Signing Off

My travels around Southeast Asia are rapidly coming to an end. In fact, by the time you read this, I’ll likely be in the middle of my 24 hour return trip or even back home. The money tree is in desperate need of watering – I don’t think landlords on the west coast offer layaway – and I also think I’m ready for another change of pace. One of the many benefits offered by travel is an injected change into your daily lifestyle. After six months of travel, this has become my lifestyle. Certainly not a bad one, and it’s still a blast, but it is starting to lose part of that high-level novelty.

Travel will certainly continue to be an important part of my life – hell, I already have my next 3 trips sketched out – but this particular leg is complete. My next order of business is to find a fruitful means of employment in Portland, SF, or Seattle. Interested in something “green collar” – perhaps the development of alternative energy or environmental conservation. Hit me up if you know of anything that looks promising!
My wanderings around SE Asia have been incredible and have exceeded all expectations. In addition to a break from the pencil pushing, I’ve experienced some crazy sh*t, met some wonderful people, and learned a lot about Southeast Asian life and culture. And, most importantly, I’d like to report that the finger pointer dance is alive and well throughout the remote corners of Southeast Asia. Do not underestimate the power of the finger pointer dance.

Solo travel and slow travel were new to me and have proven to be particularly rewarding. I’m certainly not averse to fast & partner travel, but this was a nice change of pace and perspective. For a better description than I can provide, see these articles from Brave New Traveler, a sweet travel commentary site, for why solo and slow travel are awesome:

• Solo Travel: 6 Reasons To Wander Alone
• 5 Reasons Why Slow Travel Beats Going On Vacation
  

The trip has also included a few moments of sadness and mourning. My two sidekicks before I left the country were my cat, Meow, and my girlfriend, Daria. If you’ve been keeping up with my posts, then you know that Meow’s feline leukemia caught up with her and she is no longer with us. While Daria is still alive and well, we will most likely not be together even if I end up in Portland. It will be strange to re-enter the world of the working stiffs without the two of them at my side, but perhaps a completely fresh start will do me good.

Random Trip Tallies

6 months of traveling through 6 countries has produced countless memorable experiences, more friendships than I’ll be able to keep up with, and far too many squat toilet predicaments. I still have my 2 original pairs of pants (and no more), I lost 3 pairs of sunglasses, missed 1 train and 1 bus for which I had a ticket, ran in 5 different hashes, and got beat up once. Miraculously, I endured zero arrests, zero muggings, zero life-threatening diseases, and even maintained my exit-hole purity. (Sorry, didn’t know how to appropriately say: “I didn’t get raped! Horray!”).

Travel Writing

I initially harbored hopes of breaking into the travel writing industry during this trip. On a small, but significant level, I achieved that with my MatadorTrips article. Although it’s a rather small publication, it got me in contact with a rock star travel writing editor who is very well connected. By staying in contact with him, the door is open to publish further writing. Now I just need good ideas for articles, which is proving to be the hardest part! I finally drafted my Jail in Japan story for a TSM contest, but first person narratives generally do not attract much interest and are difficult to sell. [Formatting for this story is actually a lot better here].

On the side, I filled up two journals full of personal musings, published 6 Associated Content articles, and have written 30 posts here, but these are mostly notes and random reflections. I’m well situated with material and contacts, just need to produce lots of polished content if I really want to do this… and that sounds like a lot of effort. So we’ll see. I can certainly work on transforming notes into potential articles if the engineering job market proves to be reluctant.
Ingrained Lessons Learned and SE Asia Traveling Advice for the Masses

The following are tried, tested, and proven traveling philosophies for me, but may not suit your traveling style or priorities. Everyone gets something different out of travel, and that’s precisely what’s so great about it. Travel is uniquely experienced so that everyone comes away with something they can call their own.

Most items below play around the same core ideas: travel is best when cheap, hard, and awkward. These traits tend deliver rewarding experiences, fresh perspectives, inspiring insights, and meaningful relationships.

• Travel is meant to be awkward at times; feeling uncomfortable and out of place is a good sign that you’re off the tourist path and in the midst of the real country you’re exploring.
  
• Real adventure involves hardship: it is only highlighted by brief, but powerful, moments of exhilaration and triumph that make it worth the effort.
• If a restaurant or bar is welcoming, it’s probably expensive and touristy. Follow the side streets to find cheap and culture-rich venues.
• Money can improve every dodgy situation or solve it if it needs solving. Money can make you more comfortable, speed up any process, and get you off the hook, but the easy way out also tends to be the least interesting option.
• With that in mind, always use the cheapest available transportation: you’ll be with the locals and have the best experiences. But, of course, the best experiences are not always the most pleasant experiences.

