Well I haven't done anything here in quite some time, have I?
I think part of the reason for this is that the last semester that I spent in Vietnam seemed so darn normal that I couldn't think of anything to really say, but it's also unjustifiable because I did do quite a bit of traveling outside of Vietnam, and that was definitely worth commenting on. Worst. Travel blogger. Ever.
My last post reported from Cambodia, and I'm sad to say that after that I went to many many other countries that I did not write about. I went on to Singapore and Malaysia after that. A few weeks later I would go to Thailand and then Hong Kong. Before I left South East Asia I would also go to Laos and then finally return to Cambodia, fly to Seoul for the longest but most pleasant layover I've ever had, and then finally reach Hawaii where my brother was living at the time. I then visited friends in California before reaching New York at last. Whew. And I wrote about none of this?! The scandal!
Perhaps the top question I get from people, after they say "what was it like?" with a slight look of embarrassment because everybody knows that is the worst question ever, is "what was your favorite place?" This question, while at least a little bit more specific, is only slightly better. I don't think I could ever choose! I do have some memories that I cherish more than others, but a favorite place? No no no.
To appease others and to make up for my blogging gap, I will now list my top five memories from outside of Vietnam.
1. The weekend market in Bangkok. Okay, just my entire weekend in Bangkok. Most people I talk to are not fans of Bangkok at all. Words I often hear are crowded, dirty, smelly. All of these things are probably true. But spend a few weeks in HCMC and then go to Bangkok, and I think you'll feel pretty differently. Heck, I was just happy to be on public transportation that wasn't a craaaazy bus ride. I'm not a huge bus fan to begin, so I was psyched when I found out that Bangkok has a subway and a sky rail. Yes!!!! It also helped that my friend Jun and I had consciously decided that for our sanity we needed to have more of an "expat" experience than a tourist one. Yes, we still had delicious street food (oh man...duck) but we treated ourselves to expat-y (as in, more western style) cafes and massages at a fancy fancy spa. And a jazz club. Oh yes. But the highlight was definitely a surprise lurking in the depths of the weekend market. This market is known for having everything. There's a section for anything you could think of, including pets. But one area has a really cool cross section of local Thai designers who are turning out some awesome stuff. I bought two t-shirts, both of which are quite strange but totally awesome. One features a giant red eyed cow drinking from a lake, the other primary colored origami dinosaurs. Jun bought a ring that looked like a ring pop. Some cool stuff is coming out of Bangkok, that's for sure.
2. Chinese New Year in Hong Kong. Yes, the fact that it was the new year meant that I missed out on a ton of othe rHong Kong attractions because lots of things were closed. But there were fireworks! And a parade! I love parades! And I also just loved Hong Kong. even if I was chilly and damp the whole time. Mountains and the ocean right next to each other? Yes please!
3. Elephants in Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai seems to be one of the places to go if you're looking for elephants. Just a warning if you ever go there, please be careful about which elephant "sanctuary" you visit. Many of them are not legitimate or treat their elephants poorly. Often places that have extensive elephant shows where they force the animals to do tricks, or places that let you ride on the elephants are also places that abuse their animals. Please look into any organization carefully before financially supporting it. I went with the Elephant Nature Park. Most of the elephants there are rescues, the only ones that aren't are the ones that were born there. If you spend a day there you can help feed the elephants, bathe them, and pet their trunks, but you cannot ride them, which I think is a good thing (elephants are often injured by being forced to carry too many tourists in a day). I just enjoyed spending time around them and hearing stories about them.
4. Food in Laos. I don't really know that much about Lao cuisine, but basically I find it to be delicious and I really can't tell you why. All I know is that I'd never had it before and that I want more of it always. I feel like it is the forgotten cuisine of SEA because the country is hard to get to and does not have a very large population, so the food doesn't get spread as much to other countries. Laap might be the most well-known dish and involves ground meat, mint, lime, chilies...and...other things, but it's only the beginning. If I'm ever back in Laos, you can be sure that I'm taking a cooking class.
5. I really don't know what to say for this last one. I looked up at my list and realized that none of the items on it reflected all of the hiking and other outdoorsy activities I did, even if there were so many amazing experiences to be had in that realm . I also haven't listed any beaches. Oh man. I would rethink this whole list but then where would I be?!?!? The problem really is that I can't pinpoint one hike, one cave, one beach, and single it out as "better than the rest". Although I will say that the beaches north of Sihanoukville, Cambodia, were beautiful, I also never got to visit a Thai beach, so there's that. I could say that kayaking in Laos was great, but what about all of the other places to kayak? What about kayaking in Halong Bay in Vietnam? And how can I really pick one Buddha in a cave over another Buddha in a cave? Yeah.
So basically when it comes to comparing the natural beauty of one place over another, I will fail every time. This is true no matter which countries we are comparing. I feel just as incapable of comparing natural beauty among South East Asian countries as I am saying that the towering hills of Laos are more beautiful than the Perito Moreno glacier in Argentina. Or one of the Greek islands. Or even the Catskills in the Fall. Everything's different, and it's all incredible.
