Currency this summer

US dollar, Thai baht, Myanmar kyat, Malaysian ringgit, Hong Kong dollar and Japanese yen

Bogyoke Aung San Market, Yangon

We really enjoyed this market. It's the place to go for lacquerware, fabrics, gems and all sorts of other curios.

Main entrance

Eco bag with Burmese letters

I bought a map in the market to help us plan the next trip!

Lacquer bowls

Somerset Maugham and George Orwell both travelled here and wrote about Burma. We bought these books here.

Jade bowls

Lacquer boxes

Lacquer cocktail stick pot

Terminal 21

Terminal 21 is a giant mall, but not just any old giant mall, it is broken down into cities. Each floor has a theme: Caribbean, Rome, Paris, Tokyo, London, Istanbul, San Francisco, Hollywood. It's very clever actually. I like that there are plenty of small independent shops and Thai designers. I have been going back to some of my favourites for the past few visits. It has an excellent food court and restaurants, too. We met Wilalialuck one night after she finished work.

We met Wilailuck in front of the Bus on the London floor

Dinner: som tam, stir fried morning glory, catfish and other spicy delicious Thai food at "Have a Zeed" 

Fun on the Tokyo floor

Lingering over mango sticky rice

On the Tokyo floor

Souvenirs and shopping in Hong Kong

First purchase: exquisite tea from the Lock Cha Tea shop. 75g of Yunnan Pu-er and 38g of Phoenix oolong.

It was only a matter of time before I bought shoes. These are handmade silk shoes by a little shop that has been making shoes in Hong Kong since in 1958. Aren't they gorgeous?

Gifts from the guest relations team at our hotel for our 20th wedding anniversary

Time Out: Ideas for more things to see in HK

A plastic folder made by innovative HK design store "Goods on Demand" (Website)