Filed under: Cambodia, Food, HK, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Random, Sights, Thailand, Vietnam
Still dealing with jet-lag; however I’ll admit I’m not trying very hard to beat it. Naps at 2pm? Sure. Going to bed at 10pm and getting up at noon? Yup. Spending most days in a daze? Indeed. I’m also definitely still suffering from a travel hangover and adjusting to a more quiet and stationary life.
I’ve finally decided to keep to my pledge of doing a best of South East Asia list.
1) Best of South East Asia – People will tell you the beaches, the culture, or specific places in South East Asia are the best part, but these people are misguided. The best part of South East Asia is the food. Try everything at least once and check out the street food. Fruit in general is exotic and good, as long as it’s in season or else you’ll be given some pretty sour fruit with a bag of sugar (Oh how pragmatic they are!) . Have some grilled fish and nasi goreng in Indonesia, Coconut curries and fish cakes in Thailand, Laap and sticky rice in Laos, Amok in Cambodia, Bun Cha and Banh Mi in Vietnam, and Everything in Malaysia (a huge portion of your stomach should be reserved for Hainanese Chicken Rice. Yes I am still obsessed with it. Pictured left.).
2) Best Country in South East Asia – In terms of countries the only place I would go back to is Malaysia. Beside that fact that the food is incredible, there’s so much to see and do in Malaysia. You can do some serious trekking in a number of places, see some of the nicest beaches in South East Asia, hang out with some monkeys, and do the modern city things. The other great part of Malaysia is the fact that economy isn’t built on the tourism industry, so the people that work in tourism actually want to be there. Did I also mention that the infrastructure is on par with Western standards? If you are taking any buses the KKK buses seem to be the best. I will also admit to being pleasantly surprised by Vietnam and charmed by Laos and Cambodia.
3) Best Beaches/Islands – Ahh so many beaches so little time. People will swear up and down that Thailand has the best beaches. I can’t confirm or deny as the best ones are on the West Coast, but I didn’t go on that side because I was out of season. I can reccommend Koh Tao (especially the Japanese beach) for Thailand. Gili Trawangan, Indonesia was also amazing (pictured above and to the right. It should be noted that in the top pic the mountain in the distance is actually the Agung Volcano on Bali Island.), a great small island where you can have an entire beach to yourself and step off an do some pretty decent snorkelling. For large public beaches I was really impressed by the ones in Vietnam. Nha Trang is great, and Hoi An’s beach is a real gem. The worst beach I went to? Serendipity Beach in Cambodia. Raw sewage in the water and animals using the beach as a bathroom? A definite pass; especially since Vietnam is so close and the beaches are so much better in comparsion.
4) Things Not to Miss – Hard to recc things as everyone’s experiences at the sights are different and some of the best things have to do with the people you are with rather than the actual places. But there are some things that shouldn’t be missed such Angkor Wat (pictured to the left, one of the faces in the Bayon temple). Yes yes, it’ll never live up the hype; but is it still worth seeing? Absolutely; although every temple will seem silly after Angkor. It seems redundent, but the beaches. A chunk of time should be spent checking out the different beaches and working on the deep dark tan you should come home with. Cheap tailoring is also worthwhile checking out. Why not get a bunch of things you probably don’t need made? Trekking is also generally good, but I’m not a huge fan of the village tribe hikes, I thought one of the best treks I did was a sunrise hike of Mt. Bromo in Indonesia. If you have any interest in underwater life (or just like recreating Jacques Cousteau movies) you should either get your diving certificate before going or shortly after arriving. Diving (and getting certified!) is incredibly cheap and there are some amazing dive sites (including my current obession Sabah in Malaysia, which is a world class dive site). Snorkelling and diving are great in South East Asia, especially since a wetsuit isn’t normally required.
5) Hong Kong – Hong Kong should be a stopover for anyone heading to South East Asia (Cathay Pacific offers thems). Some of the best (if not the best) shopping, eating, and partying in the world. HK has some of the nicest cityscapes in the world, and if you need to escape it all there are some surprisingly quality beaches on the backside of HK island. Easy travelling as well as almost everyone speaks some sort of English. HK is a definite must.
So I guess that’s the end of my South East Asia adventure. It was great. The only downside? The tan I worked so hard on is fading fast.
You’ll have to take my word for it, but those two black blobs are the legendary Irrawaddy Dolphins that live in the Mekong River. According to local lore, there are only 100 left, and each year they seem to be dying off rather than reproducing. Pictures were taken this morning in Kratie, Cambodia.
As the categories above indicate I am now in Cambodia (more on this in a second)
I spent the last couple days in Si Phan Don (the 4000 Islands) in an island called Don Det. The island was nice because it is still pretty much a working island (read rice paddies and people doing normal things). I must admit though that Don Det was a one night destination, as while it was nice, it was a bit too rustic for a long-term stay. There was only power for 3 or 4 hours a night, and the bungalows we were staying in was a bit far from the backpacker build-up making hard to even find a meal sometimes.
In addition the fact that it was rainy season made it a bit of a mess to get anywhere and there wasn’t much going on. But, for a couple days it was great to lie in a hammock and read books by candle light; and where else can you get a room for a buck USD a night with 2 hammocks?