• Patience is imperative. The bus will not leave on time and it will break down. Multiple times. Locals will try to overcharge you and it’s up to you to barter in a composed manner. Food ordered in a restaurant may take an hour or more to be served – bring a book, a buddy, or a camera if sitting outdoors by the street. If you want food fast, go to the market. Politely decline the 57 “want moto?” offers encountered each block. Westerners who do not exercise patience embarrass themselves, and others, and only become more frustrated.
• Drinking with locals is a great way to break the ice and dive into authentic local culture. Ditch your fellow backpackers in the guesthouse bar and find local watering holes. Just don’t be stupid and wake up wallet-less in the gutter. Here’s a good article on imbibing abroad.
• Lonely Planet guides (and other popular guidebooks) are only good for maps and for telling you where all the other white people are. Damn near every independent traveler uses LP these days, so every guesthouse and food stall listed is already full and twice the listed price because of the increased popularity. Traveling without (or with less reliance) on the guide is more fun.

Bored yet? Good! This is my last post, so suck it up. I’m surprised that you’ve made it this far! Here’s Ten Reasons Why My Travel Blog Sucks, in any case.

Last ones, and most important:

• Every experience is a good experience (yes, even if it’s a bad experience).
• Live everyday of your life in love. Check the link, scroll down past the gigantic photo, and then tell me you're not inspired. Really? You’re not inspired? Ok, fine, try these:
• How to Travel the World For Free
• The 50 Most Inspiring Travel Quotes of All Time

So long, Southeast Asia. I will miss you.

Justin out.

Vote For My TSM Story!

How to be sweet: Donate blood (or even a kidney!), support your local small businesses, recycle your crap, and then vote for my TSM story! Here’s how:

How to Vote For My Traveling-Stories-Magazine.com Story:
1) Go to http://www.traveling-stories-magazine.com/jail-in-japan-tales-of-pocket-knives-bathtub-antics-and-utter-cluelessness/
-->or just Click Here
2) “Digg” it by clicking the “digg it” button to the right of the title. If you have never digged anything before, you’ll have to register, which is no fun, but is also fast, free, and easy. Proposed kick-backs, bribes, and underhanded dealings with the $150 prize will be entertained.

Of course you can read the piece, too, if you have time for a laugh. It’s easily the funniest thing I’ve ever written because the material is so good that it writes itself.

The events chronicled in the story took place 17 months ago, as I’m sure most of you know, and I just finally got around to writing it up about two months ago. I submitted it to several online writing sites and while most expressed interest, they have been slow to actually publish the story. TSM emailed me a few days ago to tell me that it qualified for their contest, so we’ll see if it’s good enough. Hai!

Just spent four very quick days in Singapore – not nearly enough time – and did CouchSurfing for the first time. I was hosted by an awesome young couple, was shown around the city by several friendly locals, and had too much fun every night (and on into the mornings) with my new CS buddies.

The food in Singapore certainly lived up to its reputation: this place is definitely the food capital of the world. The famous street grub has mostly been confined to large food court deals and concentrated wet markets, so you can go around and grab lots of different dishes to share. While Malay, Chinese, HK, and Indian fares are the most prominent, there are also various dishes from all over the world. You can find anything and everything you want, and better yet, what you haven’t ever heard of before.

Also as reputed, Singapore appeared to be very clean, efficient, and conservative. Chewing gum was a problem years ago because kids would toss it on the street, so now it’s illegal and you can’t legitimately buy a stick of gum anywhere in the city. Smoking cigarettes in public places, littering, and eating on the MRT all carry heavy fines (500 to 5000 Singapore Dollars). Drug use gets you as much as a year in jail and drug trafficking carries the death penalty. These guys are no bullshit.

But at the same time, while the face of Singapore is incredibly conservative, the younger generations appear to be fairly liberal. Some people risk jay-walking (a big boy fine), will carry a cigarette through a mall corridor, and even pile 6 people in the back of a car to ride through the downtown streets. While these are not big risks elsewhere, they’re significant infractions here – if you get caught. Perhaps the sense of knowing that these small time improprieties are pushing the bounds prevents people from doing anything more serious. This way you get your “fight the man” thrills from doing petty stuff…

Housing is really interesting: you cannot buy an apartment or any place to live unless you’re married or older than a specified age (35, I think). The government subsidizes the cost if you are married, and then subsidizes it more if you move close to a parent. I find that incredible that the government promotes family values through housing cost incentives. Ok, starting to ramble… Go ‘digg’ my crap so I can win money :)

Reflections on Malaysia

Hey kiddos. So the dust swirling out of my wallet has finally convinced me to book a flight back over the big pond. As much as I’m enjoying my travels and as much as I’d like to stay, I’ve also gotta keep enough money to stay afloat while looking for a new job. And with the economy doing so great, it should be a piece of cake, right? Ehhh. The last 6 months of travel have been incredible, but like many good things do, my current wanderings are nearing an end, and I’ll be back in DC on May 10th.

