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Hello Everyone. This is officially try number five to write this blog entry. I apologize for it being so overdue but the computers here are so annoying and unreliable.
I finished the whole trip traveling from Bangkok through Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and a bit of northern Thailand before returning to Bangkok. At first I really didn't like Asia because of the constant noise and pollution and garbage everywhere but it has grown of me considerably. There is so much cultural beauty here that was difficult to see after traveling through Africa which was mainly natural beauty. The people are also very friendly and despite the language barrier they all want to help and please you.
I'm now living in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam and have been here for 2 weeks. While here I am living in a volunteer house with four (guess who??) British people. After living with mainly Brits for the past 5 months I catch myself thinking and speaking in English terms like calling the garbage the "bin", referring to underwear as "pants" and pants as "trousers", and when I need to the toilet I have actually used the phrase "I need a wee." My house mates now
are very entertaining and some of the funniest people I have ever met. There is definitely never a dull moment with these four but unfortunately they are only here for another two weeks.
The volunteering here has been very different from my placement in South Africa. My first challenge is that I am the only English Speaking person in the school. This means that I must be proactive and do things to help without being told what to do or what they are working on. Also kids here have different disabilities then in the school in South Africa. They are all mentally disabled and some have slight physical deformations due to the American bomb Agent Orange. The school that I am currently at also has very low resources and a much higher student to teacher ratio. It is definitely a challenging experience but I am enjoying it. One of my favorite parts of the day is taking a Motorbike taxi to and from work. It's a beautiful ride and an adrenalin rush because of all the crazy drivers. I hated Hanoi at first but I'm beginning to discover its own charm and enjoying it more and more everyday.
Here's
a few notes I took in my journal about traveling through Indochina!
Cambodia Currency A quick note that I thought was interesting while I was in Cambodia is that they use U.S. Dollars more then they use their own currency Riel. To buy anything prices are listed in U.S. dollars and even the locals use it first. My tour guide, Kevin who is Cambodian said that their currency is first Dollars and Second Riel. Even the ATM's only give out dollars!
The Bum Gun I remember the first time I encountered a squat toilet. It was last Christmas when I went to Morocco on a family vacation. After taking one look at the hole in the ground, the pale of water, and the lack of toilet paper I walked right out of there. My Aunt Sue ended up convincing me that it wasn't that bad so I tried it and walked out with splatter all over my legs. Well now after traveling through Africa and South East Asia I'm getting pretty good at them. It's always good when we stop somewhere with a western toilet even though most of them are disgusting. I never thought I would get so excited over a good clean sit-able toilet! In the hotels we usually have western toilets and I have come to like an Asian feature about them. Next to the toilet is a hose to clean yourself that is affectionately named "the bum gun". So I thought... when in Rome... or Bangkok do as they do! It is actually quite refreshing and much more hygienic then toilet paper. The only problem is that it makes you all wet so toilet paper is still necessary. I do have to admit that ill miss the hose when im back at home!!!
Lao's After traveling through Cambodia and Vietnam I was exauste4d by the constant hustle and bustle in the cities. Laos was the perfect remedy for this. Just after crossing I noticed how much more laid back the locals were. People didn't hassle you constantly, the cities weren't so big and dirty, and people weren't constantly in a rush. Everyone on the tour was surprised bu how developed it was. We all expected it to be the least touristy of the four countries but it ended up being one of the most.
I really enjoyed Vang Vieng it was one of the hi lights of the whole trip. While I was in South Africa, a good friend of mine Lindsay told me how much fun tubing is but she didn't mention is the whole town is basically a 24 hour party. The next morning started off great with a breakfast bucket. We went to the tubing place which is a river lined with swim up bars and dance floors. Here you wouldn't even need to pay for a good time. The bars gave out free food and free drinks all day. Some of the bars have "swings" that look more like a flying trapeze over the water about 20 feet up. It is so dangerous because there are many shallow areas and random rocks that stick out of the water. It was a lot of fun to watch people go off the swings because many of them do crazy tricks and jumps. My inner-lifeguard was constantly watching to make sure people resurfaced and were conscious. At night we were too tired from the day to go out so I went to a family guy cafe and a friends cafe. These are little restaurant places that play the TV shows and instead of chairs to sit in there are lay down comfy couches with a table in the middle. I know... amazing right?
