Laos

I have naively in the past collectively called all the 'temples' temples. Of course there are many nuances that I have failed to pick up on which are crucial in separating a pagoda to a wat. However, for the time being there were mainly pagodas in Vietnam and there are mainly wats in Laos. We visited several of them in Vientiane and then more later in Luang Prabang.


To say the wats were particularly inspiring would be an aggrandisement. I thought they were interesting but at the same time I found the ostentatious nature of them slightly ironic given they  represented a culture that stresses its displeasure with western ideals. The white temple 'wall of hell' is something I'll talk about next time but for now I'll tell you Kung Fu Panda, Neo and Converse Shoes all featured.


We spent a couple of days in the infamous town of Vang Vieng, where the priggish traveller is confronted with the hedonistic explorer. Thankfully it isn't mutually exclusive and you can enjoy the 'tubing' without taking 'happy milkshakes' and admire the incredible scenery without wearing an anorak and a superior frown on your face. Tubing is the divisive activity which everyone talks about. It involves renting out a rubber ring, drifting down the Nam Song river and stopping off at various bars as you go.


It was a great day, we went with the group of people we were travelling with and had our first real experience of monsoon torrential rain. You tended to drift down as a group and at one point we had over 40 tubes all connected, meandering its way through the landscape. It was one of those surreal moments where you looked around you and struggled to believe you were actually there. Mountains and never-ending green forests lined the river on either side while you seemingly drifted into the middle of nowhere watching the sun go down.


After a couple of days in Luang Prabang, which included our brilliant Snake and Dog barbecue, we caught a long boat to travel along the Mekong river heading for the Laos/Thailand border. It was a relaxing couple of days with stunning scenery following us as we went. The time was spent honing my  cribbage skills against Joe and reading The Great Gatsby which was subtlety provocative. We have a few days in Northern Thailand before heading off to Singapore.


Words:
Aggrandisement - The act of increasing prestige or power
Prig - A self righteous overly moralistic person

Vietnam

A country is special when you find its most simple activities as beautiful as some of it's most lauded natural wonders. It was austere yet overwhelming. A place where everything appeared chaotic yet strangely peaceful. People just seemed to be content.

We roughly followed the Top Gear route starting in Saigon and finishing in Hanoi. As a general rule there is usually a distinct difference between the rural areas and cities of a country, each having a different vibe and a antithetic set of people. Vietnam felt different, there was a mellowing stream following us up North. The peculiar allure of the hustling cities was found in equal measures in the distant countryside. The flow of the traffic meandered into never ending paddy fields.

We only planned our time here half way through our trip and I'm really glad we did. It felt cultural but youthful at the same time. A country with strong heritage and a young population - the average age being 27.  Every place had something slightly different to offer in addition to the usual museums, temples and markets. Freedom to explore the dusty, country roads was something I thoroughly valued.

Learning about the severe realities of the Vietnam war was a humbling experience. I was embarrassed I knew so little. I don't understand it. Ignoring the highly questionable motives, the use of Agent Orange, amongst other chemicals, was one of the most cruel legacies the war left. It broke international law and it still effects babies today - over 40 years after it was deployed - as the chemical damages and disfigures up to the 3rd generation. 

As we explored we met happy and optimistic faces. Yes, the Americans and French aren't welcomed with completely open arms but any resentment and bitterness has been replaced with a desire for a better future. Countries often begrudgingly focus on their past, Vietnam is looking in the other direction.

Over night trains were something we were new to. Apparently we stayed in first class although I was never truly convinced. Ignoring the insects and cockroaches it had two traveler luxuries: 1) Relative Comfort 2) Privacy. Lying in your own secluded cabin you could happily ignore the noisy, bumpy train ride and put the Kindle to full use. Taking a break from novels I have caught up with some of the periodicals I keep track of, The Atlantic and The Economist being my favourites.

Highlights from the last 11 days include ever riskier ventures into the world of street food, serene bike rides into the country and the expansive Halong Bay. I hope Laos and Thailand match the high standard set in Vietnam as we continue to travel through SE Asia.


Words:
Austere - Basic or simple, Stern or severe
Antithetic - Sharply contrasting

Hong Kong

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain

It is near impossible to go away travelling and not have your mind opened to scores of new ideas and ways of life. The juxtaposition of the different places we have visited has polarised the individual cultures that we have been fortunate to encounter. A clear example of this happened last week when we moved from the tranquillity of Fiji to the mayhem of Hong Kong.

Negotiating intense public transport, classic tourist points and obscure food made up a lot of our time. Going to Stanley in the South of Hong Kong island was one of my favourite excursions. It was one of the few places where you could see the British influence and this picturesque market town was a great escape from the main city.