Not to worry, I’ve still got a few more posts to bore all you unsuspecting interweb reading souls. In Malaysia now, so a few observations are below. Next heading to Singapore this weekend, and I’m sure I’ll have a few comments for you then as well. Without further ado, reflections on Malaysia-
Malaysia has helped me identify specific characteristics that made me fall in love with other countries in SE Asia. My last two weeks in Malaysia have been a bit unexciting, which is not to say that I don’t like the country – every place is worth visiting – and every place is what you make of it. But certain aspects of Malaysian life have helped me realize what I find so special about Vietnam, Lao, Cambodia, and Thailand.

Modernization and Westernization

I prefer to travel less developed countries because they’re more different from what I’m used to, and therefore more interesting. However, some developed nations, Japan and Hong Kong are two I know, are fully modern, yet uniquely different from western societies. I can dig those places, too. Malaysia’s modernization, on the other hand, seems to be closely coupled with western characteristics. Former British rule (along with prior Dutch and Portuguese influence) likely played a hand in this, but it’s a bit out of control at the present. Gigantic mega-malls, an array of American fast food joints, and $9 beer nights are not what I seek while traveling.

While Thailand is laying claim to some of these same indulgences, most heavy development is in the south while the north and north-east remain more traditional. Vietnam, Lao, and Cambodia are largely undeveloped, yet provide stunning beauty in the land, culture, and people. In addition, these countries are a little dirty and gritty, which is appealing for the adventurous. Squat toilets, ridiculous bus rides, and thick language barriers are fun challenges that provide rewarding experiences.

To be clear, I do not disapprove of western-style modernization or any way in which a country chooses to develop – I’m just not a big fan of it as a traveler because I don’t find it interesting. And on a philosophical point, I’d rather developing societies not associate McDonalds and other western crap with an improved lifestyle, because it just isn’t true. I’ve met poverty-stricken people with incredibly rich, happy, and fulfilling lives. I hate how people often say “oh, these people have nothing, I feel so bad for them.” While this perspective may be appropriate in some cases, many SE Asian villagers are self-sufficient and perfectly happy with their families and close-knit societies. Western materialism is not going to improve their life – and it’s not improving our lives, either. We just haven’t realized (or admitted) it yet.

Bad Car Traffic

Urban planning – the designed layout of a town – dictates how the town functions. Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, and Melaka allow heavy car traffic to fill the streets. Pedestrian and bicycle traffic is not accommodated and is often exposed and unfriendly. Much like the sprawling US suburbs, this only encourages more car traffic. While cities like Bangkok and Saigon also have horrendous traffic, the streets there are littered with motorbikes, tuk tuks, bicycles, pedestrians, and people washing dishes. There’s a heterogeneous mix that makes it interesting and exciting. Malaysian traffic, on the other hand, is more akin to Northern Virginia rush hour traffic. Disheartening instead of intriguing. Which leads to my next item…

No Extreme Motorbiking

Some locals still drive motorbikes in Malaysia, but with all the cars there’s less need to haul a crate of dead pigs or an extended family of 6 on the back of a bike. Holy Christ in flight this stuff is great… Watching motorbike antics in Vietnam and Cambodia, especially, have provided countless hours of entertainment.Malaysia’s Saving Grace

I know it sounds like I don’t like Malaysia, but it’s just that I really love Vietnam, Lao, Cambodia, and Thailand. The modernism and unfavorable urban design of Malaysia has highlighted my soft spot for these other countries and pin-pointed a few reasons why I like them so much. Yet Malaysia does have one huge advantage over these other guys, and that’s multicultural diversity. Sea trade and tin mining attracted so many Chinese and Indians hundreds of years ago that they almost outnumber ethnic Malays today. This provides an excellent abundance of Chinese and Indian food as well as opportunities to interact with different people. Some of the best (and cheapest) food I’ve had in Malaysia has been Indian, and some of the most rewarding interactions have been with Indians. I may have to wait until next trip to check out India, but I’m certainly getting a taste of it right here.

Oh, sweet Jesus this got long. Way to be if you made it to the end without choking on your own drool! I know I surely had a close call.

Southern Trends and the Malaysian Melting Pot

Thailand is filthy rich. Not when compared to European nations and other Western countries, but when compared with their neighbors to the east, namely Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, the Kingdom is thriving. Baht is practically leaking out their ears. The stark economic discrepancy between these countries is unbelievable considering their close proximity. While kids in Cambodia pick through the leftover scraps from a tourist’s dinner, Thai kids, less than fifty kilometers away, are eating their fill at KFC in a huge air conditioned shopping mall.

