Southeast Asia

So, its been a while since I last wrote a blog. But not to worry, nothing really happened worth blogging about. After two months of perfect traveling, I finally hit a roadblock and experienced the darker side of travel that I knew was coming at some point. Upon my arrival in Saigon, Vietnam, I became extremely ill, to the point where I thought that I had malaria, which would definitely put a damper on the rest of my trip. Fortunately, after a trip to a clinic and a round of Cipro, I kicked whatever malady had been plaguing me for the past week. On the downside, this illness caused me to miss my window of opportunity in Cambodia altogether. Although, I am a little pissed off about this intrusion on my seemingly perfect trip so far, I guess it gives me an excuse to come back and see what I missed, or at least this is what I am telling myself. After a short plane ride, I am back in Bangkok, and tomorrow I leave for Kathmandu. Since I am about to finish up my month in Southeast Asia, I thought I would use this blog to share some of my thoughts on the three countries I visited during my time here. Thailand, where I started and am now ending my time in Southeast Asia, is very different from the rest of the countries I visited. I attributed this to the fact that I spent the least amount of time here and only really got to experience the capital, Bangkok. As such, my experiences are skewed and I will only talk about Bangkok. As I stated in a previous blog, Bangkok is really unremarkable. It is essentially one big adult male playground. It is populated by people looking to fulfill their vices, and the Thai people trying to facilitate those vices and take advantage of anyone they can along the way. That isn't to say that Bangkok is not a fun city. It really is a blast if you go into it with an open mind. You will see things that are different from anything you have ever seen before/will see again. Unlike the other Asian countries I have visited, it almost seemed liked westerners outnumbered the Thais. This is definitely true in areas such as Kho San, the famous backpackers street where I have spent most of my time while here. This area is a haven for Thais that are looking to take advantage of silly travelers who are unaware of their scams that they have perfected over the years, but if you watch yourself and are not stupid, this scams are obvious and sometimes fun to play along with. The best part of Bangkok, in my opinion, is the access to fantastic Thai food wherever you go. Everywhere you turn there is a street merchant selling some of the best Pad Thai you will ever eat for pennies, cooked right in front of your eyes by an old woman truly in need of the small price you pay. (30 Baht for a plate, equal to 1 USD) But again, like I said, I spent the least amount of time in Thailand, so my experiences are limited, but if you would like to know more about what I have seen, I guess you will just have to come and see it for yourself. Bangkok truly is a wild city. Laos was my favorite of the three countries I visited. Laotian people are some of the nicest I have ever come into contact with. Laos, and Vietnam to some extent, really had the feel of Communism to them. But, that is not to say that propaganda was crammed down your throat, it was more in what I saw in terms of the interactions of the Laotian people. Everything seemed like "what's mine is yours", meaning that whenever I saw a family eating lunch, it seemed like they were always feeding at least five other neighbors or extended family that would drop by during their day. Everyone seemed like they were all friends and working together for a common goal. Besides this aspect, I just fell in love with Laos in general. Everywhere you went, people were bending over backwards to help you. Never once did I feel as though a native was trying to screw me over or scam me. On top of that, I noticed that there were essentially no rules in Laos. People did as they pleased when they pleased with hardly any interference from anyone or anything. At the same time though, there seemed to be order. Like people knew when they were overstepping a boundary. For example, they will rent you a motorbike that can go upwards of 80 MPH to drive on the dirt roads of Laos with no experience because they know that if something happens to you, nothing will happen to them. Nobody will sue them. Nobody will prosecute them for giving you the bike. You are the stupid westerner who road the bike too fast down a road you should not have gone on with no experience. I just liked the idea that despite the freedom to do what you want, it seemed as though there was order, even though I did not see a soldier or policeman once outside of the capital of Vientienne. Tubing was not so bad either. Definitely an experience I will never forget. Vietnam had sort of the same feel, but different. I expected to run into a small amount of hostility because I was American in Vietnam. I never even remotely got that feeling. The people once again were incredibly nice. Countless times, Vietnamese bent over backwards to help us. For example, during lunch at my hostel, the staff would cook a huge feast for the various workers, and always would offer food to any traveler who was lucky enough to be in the kitchen during that time. Vietnam is a place that I will definitely be coming back to. I met many travelers during my time there who had bought motorcycles and had driven all the way down the country over the course of a month, and apparently this is the way to see the country. I was lucky enough to do this for one leg of my journey, and it was one of the most memorable days of my trip. This seems to be a constant theme of my travels. My times spent in cities and tourist areas are fun, but the truly special times have been getting out into the heart of countries and seeing things that not every other person who comes there see's. Seeing people going about their everyday lives, not just standing around waiting to take advantage of tourists. That is the one thing I noticed about Vietnam that puzzled me. Literally, everywhere you went there were men sitting around doing nothing. Thousands of men sitting in little plastic chairs on the side of the road sipping tea, smoking cigarettes, at all hours of the day. It just seemed like nobody was working. Aside from the people working in shops or restaurants, you either drove a taxi, tried to get people to ride on the back of your motorbike, or sat there smoking and drinking tea. It was a little sad to see. Either way, my time in Vietnam was cut short by my illness as well as terrible weather, so I was not able to do everything that I had planned on, so I will definitely be making a trip back someday. Be that as it may, I have had so many experiences over the past month that I will never forget. Eating beating cobra heat, riding a motorbike on Vietnam roads with thousands of other Vietnamese and no streetlights or stop signs, tubing in Vang Vien all come to mind. Definitely glad I came here and sad to leave, I just hope there will be a next time. On to my most anticipated part of my travels, Nepal.