The architecture in Hong Kong is not presented in a grandiloquent way but simply through size and stature. Thousands of incredibly high buildings packed tightly together with an unspoken acknowledgement of its own gravity is enough to create a slightly domineering effect. Impressive in one sense, it lacks poise and eloquence in another. Getting lost in the city has again made me realise that it's the idiosyncrasy of home which I value more. Black and white Tudor buildings, cobbled streets, crumbling Roman walls and a lazy river provoke much warmer feelings than the intimidating, grey and antisocial background I often found in Hong Kong.

The food is not something I discountenanced but it will take me longer to fully adapt to the Asian cuisine while I still have a bit of a hangover from America. The fun game of Chinese roulette gave us some interesting meals but without wanting to demean this culinary genre, most meals fall into two general categories: meals with rice or meals with noodles. Having made this initial decision you move into the more varied meat section which on a good day has a wider choice of four: chicken, pork, beef and shrimp. These eight meal choices weren't sufficient to sustain me for all three meals so I often retreated to the global safe haven of McDonalds. McDonalds shares a love/hate relationship with travellers. On one side you are cheating the system and not fully engaging in local culture (although you will find the majority of the locals in there) and on the other side it represents guaranteed 'decent' food, cheap prices and free wifi. On most occasions I unashamedly fell into the latter category but on every day I risked my health on at least two street food meals.


The first two nights we couchsurfed in Kennedy Town, in the West of the city. On the second two we stayed in the infamous Chungking Mansions. This was recommended to us by a couple in Fiji and while they said it was terrible they also said it was a must to do. We decided to overlook the terrible part and decided to stay in this rabbit warren in the heart of Kowloon. Home to over 120 nationalities, the place is constantly full of activity and people. When we arrived at the airport with all our items intact and with our health in relatively good order, I can look back and call it a positive experience!

It was enjoyable to explore the city and no doubt I will return to it equipped with a more cultivated perspective. Next stop is Vietnam.


Words:
Idiosyncrasy - A peculiarity
Discountenance - To show disapproval

Fiji

Travelling can actually be quite hard work! We were fortunate to be able to stop off in the Pacific to have some time off the road and prepare ourselves for the busyness of Asia. A diminishing bank account prevented the standard Gap Yah island hopping to the Yasawas and instead we stayed on the quaint coral coast on the South of the main island.

Of course we couldn't escape a bit of culture and we spent our first 2 days in a place called Viseisei which is the oldest village on the island. We were staying with a traditional Fijian family and despite waking up to stinging bites it was an enlightening, enjoyable experience. On our first day we had the privilege of being invited to have Kava with the chief and the village hierarchy. Kava is the traditional drink of Fiji and it had both the taste and appearance of muddy water. Of course it would have been a major faux pas to reject it and with a feigned smile I downed my overly generous portion.

Our second taste of culture came a few days into our stay on the coral coast. A local Fijian, who worked as the barman, had been encouraging a few of the Westerners to accompany him in supporting his village's rugby team. They had reached the island cup final for the first time in their history so 'Nasikawa' were thoroughly determined to enjoy the occasion. After persuading 6 of us to come, we started the day with little idea of what would await us. We quickly worked out that our role in the days proceedings was to provide the petrol money; In return we were accepted as part of the Nasikawa family and were 'treated' to the craziest forms of transport I had experienced on my trip so far which was no mean feat. 53 people crammed into the 15 seater truck on the way there and we were soon hurtling down the dusty, bumpy Fijian roads at top speed. Mentally and physically drained we then watched the match which was being held  somewhere in the North of the island. It was a whitewash victory for my team with the Fijians being as brutal and relentless as you can imagine. After a lengthy Kava ceremony we found out that we had been upgraded for the journey back. Our transport this time taking the shape of the raucous team bus. Fiji continued to have different interpretations of transport capacity to the West and after making sure there was no more air to breathe or space to move in we set off for home. The players were in high spirits and were eagerly passing round a lethal home made liquor. With no exaggeration all 6 of us agreed it was the worst drink we had ever tasted, even worse than Kava. House music was pumping out of the surprisingly decent sound system and the players were taking it in turns to show off their adventurous dance moves. If Carlsberg did team buses...

The rest of the week was spent recovering from this and making ample use of the snorkelling and kayaks. It was an enjoyable week and it was good to get some time to reflect on the previous few months as well as plan for the upcoming Summer. The best acquisition of the trip has easily been a Kindle Touch bought in San Francisco which, apart from relieving the burden of books from my bag, has given a much needed new focus for my spare time. War and Peace, the acme of all novels, has comfortably been the best thing I have ever read. I'm nearing the end of it now having been working my way through it for the past month and I can recommend it to anyone who is willing to persevere and reap its benefits. 

Hong Kong is in sharp contrast to the slow way of life we have just come from. With our batteries charged we are looking forward to the hectic challenge of over month in South East Asia.