The wealth in Thailand also seems to grow the further south you travel. This may have something to do with the popular and over-touristed islands and beaches, but the trend also continues down into Malaysia. Motorbikes have been almost completely replaced by cars while cheap guesthouses have been replaced by not-as-cheap Chinese hotels. The increasing wealth trend continues into Kuala Lumpur before it supposedly climaxes in Singapore (I’ll be able to confirm in about a week). Hum, why am I traveling this direction?

Another interesting trend throughout Southern Thailand and Malaysia is an increase in Muslims. They own and operate many of Thailand’s beach and island resorts and I’ve encountered more and more peek-a-boo married woman (I can see your eyeballs!) and scarf-clad girls the past few weeks. Islam is the official religion in Malaysia and the higher concentration of Muslims in Southern Thailand is likely a significant motivating factor for the recent terrorist bombings in the region. (Don’t know much about it, but it seems that they’re pissed off about being governed by non-Muslim Thais and want their own state).

Equally tenuous, but without the big fiery murderous mess, Malaysia is experiencing plenty of their own racial discrimination and unrest. Talking to an Indian cabbie the other day in Ipoh, I learned that Indian and Chinese citizens in Malaysia are granted privileges and not rights. Malays, which are ethnic Malaysians, make up only 60% of the country’s population, while 3rd and 4th generation Indian and Chinese immigrants make up 40%. After immigrating to Malaysia 100+ years ago, the current Indian and Chinese population was born here, and are granted ‘citizen’ status, but have no rights. On the financial front, a house that costs 80,000 Ringgits for a Malay buyer will cost 100,000 Ringgits (~$30K US) for an Indian or Chinese buyer, regardless of the seller.

Malaysia is an economically thriving Asian melting pot with diversity abounds, but the legal inequalities are a recipe for strife. They’ve had a few scuffles in the past, but we’ll just have to see how long it takes the Chinese and Indians to get sufficiently pissed off again.

Language is kind of funny here because the Indians don’t want to learn Chinese, the Chinese don’t want to learn Hindi, and Malays don’t want to learn either one, so everyone just uses English as a common ground. Malay is the official language, but English has become ubiquitous.

In other news, monsoon season totally rules. Every day for almost exactly 2 hours, starting at almost exactly 3pm, a torrential downpour goes ape shit. Quite entertaining.

[1st image is restaurant "Golden Stream" in Ipoh, Malaysia; 2nd image is the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 3rd image from Battambang, Cambodia - dont have any good pics of Malaysian monsoon action yet.]

Temples of Angkor, Climbing in Thailand, and Water Wars in Krabie

Yikes, it’s been a while since my last post. But to my credit, I’ve been a bit distracted lately: my cat, Meow, lost an intense battle with lymphoma and passed away just over a week ago. My sister was with her and did everything she could, but it was Meow’s time to move on and raise hell in kitty heaven. A celebration of her life can be found here. Kyle also joined me for my last week of travels in Cambodia and first week in Southern Thailand. Here’s what we’ve been up to:

The temples of Angkor were nothing short of stunning. Ankgor Wat was cool, but we were actually more impressed with Angkor Thom’s Bayon (FACES!) and the tree embattled temple of Ta Prohm. I’ll let the pictures do the talking...Climbing in Railey Beach and Ton Sai in Southern Thailand was totally sweet. 700+ bolted routes occupy over 40 limestone walls that jut up into the sky. Kyle brought a rope and quick-draws so we could lead our own climbs, and it was easy to join up with other climbers and share routes as well. We went ‘deep water solo’ climbing on our last day there – this is where you boat out to rock islands, climb up without belay gear, and then fall/jump into the water to finish the climb. It beat us up pretty good (who knew a 50 foot jump into the sea would sting?), but was plenty of fun.
Yesterday in Krabie, after Kyle left, I discovered the hard way that it was the Thai New Year. The town suddenly became besieged by a full-blown, show-no-mercy water war. Mobile attack squads manned the back of pick-up trucks with huge bins of water, launch buckets, and super soaker water guns. Stationary strongholds defended street corners and guesthouses with hoses and their own set of H2O projectiles. Quarter was shown to no one. Little old ladies were lit up in broad daylight. Protesting travelers with full packs were doused. Passing motorbike drivers were ambushed while they feebly attempted to navigate around improvised barricades. Allies turned on each other as quickly as haphazard treaties developed. In the end there were no sides: it was every man, woman, and child for themselves. And then nightfall came and everyone got drunk. Horray Thai New Year! Apparently the water war has become a tradition that welcomes the coming of the rainy season – the New Year marks the end of the dry season and the beginning of the wet season.Likely moving on to Malaysia and Singapore soon, but no hard plans yet. My bank account, however, is telling me I should return soon. (What’s that bank? Perhaps within a month you say?…) We shall see.

