed in an over water bungalow on the lake. We spent a few days exploring the lake by boat and took a day trip by car to Kakku.
We ended the trip with a quick 36 hours prowling the streets of Yangon, searching out street food and exploring the crumbling architecture via a two very different walking tours, all while happily ensconced in colonial splendor of the Strand Hotel.

Rather than reprint it all here (it's very long!), below is a link to the landing page for the entire trip on my blog. It's broken down by posts so you can read it all or just the sections that interest you. There's a lot of info on my planning process (I did all of it myself, booking most of our flights and hotels online, with the exception of flights within Burma).
In all, we stayed in 6 hotels and took 10 flights in 15 days which sounds insane, but it worked for us.
Things change fast, so some of the practical info might be out of date, but hopefully the photos of sightseeing, hotels and restaurants will be helpful to some in their decision making process.
http://www.wired2theworld.com/our-tr...rma-july-2014/

I'm happy to answer any questions.

PS- I'm headed back to Cambodia (the PLF again) in March for a very quick trip and hope to fit in a few days in Laos and a long layover on the way home in Seoul (probably do the city tour from the airport). Any tips on Luang Prabang would be appreciated.

Thanks Kristina. Always great to look at your photos.

In Luang Prabang the Apsara is a lovely hotel with fantastic breakfasts. Cross the bamboo bridge to the weaving village to see excellent quality silk. We found many great restaurants, there's a trip report by Progol including some of the names...which I forget.

Thanks for posting. Wonderful photos!

Hi Kristina, I'm glad to finally read and see your trip to Burma!

You are usually pretty adventuresome, I was surprised you didn't opt for the snakes in a boat excursion - lol.

Kathie- Yeah, the "snakes" thing was funny, no?

Sartoric-the Apsara looks lovely though I think out of budget for my travel companions. If I were traveling with my husband I'd consider it for sure. I ill look for the weaving village.

Thanks for the nice comments all.

Hey K we head back to Luang Prabang in a few weeks, we are trying out Satri house this trip.last time it was Maison S and Chang Heritage.... I'm sure I'll post updates on FB

We were just in LP really enjoyed the Santi Resort. It's out of town a way but
It's very beautiful including the fresh air! Free shuttles.

We were really happy with Maison Dalabua in LP. The rooms aren't super plush, but comfortable and a little bit of local character. The most interesting part is that the hotel and adjoining restaurant are wrapped around and over ancient ponds. Nice atmosphere. And bonus - a quiet swimming pool that was good for the hotter days. Not smack in the heart of things, but an easy walk to the royal palace area, or tuktuks are available.

I just returns from Siem Reap this was my 5th yr. I found it so ridden with garbage
I was shocked. Reminded me of Mexico..Locals just throw their food and plastic
On the ground when they are done.