My sincerest apologies to not continuing loyally with my blog while I continued to travel throughout Southeast Asia. To be honest, I got caught up with life and living in the moment, and adding to my blog didn’t cross my mind once, not to mention that internet cafes were few, expensive and far between.
As I sit here in my dad’s kitchen in New Jersey, watching the rain and thoroughly enjoying my 7-grain toasted bread topped with the crunchiest peanut butter known to man, all I can really say is that I was in paradise this summer.
The logistics of the travel began in Lao (see above post), then I moved on to Thailand (Chiang Mai, Pai, Ko Phagan, Ko Phi Phi), Cambodia (Siem Riep & Phnom Penh), then finally to Vietnam (Saigon, Hanoi, Halong Bay/Cat ba Island).
Thailand was beyond beautiful, in every facet of the word. The food was delicious, most likely loaded with msg, but the curries (PANANG), noodle dishes(Pad See [not] Ew), papaya salads were to die for, especially with my newly spice-acclimated taste buds. The people were the friendliest, especially in the north. I never felt like I was being scammed or treated poorly because I was foreign. I also loved how all of the women and men would add a small word on to everything they say to make it more polite, for men it was cop, for women it was a soft kaaaa. So hello for a woman is “sawadikaaa” (in a soft gentle voice). On Ko Phan Gan I met an eclectic group of wonderful people who all have such an amazing view of life and relaxation and being true to oneself. I found a secret place on this island where everybody returns and nobody tells others where it is, and I, for sure, will return, with hopes to run in to my old friends again. Ko Phi Phi was a rainy rainy weekend, but still thoroughly enjoyed in the bungalow or through mid rainstorm swimming. Whether it was meeting travellers from all over the world at the live music spots in northern Pai, or relaxing on the beaches of the southern islands, Thailand was a paradise of its own.
From Thailand, we moved on to Cambodia, which was surprisingly different from Thailand considering that they are bordering nations. Sadly, it was still pretty evident that this nation was deeply affected by a civil war very recently. Siem Reap was a nice little town, 40 minutes away from the most amazing temples I’ve ever seen. After a ride in Tuk-Tuk (little motorized carriage) to the park, we were surrounded by gargantuan temples made of massive rocks puzzled together. Some were known for the massive faces carved in to the rock, others for size, others for roots of massive trees growing over the rocks, and some for the incredibly detailed carvings that were still well preserved. It felt like we had entered Jumanji post danger. We explored these temples for two days, climbing on the ruins, staring in awe at the structures, and wandering down secret pathways to more discoverable sites. After Siem Reap, we moved on to the capital, Phnom Penh.
Phnom Penh was what I would assume a general replica of most developing nations’ capital cities. However, the amount of history (which was so recent it doesn’t even feel like history) there was incredible. Before arriving in Cambodia, I read the book First They Killed My Father, an autobiography of a woman who as a young girl lived through the Pol Pot Regime and Khmer Rouge killings. In Phnom Penh we visited S-21 prison site, as well as The Killing Fields, a memorial to all those who were killed under the Pol Pot regime. These places were so horrid and filled with history that they left me speechless.
Overall Cambodia was a wonderful country. Angkor Wat was probably the most amazing place that I saw in all of Asia. However the country itself was obviously plagued with poverty. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, or not understandable, but the constant begging and nagging (mostly from young children) got to be very annoying after a while.
After Cambodia we went to Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for the day, and then up to Cat Ba Island, Halong Bay. We only saw Ho Chi Minh City for the day, but you know, it was just another big city in Asia. I hate to say it but I really grew to dislike cities, preferring the relaxing and more cultural atmosphere of small towns. In HCM City we visted a Vietnam War museum, which honestly put America in a terrible light and as much as I hate to admit it, left me walking away with a sense of guilt and disappointment in my country. From HCM we flew up to the north, and took a ferry to Catba. Catba island was wonderful. It felt like we were returning to China at this point. We hadn’t realized that Cat Ba was such a popular destination for Vietnamese toursits. Whether it was the loud music, massive crowds, neon lights or KTV music, it felt much more localized then the other places we had been traveling in southeast asia. We spent the first few nights across the street from the Bay, and then decided to get a Bungalow on the beach. We spent our days stratigically planned around the sporatic thunderstorms to go on boat cruises through the bay, rock climbing, and beachtime. At night we had the entire beach to ourselves. It was absolutely breathtaking lying on a straw mat, listening to the waves wash up on the shore, watching the stars above us and feeling the cool breeze against our skin.
From Cat Ba is was a ferry to Hanoi, and then homeward bound with a 10 hour layover in Tokyo on the way. We decided to leave the Tokyo airport and explore the city. Once into the city we enjoyed a lovely sushi meal. Actually, I can’t lie, it wasn’t really that lovely, after being a vegetarian for 6 months the idea of putting raw fish in my mouth was not appetizing in the least, but we decided we needed to eat sushi if we had come all the way to Tokyo. So sushi we ate, and we finished the plate!(no I did not intentionally make that rhyme) Now, sushi in Tokyo is not what you get in a normal sushi restaurant in dc or fujiama in Toledo…. It’s basically a small ball of rice with a fat slab of raw fish on top.
Now I’m back in the states, slowly adjusting to toilets with running water, toilet paper and soap being found in bathrooms, people’s english being impeccable (obviously), nobody staring at me, and unfortunately, a great amount of responsibility. The world didn’t stop when I left, so it’s time to jump back in to things. But of course, I will always have this beyond amazing experience to look back on and reminisce during stressful times, and to serve as a motivation for future travels and experiences I will embark on.
It’s pretty impossible for me to put in to words my overall experience and all of the things that I have learned while traveling in Asia. All I can say is that I have grown up as a person. I have met so many people have taught me about life and myself, I have experienced so many things, terrifying and thrilling, that have taught me what life is and what I long for it to be, and I have discovered that while living in a world so different from my own, what kind of existence I want to live, literally and figuratively, and furthermore to realize that there is so much in this world that I don’t know, and even more that I will never know, but the most important thing is to keep my head up, keep my heart open, stay true to myself, appreciate everything about this amazing life of experiences and people that I love more than anything, and most importantly, to keep soaking it all in.
Until my next adventure blog…
Paz y amor,
Lia (丽佳)
Papaya Salad, Lightly sauteed vegetables in a peanut spice sauce, stuffed bamboo shoots and lemon grass with tofu and vegetables, deep fried, and a peanuty noodle. All prepared by yours truly. Luang Prabang, Laos.
Sticky Rice drying in the sun to eventually be fried and made in to rice cakes. Luang Prabang, Laos.