Recent Publications and Meow

I’ve been working on an article for Matador Trips, a new branch of Matador Travel, the past several weeks and the piece has just gone up. Horray!

The article can be found here:
http://matadortrips.com/backpackers-secret-guide-muang-ngoi-neua-lao/

Don’t hesitate to pass around the link (cause the more hits the better I look!)

Also published these less-than-spectacular articles on Vietnam with Associated Content earlier this month (meh):

10 Reasons to Visit VietnamBackpacking
Vietnam: Hard, Beautiful, and Intriguing

On a much sadder note, my cat Meow has become sick with Lymphoma, a type of cancer almost certainly caused by her feline leukemia that she’s had since birth. If you know me, then you no doubt know her. Please send prayers and healthy thoughts her way.

Blind Pain

I am still in pain. Throbbing, unrelenting, raw pain. Parts of my body that I’ve never felt before are screaming in fury. It hurts down to my very soul and I’m going to have to finish writing this tomorrow.

Ok, so I’m still in agony, but I can type without increased pain. Yesterday I went to get a massage at the “Kampot Massage by the Blind,” also known as “Seeing Hands Massage.” As the name implies, the massage therapists there are blind. It’s happy because you get your massage and your $4 goes to a blind person. Horray! Don’t you feel good about yourself?! At least that’s what I was hoping for…

Apparently they’re trained in Japanese Shiatsu massage, opposed to the Thai and Lao style with which I’ve become accustomed. Now I don’t know a thing about Shiatsu massage, but even if it’s supposed to hurt to some extent, there’s no way it’s supposed to be this detrimental.

I’ve had deep work massage before from Daria, which is the classic Swedish massage where the therapist digs into your muscles to release knots. That could be painful with too much pressure, but my experience yesterday was a pain I’ve never felt with Swedish massage. This blind chick would take her thumbs and push into my body with astonishing force – often times positioning herself so that she could put her entire body weight into the push. And it almost seemed like she was targeting pressure points on my body where it would hurt the most.

At first, I just tried to not cry out in anguish. I muffled my gasp, but the body can’t lie. My neck, which the blind chick targeted first, recoiled in rejection. Now this girl was blind, but she could no doubt feel my disagreeable reaction. At this she steadied my head with one hand and jammed her thumb from the other hand right back into my neck. I couldn’t stifle my cry this time and voiced something to the effect of “yaaaahhhh!” Hearing this, the blind girl mumbled something seemingly apologetic in Khmer, but did not let up on my neck. She proceeded down my back, along my arms, legs, and feet in the same manner. Each and every stab felt like I was being impaled with a spoon. I’d attempt to smother my howl, only succeeding half the time, and my body would almost always involuntarily recoil. And the blind chick’s response was almost always the same: steady my squirming body, mutter something possibly apologetic, and then stab just as hard with better leverage.

Several times I considered forcing myself upright, announcing “No more torture – I’m outta here,” but I didn’t for a couple of reasons. Deep down, I kept thinking that as much as this hurt, maybe it’s really super therapeutic, which is why it hurts so super much. Then she’d stab again, and I’d think “therapeutic or not, this is nothing short of torture – let’s make a move.” But then I’d think about how she’s a blind chick and I’d feel bad walking out on her, even paying for the whole session… or maybe I’m just a wuss. Then she’d stab again, steadying my frantically withdrawing body and pushing harder than ever. For 60 minutes of unequivocal suffering I endured the wrath of this blind chick. At the very end she punched my back and shoulders so hard that I have bruises to show for the beating. I also have an interesting pattern of developing bruises every place she stabbed.

Seriously, WTF, ‘Seeing Hands Massage?’ This is not ok. I can barely walk. ‘See My Hands Make You Scream’ is on notice – I’ll show them (whoops! I can’t show them anything! No one can! Ha!). Sorry – I really do hurt bad enough to make fun of blind people. That blind chick beat the crap out of me.

Cambodia: The Wild East

Several travelers who had already traveled through Cambodia described the country as similar to the US Wild West with AK-47 carrying drifters, angry and persistent beggars, and dusty back road towns. They told me that anything goes in Cambodia: you can have and do anything you want, as long as you can afford to pay off the police.