I seem to be falling apart at the 2/3 points in my travel. In the span of 24 hours I managed to break my flip flops (I’m done with Gravis flip flops, as they always seem to fall apart on me), sprain my ankle, and slice open my right index finger. While nothing was serious, the dampness (it rained a solid 4 to 5 hours a day) wasn’t doing my open flesh wound any good. Thankfully Cambodia is a lot drier than Laos.
Random Thoughts
1) In Si Phan Don I was travelling with a French NGO worker, and she was probably the least empathetic person I’ve ever met. I wonder if it had to do with her being French or an NGO worker; or perhaps both. It was a bit jarring given her occupation.
2) Thanks to some minor arguing with Cambodian border officials (they wanted 2 USD for border stamps, I wasn’t willing to support the corruption) I have only one page left in my passport. After I said no to paying they decided that they suddenly needed a whole blank page for their dinky stamp, even though they had assured me they could fit it on some other pages at the start of the whole process.
Best of Laos
1) The North of Laos. Incredibly beautiful landscapes and full of people who don’t see you as a dollar sign or a quick buck. The Mixture of a great city (Luang Prabang) with nice landscapes, all of which makes for a great time.
2) The Flying Fox. Probably incredibly dangerous, but really doesn’t it make it a whole lot better?
3) Beer Laos. It’s true; it’s the best beer in South East Asia
4) Si Phan Don (the island of Don Det), a great little place that will probably become a backpacker hole (a la Dali in China) in 5 to 10 years as development moves in. But right now it’s still great.
Off to Siem Reap tomorrow. Should be a fun ride, and I’m still undecided if I should get a one day or 3 day pass to Angkor Wat.
Filed under: Laos
Made it to Vietiane. The city is a hole, but I have a room with air-conditioning; so it all evens out. Off to the south of Laos tomorrow, to the Si Phan Don. Rare dolphins and a place that plays Simpsons 24 hours a day. I hope that this means that power has finally reached Si Phan Don, as according to the Lonely Planet there was none at the time of writing.
Once again I find myself in the same trap of feeling I have too much time, but at the same feeling I have too little. I have a feeling I may end up making some random side trips to kill time.
I am decidedly affected.
Filed under: Laos
In Vang Vieng which, as Eric predicted/warned, is a bit of a travellers hole. Lots of people “chilling” and Friends playing 24 hours a day (although I must admit I do like Friends). However, the scenery is really nice here, lots of limestone mountains and lush forests. There are also the usual little villages and rice terraces you find everywhere in Asia. Also the people aren’t as affected by tourism, and there were lots of locals waving at us on the way here.
Oh right, and the tubing. Most of the reason this is a huge backpacker place. Essentially there is a pretty muddy river that people sit on inner tubes on and float down. All along the river there are bars with all sorts of different gimmicks to get you in. The big one (and best) is a bar with something called the “Flying Fox” that you get access to by buying a drink. Above is me attempting to look stylish on the fox the 2nd time around. Oh, and my new swim trunks.
I’m out of here tomorrow, and off to Vientiane. After that it’s on to Si Phan Don which is a set of 4000 thousand islands in the south. Then to Siem Reap in Cambodia overland, even though an overland route doesn’t really exist. I’ll work it out when I hit that point
One last thought. On my last morning in Luang Prabang I had wanted to get up at 5:40 am to participate in the Monk’s Alms procession (essentially every Buddhist monks survives by getting donations from the community, and in Luang Prabang this happens every morning at 5:40 am where they walk around with their begging bowls). Unfortunately my novelty benevolence lost out to my sheer desire to sleep another couple hours. I throw in a bunch of Kip (the local currency) at my next temple stop.
Lots of more photos of Laos posted here, including me falling into the water at the end to the Flying Fox.
Filed under: Laos
The first post from Laos. I’ve made it to Luang Prabang after probably one of the most uncomfortable 2 days of my life. (more on that later)
Luang Prabang is an ex French colonial City located in the north of Laos (which is sandwiched between Thailand and Vietnam north of Cambodia and south of China). The entire city is a UNESCO world Heritage site, and has a pretty cool feel to it. Lots of temples mixed in with French design. Not much to see, but what is here is pretty good. Pictured is me in front of one of many glass murals they have everywhere. This one was at the major temple, which I’ve forgotten the name of.
Back to the Boat. I’ll save my usual whining for an itemized versions of my complaints about the Journey to Laung Prabang by slow boat
1) It was only a 20 dollars cheaper than flying
2) The seats are about as comfortable as sitting in church pews for 20 hours
3) The journey and set up is artificially long to ensure that the maximum amount of money is squeezed out of you.
4) The fast boat is over in a day, versus 2 days of painfulness ont he slow boat.
5) The view, while fantastic, could easily be seen on day trip out to the Mekong. Also most people spent the entire time reading or talking to each other instead of looking at the views
Off to Vang Vieng tomorrow where I can water tube down the Mekong river. On-tap for tonight: Buying more random stuff in the market and maybe a long massage after the boat trip. I think this is the coolest Buddha I’ve seen yet. Although the starving Buddha was pretty good as well.
More Photos uploaded here.
Another sidenote. I broke the LCD on my camera. Using the viewfinder from now on; how retro.
Persistent Nomad 