ideas for cheap stuff

Well I’ve been planning to do this for a while but first the photos needed to be taken care of and then I needed to get settled here in Australia. Now that I have some temping work coming in from time to time and I can’t get another job I’ll take time out of my busy schedule of sunning myself to regale you all with tales of my weird and wonderful time in South-East Asia and what I’ve garnered personally, mentally, physically, spiritually, economically from my time there.

Thailand:
All in all of the 5 countries in this leg of the trip this was second in the running for the most developed. Singapore of course winning hands down. Thailand was, to Lids and I, a lesson in ease and excess after leaving the cultural shock that was India. Twas good to see nightlife all around us and the smell was divine, even though we heard a lot of complaints from others about it. I loved checking out Pat Pong, Bangkok. Was like entering another krazy world and of course seeing a ping pong show is definitely something that’ll stick with me. Did get sick of Koh Sarn Road. The reason people stay there is cos its cheaper than many other options. I loved our time on Ko Phang Nang. Met 2 gorgeous wonderful people there in the forms of Gary and Lorna and got to hear all their confessions. Excellent time was had with them. The day boat trip there was great. Loved catching up on my movies and of course sweating buckets through power yoga. Just cracked me up as I sweat that much that I slipped on my mat. Yes, I know not very sexy but that’s the truth of travel! Twas great to experience the Half Moon party in the jungle too. Poor Dee being freaked out by that octopus spider though. Then there was the bandit on the bus incident, which could have ruined my 25th birthday but for the surprise the girls had in store for me. Loved staying in the Park Plaza Hotel. Twas pure luxury and I got to have a bath! The Thai people are very friendly and open. Willing to explain what you don’t understand and have random chats about life, the universe and everything. You do have to be cautious of some scams of course. Like the helpful man or woman who tells you of wonderful suits they bought at a shop or say that “today its free entry to these temples” (they’re possibly usually free) and then grab you a Tuk Tuk driver who will bring you around for 20 baht each for a few hours. This price is too low and the Tuk Tuk drivers expect to get commission if you buy something in a shop or tourist office they bring you to and if you don’t buy something they’ll get pretty mad. I quite liked Chaing Mai too. Was great to experience a proper Thai Boxing match. My one regret is that I didn’t get time to do a diving course. I was meant to get my ears checked to see if I would be able to go diving but never got around to it. Too many whiskey buckets methinks with hindsight! My Pops is heading to Thailand today but he has a bit of a cold, but as he said to my sister he might try Viagra on his nose to cure it, so Thailand here comes Pinocchio!

Cambodia:
Angkor Wat? The one dampener on my time in Siem Reap was that I was sickly. A bit annoying as I love history and ancient buildings and I just couldn’t enjoy it all. Still found my favourite temples so that’s the main thing. I really liked our guest house “Star Rise”. Twas functional enough room but the guys who were running it were simply the best. They really looked after us and showed us a good time. I missed out on the home cooked meal cos I had a sore throat and was feeling sorry for myself but the girls had the craic. The disco was the best though. We thought the nightlife scene would be deader than bell bottoms with pockets at the knee (you wouldn’t know that I’ve no clue what I’m on about, would ya? This must’ve been a fashion trend lately. Or maybe I saw it on Red Dwarf. Actually now I’m really confused and can’t remember, which was which!) Trying snake was a bit of an adventure in eating for me. Twas good to get down south too. Great day trip to Bokor Hill where we met more wonderful souls. Cambodia itself is emerging from a past of unimaginable strife and grief. The country is still suffering the scars of its past, which is extremely evident in their infrastructure and the state of many buildings. The people though were always warm and welcoming. The most adorable kids too. We had a nice easy time in Kampot, but know if you go there that its a discount pizza, nothing more. The caves outside Kampot are worth seeing and if you’re a couple I would well recommend staying out at Rabbit Island off the coast of Kep. Not much to do but sun yourself, enjoy the sun, apply the sun lotion and anti-mosquito lotion liberally and do whatever else comes to mind. I’m not getting involved, use your imagination. Hand puppets. There’s good light in Kep. Try making hand puppet shadows along the beach. Video it too cos I’d like to see the finished product.