I witnessed many of these claims, but have decided that Cambodia would be more aptly dubbed the Wild East: A modern day lawlessness with guns, drugs, and prostitution, but with its own identity. There are no saloons with double swinging doors or brothels with girls calling out of the top floor windows, but you can certainly get anything you want from the motorbike drivers hanging out on every street corner. Rooms are $2 a night, you can blow up cows and chickens with RPGs and grenades, and drug deals go down right next to the rarely manned police station.

It really all comes down to the motorbike taxi drivers. In Thailand, outside of Bangkok, the motorbike drivers only ask if you “Want motobia?” In Vietnam they ask if you want “Motobia? Smoky?” In Laos they add “happy mushroom?” to the offer. And in Cambodia they regularly run the whole gambit: “Want motobia? No? How about smoke something? Mushroom? Opium? Heroin? Nice lady? Nice boy?” They often have to follow you walking by to get it all in, and sometimes will even show off their drug inventory for inspection in the middle of the street.

A few days ago I was getting a ride on a motorbike to Hotel Cambodiana on the other side of Phnom Penh to see a hash runner buddy’s band play. The driver dude went down the inclusive list while we took off and concluded with, “You want lady boom boom?” to which I replied, “Nope, I’m good, thanks.” He then points to some girls riding ahead of us on the road and says, “How about these girls? Very nice?” Once again, I say, “No. No boom boom.” My driver then proceeds to catch up to the girls, keeps pace beside them, and talks to them in Khmer. After a minute he asks me, “30 dollar US ok?” “No,” I say, “no boom boom.” He turns back to the girls to renegotiate, and then comes back with, “Ok, 20 dollar US.” I laugh at the hilarity of the situation for a second, then reaffirm, “No thank you, no boom boom for me.” He nods like he understands, but then speeds down the road only to find another set of girls on a motorbike. The whole proposition and negotiation process is repeated and my driver even gets the going price down to $5 for one of these girls. The guy definitely understood English well enough to know that I didn’t want boom boom, so he must have thought that I’d change my mind if the right girl quoted the right price. Can’t be sure about that, but it’s certainly insane that these random girls driving down the street didn’t flinch, react with shock, or take offense by my driver’s proposal – instead they calmly and sensibly considered the offer and then quoted a price. This is the Wild East.

I can see why many relate Cambodia’s smaller towns to the Wild West – the architecture often sports the two-story, double balcony terrace deal which looks to be straight out of Wild West movies. And when you have the dirt road to go along with it, it’s close enough. Seen a few good examples, but don’t have good photos to show for it yet.








A note on money in Cambodia: they use US dollars for almost everything and ATMs dispense American bucks, but they don’t use US coins. Instead they use the Cambodian currency, which is Riel, for everything under one dollar. 4000 Riel is 1 US dollar, so if something costs $1.50, you use an American dollar bill and 2000 Riel. Change often comes in both currencies, so it’s a bit confusing at first, but not too bad once you get the hang of it. Pretty interesting the way it works here.

The US dollar is the international currency and is often accepted in all SE Asian countries, but only for select things and you’ll likely get screwed on the exchange rate. With the intensity in which the value of the dollar is dropping, however, I think it’s only a matter of time until the Euro takes over as the international currency. Much more stable. Damn Americans buying houses they can’t afford and making my money worth 3% less every week (no joke).

Lao Top Five Experiences List

I was in Lao for just under a month and saw a fair bit of the country, but can only really gather a top five experience list this time instead of the usual top ten. Many of my Lao highlight experiences revolved around the people I met, both locals and other backpackers, and in turn I concentrated less on sights and activities. I think Lao has a little less in the ‘sights to see’ and ‘things to do’ categories when compared to Thailand and Vietnam, but this has been a developing trend during my recent travels: sweet sights and random adventures are great, but meeting various interesting and friendly people has become more meaningful and has facilitated my personal development as a traveler.

Going solo has made it easy to meet lots of people and then spend time with the most interesting ones. In addition to gaining new perspective and learning from people with different backgrounds, there’s a distinct sense of honesty and genuineness (or Guinness) that surrounds these interactions. When meeting people while traveling, there are no consequences to what you say, so there’s no reason to be anything but brutally honest. Don’t like what someone says or get embarrassed about revealing something? You never have to see that person again if you don’t want to. That’s a freedom that invites an incredible openness in conversations. Quite refreshing.