Another hi light was Leuang Prabang. We ate at the local night market both nights we were there because it was so good. It reminded me of Movenpick Marche (one of my favorite restaurants in Toronto) because there were many stalls selling food. The big difference was that all the stalls were offering the same thing! Variety would have been nice but I still think I would have has the barbecue chicken both nights. The next day there was action packed with elephant riding and hiking up to the top of a waterfall. Elephant riding was am pretty scary experience because at the end of the elephant ride our elephant (nicknamed Ellie) tried to pass another one. The Mahoot or elephant carer didn't want her to and hurt her. She didn't like this at all and started making angry trumpeting noises with her trunk. I was so scared that we were about to be thrown off of her and at this moment my friend will who I was riding with tells me that the guidebook said if you don't feel safe on the elephant then you probably aren't. We both made it off safely but were so shaking and had to take a few minutes to calm down!!!
The day we saw a dead body.... So to travel from Luang Prabang, Laos to Chang Mai, Thailand we spent two days on a slow boat. It is a very long and skinny boat that a family lives on. It would have been a very relaxing two days if ti wasn't for the extremely loud engine that even my Ipod couldn't drown out. So as we were cruising along looking out at the river banks at the bamboo huts and farmers fields of the hill tribes we see a body floating lifelessly in the water. One of my friends pointed it out and we just continued to drive upstream. Our tour guide told the captain of the boat who smiled, shrugged his shoulders, and continued on. Now obviously this wasn't so causal for me. I asked my tour guide and he gave us a few reasons why there was a dead body...
1. Fisherman drowned.
2. Drunk and went swimming and hurt themselves on a rock and drowned.
3. There was a boat crash last week where they didn't find all the bodies.
4. They were murdered.
When I asked why we didn't stop, he laughed and said, "for what? to look at it?". My western self just doesn't understand how seeing a dead body could be so casual. I guess that's just life over here.
New Years I was lucky enough to experience The Songkran Festival or Thai New Years in both Laos and Thailand. It was from the 13th - 16th of April and was a lot of fun. They celebrate New Years a bit differently then we do in the wast. For them, the three days are to cleans themselves from the last year and enter the new year with a clean slate. To symbolize this, there is a massive country wide mud and water fight for 3 days straight. The local kids like to stretch it out a bit and began warming up on the 10th and usual aimed at tourists. They form teams on the side of the the road and throw water at cars, tuk tuks, bicycles, motorbikes and those on foot. For the last week of my trip in Laos and Thailand it was pointless to wear anything that I cared about or make myself look presentable because as soon as we went outside we had mud wiped on out faces and water thrown at us. I also wasn't able to take many pictures because my camera would have gotten wet.
We stayed in a small town in Thailand just over the border one night and joined in with the locals for the new years festivities. There was one man who was driving by on a motorbike and was signaling with his arms "don't throw water at me". A local in our crew did any way and as he drove away he pulled a gun out and waved it in the air. Needless to say, after that I didn't get anyone wet who didn't want to be!
The final night with our group was in Bangkok where there is the biggest New Years party. We went to Khao San Road at night which was packed with tens of thousands of people all partying for the new year. It was very interesting to see the protesters having a good time with each other when 3 days before they were killing each other.
I have many more updates to give you all but I just wanted to let you know that I'm still alive and having a fantastic time. I promise another entry is on its way!!!
Hope everyone is doing well back at home with school finishing up! Missing you all! xxx
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Eric
non-member comment
I enjoyed your Indochina post. I have always wanted to go there. My blog is looking for travel photos and written reviews of community work abroad programs. If you have the time, email us some at dirtyhippiesblog@gmail.com or check us out at dirty-hippies.blogspot.com Continued fun on your travels, Eric