Vietnam:
I think what I loved most about Vietnam was the food. Sumptuous, wholesome and just downright tasty. Really got the goods while in Dalat cos they had the freshest vegetables and then the fish we had in Hoi An kept took our taste buds for a wild ride. Conquering most of Langbian in Dalat was definitely a highlight for me. Both Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City and Hoi An are wonderful cities in themselves. Halong Bay just cast a long dark shadow over north Vietnam and kind of dampened all my memories of Vietnam in general though I try not to let it, which is a great shame. Again the other travellers’ we met there were the greatest. Bonding in the face of horror! The scenery was wonderful around Halong Bay and Catba National Park, just a shame about our guide, etc. I’m not going into it more though, ya can go back to our post at the time for more detail. It’ll just make me restless! Anyway, back to the otherwise crap. We met a cracking crowd, who, if they’re not careful, will have us sitting on their doorsteps in the next year or 2. Ha ha! Oh, in the middle of this post a great choon, as Gary would say, has come on by Groove Armada, “Shaking That Ass”, reminds me of Koeln all those years ago with LTD and others. Remind us to tell ye those stories some other time. Anyway, back to Nam (that name just reminds me of Nazi Nam, our horrendous tour guide). Vietnam is an experience you should prepare yourself for. Not everyone has an awful time up north but the majority do.

Laos:
What can I say? I love Laos! Right well so it was such a relief to get there after the crap we got in North Vietnam but I really did love the country, culture and people. They share quite a bit in common with Thailand and that includes the Theravada Buddhism, but in Laos their religious beliefs permeate into every part of their lives. The Lao people are so much more relaxed and mellow in their collective approach to life than any other people I’ve met. There’s a saying that goes that, “the Vietnamese plant the rice, the Cambodians watch it grow, and the Lao listen to it grow”, which just rings so true when you’ve been to each of these countries. I definitely didn’t have enough time in this country cos I was enjoying relaxing in Luang Prabang so much that if I had another month maybe I would’ve managed to get off the beaten tourist track of Vientiane, Vang Vieng and the aforementioned Luang Prabang. Laos will have a special place in my memory as our home for Christmas and New Years. Christmas was as magical as it could be without our families, our own tree in our room, snow, etc., and this was all down to the company we kept. The people we met there really made our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day itself was simply a laughathon. However, back to the country itself. The Lao food wasn’t as satisfying as in Cambodia and Vietnam but food can’t compare with a general feeling ya get about a place. Its hard to describe a feeling in the end but when ya feel an affinity and at home somewhere ya cannot really discard it. Its weird that even though Laos has a different religion, landscape, history and culture we all felt so at home. Granted we did the tourist trip but still. If I ever get a house by the way remind me to come back to Laos cos I loved so many differing patterns, etc.

Singapore:
Singapore is the most modern of the 5 countries, which we visited, with a colonial past that still has some reference today in that there’s a lot of foreign investment in this country. We only had one full day of sight-seeing but unlike many others that dislike its attempt at perfection I really liked Singapore. Its so clean and the people who live there are not misplacing their pride when they look around and see the stupendous architecture and functional public infrastructure. It is of course expensive in comparison to its northern counterparts but it is really affluent and beautiful. I’ll be happy to visit again next week when I meet up with my Pops there.

In general as this was our first time outside of Europe and US we didn’t really get too far off the tourist track, which is something I would’ve liked to do more. If I get to go back to South-East Asia I would definitely spend more time in Laos and Cambodia. I’d want to spend more time out in the wilderness and do a massage and diving course, however I have to say I’m pretty impressed with the 3 of us for all that we got to see. This was an amazing leg of our journey. Exotic and challenging. The photos I took cannot really convey the beauty and impression all my experiences left on me. We’ve somewhat decided upon coming back to South-East Asia for Dee’s 30th birthday all those years away. Wonder where she’ll pick for us to hit.