Nonetheless, here’s the Top 5 Lao Experience List:

5) Cruising around the World Heritage sites in Luang Prabang. Although the mess of the mass tour groups got old pretty fast.
4) Running with the Hash House Harriers in Vientiane. (For those of you who still don’t know what hash running is, check it out.)3) Climbing in Vang Vieng. Climbing is sweet to begin with, but the climbing here was excellent quality with new routes being bolted each day and not crowded in the least. Learning lead climbing was scary as hell, but I'm pretty psyched I didn't die.2) Slow boating down the Nam Ou and taking it easy in the villages of Muang Khua and Nong Khiaw - because with excellent scenery, no electricity or vehicles, and limited access, there’s really no other way to take it.
1) As stated in the intro, the Lao people are the best experience Lao has to offer. They’re laid back, friendly, and often eager to practice their English with you over some lao lao. The backpackers I met in Lao were also more friendly and interesting than usual. Lao doesn’t provide the best sights in the region (compared to neighboring countries) and the culture is not incredibly distinct (much infused from neighbors), yet it’s a refreshing and enjoyable place to travel. I’m sure I’ll be back one day.

As for now, I’ve crossed the border into Cambodia (Cambodians call it ‘Cambodge’), spent a few days in Stung Treng, and after a triple breakdown bus ride I am now in the capital city Phnom Penh. Cambodia has been interesting so far – it sort of has an old style Wild West feel to it. Except the dudes walk around with AK-47s instead of shiny little pistols. Hum…
Lao Picture set now complete.

Haphazard Reflections on Laos

I’ve been in Laos (Lao to everyone else) for several weeks, but have held off on posting much of a description because the towns and villages I’ve visited have been so drastically different. It’s also difficult to identify a unique Lao culture as many characteristics are drawn from neighboring Thailand and Vietnam. There are several things that are fascinating about this country, like 8 year olds driving motorbikes and the occasional cow-meet-chainsaw roadside part auctions, but these are not uniquely Lao – they’re SE Asian. A distinctive Lao culture certainly exists – modern tourism distractions and international influences just have to be filtered out to experience it authentically.

Riverside villages in the north, including Muang Khua and Nong Khiaw, are the closest I’ve come to authentic Lao. Villagers are as friendly as the Thai and even more easy-going, if that’s possible. There is no electricity except for a few hours of generator-powered juice in the evening; lao-lao (sticky rice whiskey) is dished out to the masses in used water bottles; and without motorbikes and cars, alarm clock duties are passed on to the hundreds of roosters that must be directly outside your bungalow. These villages are accessible by road, but boating down the Nam Ou (River Ou) takes half the time and is much more enjoyable. I’ve learned to seize any opportunity to avoid the bus and the complementary smell of vomit.

From Nong Khiaw, I continued by boat to Luang Prabang, and this is where the mass tourism began. Awarded World Heritage Site status in 1995 for the many temples and historical architecture harbored within its border, Luang Prabang has become a highlight on old people tour package itineraries. Herds of old, fat Americans and swarms of frantic Japanese women crowd the streets while tour guides use megaphones to be heard over the noise and regain their attention. (Ehh… maybe I shouldn’t work in the travel industry after all.) This is the only place in Lao that they’ll see, and it’s therefore the only place in Lao that I don’t care to stay. The sites I visited here were nice, but certainly not worth the inflated expense or headaches.

Next up was Vang Vieng… oh boy. Not sure if I should start with the “special” restaurant menus, tubing with back flips, non-stop episodes of ‘Friends,’ or the all night Phish jam sessions. Vang Vieng is a lot like Luang Prabang, but for hippies instead of old people. Drugs are illegal in Lao, but the police have better things to do than concern themselves with drug use. There are a couple dozen bamboo lounge restaurants that dominate the center of the small town and the food menu is generally followed by a drug menu with a heading that reads some variation of “Happy Menu For Happiness!” [Disclaimer: I was a non-participating observer of any and all drug-related activity.] The drug menus have weed, mushroom, and opium sections, each with various teas, joints, shakes, pizzas, and baggies. Incredibly organized and inventive. The funniest part is that most of these lounges play non-stop reruns of ‘Friends’ episodes. Yep, that one, with Rachael and Ross. How completely random and ridiculous. So you’ve got all these zoned out guys and girls with hazy eyes and half-open mouths watching episode after episode of Friends. A few of the lounges show Family Guy or European soccer, but a dire few.

Tubing in Vang Vieng was a lot like tubing at home, but with sweet back flips. Dozens of bars lined the river and dudes would hook your tube with long poles to bring you over to their bar. Along with the blaring Bob Marley, most bars had some sort of rope swing or zip-wire for patron entertainment. Even though many people experienced minor injuries from rocks in the shallow water, drunk tubers were a dime a dozen to impress the crowd with back flips and swan dives into the river. “Oohhs,” “Aahhs,” and Beerlao’s a plenty.Vang Vieng is certainly a party town, but after a few days of that, I went to investigate the famed climbing scene. And oh Christ-in-flight, the climbing here is awesome. Perfect limestone roofs and canyons packed with routes. A German dude was bolting fresh routes along a pristine and untouched face when we first got there. Had an excellent first day getting my climbing face back, then learned lead climbing from a local guide. Scared the crap out of me at first, but got comfortable when I didn’t die after a day of leads.

