Back to Bangkok

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I'm going to take a quick break this blog from documenting our journey to provide a quick update and recap the first two months of our trip. We've been getting a lot of similar questions by e-mail and are starting to set our future plans, so I'll just take a few minutes to address those! On November 18th, we finished what to us feels like the "1st Half" of our trip, despite time-wise being only about a third into our actual trip. We arrived back in Bangkok, completing our circuit of the mainland SE Asia countries. We spent four relaxing days in Bangkok, re-packing our suitcases, chilling (we signed up for the Bangkok equivalent of a Blockbuster card and caught up on some movies-which randomly seemed to be dominated by Will Smith characters!), shopping (and mailing a package home to lighten our packs), and revisiting our favorite Bangkok sights and eateries. I also took this time to catch my first cold and come down with my first case of traveller's dystenary (though both were extremely mild and didn't interfere with anything)-I had just stopped taking my Malaria medicine (as none of the places we will be visiting over the next couple months has any risk), and because it is esentially like taking an antibiotic everyday I think it was masking all these sicknesses. Matt luckily has both an immune system and stomach made of steel and didn't catch either (he had stopped his malaria medicine weeks before getting back to Bangkok because he was having bizarre side effects ranging from headaches to blurry vision and more). Peter and his family once again generously let us stay in their condo which was fantastic as we had space to spread out and a kitchen to make some of our own food finally. We also discovered that the complex has a pool-which Peter had failed to include in the important info along with: take your shoes off when you come in and turn the AC off when you leave (that's ok Pete-we still love you!). So we swam some laps (well, Matt swam, I floated) and chilled in the pool-side lounge chairs.

Ok...so for the updates and what not....

Ton's of you have been asking how we're holding up and if we are tiring of travelling at all-So here's the answer:
Before leaving, we knew we weren't just going on vacation (the kind where you just lay in the sun and everything is taken care of), but I don't think we truly understood what travelling entailed. It was definitely sort of a shock to realize just how difficult some journeys can be and how tiring it all is-imagine spending all night in a freezing cold air-conditioned bus, only to arrive at a ferry at 5am, spend 2.5 hours on a ferry in which everyone minus Matt and I have there heads buried in a plastic bag trying to ease their sea sickness, and then finally arrive at our island destination to discover that it is pouring rain and every taxi in town is taking advantage of this by charging more than double the normal price, not to mention we had absolutely no idea where we were going to stay or which direction to head. However, over the months we've rapped our heads around the idea that we are travelling, not on some extended vacation (though there are plenty of mini-vacations within our travels!), and have developed strategies to cope. The fantastic thing about travelling and the fact that we have no final date is that we are in no rush, and that after overnight trips like the one I described above, we are fine taking a day to do nothing but nap and watch tv. We also try to settle every so often in a place for at least 4 or 5 days, especially after stints of long-distance travelling and constantly being on the move. We've also developed some routine within our non-routine. Matt has developed a hotel room workout he dutifully completes every evening, we pack our bags a specific way, etc. So, truthfully, I think we've settled into some nice patterns and have come to terms with the difficult parts of travelling-and are genuinely still enjoying travelling-probably enjoying it more and more everyday. I think we also appreciate that no matter how difficult parts of travelling can be, it hands down beats working a 9-5.

And now for our schedule...
We are now in peninsular Malaysia and are here until the 13th/14th (our flight leaves at 1:20 am on the 14th, so it is really like the 13th.

Then...Dec 14th-Jan 22nd-Phillipines (to meet up with Wilson and see the Visayas, with maybe a quick trip up to northern Luzon on our own at the end).

Jan 22nd (Happy b-day mom!)-Feb 5th- the island part of Malaysia (Borneo-Sabah) to climb Mt. Kinabalu and see the orangutans-and if we can afford it, dive Sipadan.

Feb 5th-fly to Jakarta, Indonesia (where we will hopefully meet up with Isak, and then travel through Indo). We have no idea how long we'll be in Indo-if we go quick, we may head back up to see Singapore and some more of Malaysia, if not, maybe we'll fly home...who knows???

Matt and I randomly spent the super long bus ride from Cambodia to Bangkok coming up with our "Top Tens." So, to recap our first two months travelling, we'll share some of our favorites. (note: we came up with the order by first, coming up with ten things, then each individually ranking them, then averaging our rankings-so some things that one or the other of us didn't like, may have made it pretty high up in the list if the other ranked it as one of their tops).

Top Ten Foods:
1. Jeouw bong with sticky rice- LP, Laos
2. Fruit smoothies-LP, Laos and Bangkok
3. Fish Amok-Sihanoukville, Cambodia
4. Indian food- Hoi An, Vietnam
5. Curry Fried Rice- LP, Laos
6. Thai curry- Bangkok
7. Worm food- Kampot, Cambodia
8. Soup-Chiang Rai, Thailand
9. Rotti- Chiang Mai-and everywhere else
10. Carrot Cake- Epic Arts Cafe, Kampot, Cambodia

Top Ten Guesthouses:
1. Hoa's Place- China Beach, Vietnam
2. Utopia- Kampot, Cambodia
3. Nong Kiau Riverside - Nong Kiau, Laos
4. Nhat Lan- Phu Quoc, Vietnam
5. Hiep Hoa Resort- Mui Ne, Vietnam
6. Le Jardin Organique- Vang Vieng, Laos
7. Arimids GH- Huay Xai, Laos
8. Nam Sok- LP, Laos
9. Blissful- Kampot, Cambodia
10. Julies- Chiang Mai, Thailand

Top Ten Activities:
1. Elephant Conservation Camp- Chiang Mai, Thailand
2. Tubing- Vang Vieng, Laos
3. Rafting- LP, Laos
4. Mekong Delta Tour- Vietnam
5. Muang Noi Neua Trek- MNN, Laos
6. Biking to Kuang Si Waterfall- LP, Laos
7. Rope Swings- Kampot, Cambodia & Vang Vieng, Laos
8. Sand Dunes- Mui Ne, Vietnam
9. Crossing the street- Hanoi, Vietnam
10. Surfing- China Beach, Vietnam
(and our cooking classes-both LP and Siem Reap-which we forgot to include, but would be in the top 5).

Top Ten Cities:
1. Luang Prabang (LP)
2. Kampot
3. China Beach/Hoi An
4. Bangkok
5. Phnom Phen
6. Phu Quoc
7. Mui Ne
8. Muang Noi Neua
9. Chiang Mai
10. Vang Vieng

So, that pretty much sums up our journey from Bangkok back to Bangkok. Starting next blog we'll begin on our trip down the Thai peninsula and then to Malaysia.

We miss everyone (that is by far the hardest part of being away!) and love hearing from you. Keep sending updates on what's happening at home. Love, M&M

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Comments

[aunt pat]

top tens!!
Incredible!!! You two are having a time of your life and I love how you've summed up your traveling so far!! Top tens make it easy for any of us who want to duplicate your trip!! Continue to enjoy your travels. We love you so much! aunt P and uncle G