Thursday, August 23, 2007

Lessons About Southeast Asia


After a few months here, I've learned a few things about 
  • For women pajama sets are always appropriate attire, no matter what the situation
  • There is no such thing as an "express bus"
  • Thailand is the land of 7-11s, and Cambodia is the land of rubber banded plastic bags
  • No matter how big or small, a bicycle is always your size
  • 90% of people in the world are size 'M'
  • It is far better to be Canadian than American
  • Tanktops are never ever a good look for a middle aged man
  • Rice is the perfect side dish to anything, even rice
  • Mime is the universal language
  • There is no problem that cannot be solved by money
  • "Hey lady you need tuktuk" is the most lascivious statement ever
  • The holier the temple, the more foreigners dressed inappropriately
  • Korea is Spaaarkling (that's their national slogan)
  • Monks are more adventurous than the average person (i.e. riding in the back of a truck, covered in auto parts)
  • Processed meats come in every shape and color imaginable (but everyone will call it chicken), and should be put on everything, even vegetarian pizza
  • Every white guy secretly has an (east) asian fetish
  • Things sold in boutiques are really just things bought in local markets and cleaned
  • Anything and everything can be transported on a motorbike: refrigerator, chest of drawers, TV, girl w/ IV, 1000 baskets, 5 huge ceramic urns, 3 fat Americans
  • Toilet paper can clean anything
  • Plastic bags are the perfect containers for all items
  • No real asian actually finishes all their food-- to not leave something on your plate is to prove yourself uncouth!

Monday, August 20, 2007

Transportation

People often ask how I get around in Southeast Asia.  The answer: many many different way.  Here's a summary of all the modes of transportation I've taken in 3.5 months over here.


-Plane (with and without propellers)
-Bicycle
-Back of bicycle
-Motorcycle 
-Boat (motor)
-Canoe
-Kayak
-Sailboat
-Swan paddle boat
-Bus (long run and local)
-Car
-1989 white souped-up Camry
-Back of pickup truck
-Tuktuk (of varying shapes and sizes)
-Van/minibus
-Sidecar of motorcycle
-Cyclo
-By foot
-Ferry
-Catamaran
-Sangthaew
-Subway

Now all I need is "hovercraft" and "jetpack" and I think I'll have hit just about every mode of transportation there is.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Lao, Thailand: Part 1


From Hanoi I crossed into Luang Prabang, Lao.  Unfortunately Haley couldn't come with me, as planned, because a Lao Airline flight attendant was on a power trip regarding the validity of Haley's passport (it was valid, in case you were wondering).  We said a said goodbye as she took a plane to Cambodia, but luckily I met a really great Chinese-German-British girl who I ended up rooming with and spending time with in Luang Prabang.  LP is a sleepy little town, very laid-back and a nice change from the craziness of Vietnam. I spent the first full day in town, going to the museum, a whole lot of temples, and generally meandering around.  The next morning we took a tuk-tuk out to a beautiful series of waterfalls, which were much bigger than the ones in Mondulkiri, Cambodia.  We spent the afternoon swimming in the (freezing) turquoise pools that flowed from it.   After one more day of hanging out with monks and strolling by the river, I flew down to Vietnaine, the capital of Lao.  Although bigger than LP, Vientaine still had a laid-back air to it and I spent my days checking out wats (temples), going to the night markets, and enjoying the riverside area.  


On Sunday I took a bus from there to Thailand and spent the day in Udon Thani, a concrete jungle of a city, before flying to Chiang Mai on a propellered plane painted to resemble a parrot.  Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand but is less urban and has more character than Bangkok supposedly does.  Chiang Mai is surrounded by moats and has more than 300 temples in it, which means that the entire town looks like a postcard waiting to happen.  I spent my time in Chiang Mai going to more temples, markets, and stuffing my face with delicious food. After a few days there I took a bus down to Sukhothai, the former capital, where today I spent the day checking out the ancient city and hanging out with some local kids, after it turned out that the mini-bus/pick-up truck I was on was actually a school bus.  Now its time for some more noodles (I eat noodles 3x a day now, which is a change from the Cambodian diet of rice 3x a day) and meandering about town.


Traveling like this has been an exhausting, amazing, complicated, fun experience and I'm excited for the next two weeks, which will see me tackling southern Thailand and Malaysia.  I've met some great people, both locals and foreigners, and seen some wierd and beautiful things (a monk in the back of a pickup truck surrounded by spare car parts; the sunrise over a wat in LP) and done some strange stuff (ride on the back of a bicycle in the middle of the night in a town in the Mekong Delta).  These are the experiences I will no doubt remember forever.