Currently in Vientiane, the capital of Lao. This place is so laid back and low key that it reminds me of Greenville, South Carolina. Yep, that slow. At least the tourism here is integrated into the city and doesn’t shamelessly clash with the surroundings like in Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng. It’s nice here. I think I’ll stay for a little while before heading to the less traveled south.

Vietnam Top Ten Experiences List

I’ve been out of Vietnam and in Laos for several days now, but just recently got internet access – spent the last 4 days boating down a river and staying at various villages in northern Laos.

6 weeks and 12 towns have delivered many memories and excellent experiences from Vietnam. Here are some that top the list:

· Navigating through the floating markets in the Mekong Delta.· Crawling through the Cu Chi Tunnel network just north of Ho Chi Minh City.
· Experiencing Tet in Hanoi. From fireworks to acrobatics to dragon shows to free-flowing marijuana to mouse vendors these guys know how to party. Keeping the party going for a week with the backpackers I met in Hanoi was also excellent.

· Walking around small untouristed towns with all the little kids hollering “hello!” and all the gumpy old men glaring at me. The kids seem as excited as can be because they’re thinking “Whoa! White people do exist!” The older people seem more bewildered than excited, but a smile tends to avert their gaze and replace it with a smile of their own. The small towns are fun – I kind of feel like a rock star in them.

· Caffeinating up with the best coffee I’ve ever had. Vietnam is the 2nd leading producer of coffee worldwide and this stuff is good – strong, rich, and grown in the coffee plantation 20 feet away. Ditto for the peppercorn – excellent.

· Hiking and motorbiking around Dalat. What a sweet mountain town.
· Swallowing a snake’s beating heart, drinking it’s blood and venom mixed with rice wine, and chowing down on the rest of the serpent’s body. Really quite good.

· Boating around the fantastic rock formations in Halong Bay. Video here.
· Enduring the bus rides and violating all the senses: feeling no less than four bodies pushed up against me as the bus violently swerves from side to side, hearing blaring horns and my fellow passengers puke into baggies, seeing motorbikes veer away and pedestrians cower in our wake; all while smelling cigarette smoke, vomit, and fear. These rides were no joke and totally sweet.

· Experiencing the resilience of the Vietnamese. If I had to describe the Vietnamese in a single word, it would be (you guessed it!) resilient. Likely forged by their violent past, they are relentless in every way. Persistent in selling trinkets and motorbike rides, indifferent to personal pain and anguish, and unaffected by endless back-breaking work. Bleeding victims of street accidents are treated in the “walk if off” mentality. Homelessness and poverty are unacceptable and considered the individual’s fault – they must work at something, anything to survive on their own. Fruit vendors will stalk you for a kilometer, and they’re not begging – they’re selling. The infrastructure is piss poor, but they’re working to improve buildings and roadways everywhere you look. Vietnam is a fascinating and beautiful country that is inevitably on the rise, and it’s because of the resilience of the people. During what the Vietnamese call the “American War,” General Giap told the Americans “You can kill 10 of my men for every one of yours… even at those odds I will win and you will lose.” This is their unflinching and steadfast nature, and it’s certainly an experience to witness.

Tet and Halong Bay

Holy crap – they’re attacking! Oh wait, never mind, they’re just celebrating. Tet in Hanoi was sheer madness. The crowd was as dense as I would imagine Times Square is on New Years and just as crazy. Various acrobatic performances, dragon costume shows, concerts, dudes smoking weed, women selling mice (for the Year of the Rat), kids running amok and tossing M-80s at each other… all quite exciting. The fireworks show was one of the best I’ve seen just because of its massive scale. No messing around with choreography or cutesy little shapes (although I think I saw one that looked like a cowboy hat). The entire show was essentially a huge 20 minute finale – throwing it all up as fast and furious as possible in several locations around the city. And to make it even better, there was significant crowd participation. Not “oohhhs” and “aahhs,” but additional firecrackers, screamers, fire balloons, and mortars. Totally sweet. The year of the Rat has begun.Tet builds up until midnight on Tet Eve and then everyone shuts their doors and closes their businesses for a few days of family time. Some tourist services were still up and running, however, so I hopped over to Halong Bay to boat around. The rock formations in this area are absolutely fantastic. I didn’t know anything this awesome existed, let alone right here in North-East Vietnam. There are just under 2000 limestone islands and a few dozen are inhabited. We stayed over night on Cat Ba Island and it looked to be straight out of JurassicPark – we kept expecting to see Pterodactyls flying around between the peaks. Now off to Sapa, which will be the last stop before crossing the border into Laos.