Arrivederci Asia

Bangkok, Thailand

We’ve now spent around 7 weeks in Asia, hopping across from India, via north and south Thailand, Cambodia and North Vietnam. It feels the right time to move on. Our memories of Asia are very mixed, from the highs of Vietnam’s Homestay and The Dragon Legend to the lows of hospitalisation in Cambodia. In general, we have seemed to embrace the culture, but at other times stay far away and have a pizza. It’s a tough adjustment and at many times the frustration that doesn’t exist in Europe may get you down, so learning to adapt and understand is part of the journey, I don’t think however it changes you as a person. We’ve certainly come to appreciate Europe and the western culture more, but probably one of the biggest cultural differences that we feel needs to spread to the western world is that of Buddhism. It’s not as though we are going to become Buddhists tomorrow, but I do believe we would benefit from more teachings to why this part of the world admire Buddha so much. Our historic knowledge has improved and we’ve gained a great awareness into how it operates, but in terms of something unique, it’s hard to come by. Many products and services are a copy of one another, markets are not always cheap and there will always be people, despite their Buddhist beliefs, that will still try to rip you off. Caution is an important word for the westerner, one that would sum experiencing Asia, but at the same time, it’s important to get out your comfort zone, leave the McDonald’s (we never went to one by the way) and go try a Kao Pat Kai, after all, it’s not everyday you have a bath with an Elephant. You will meet your kind souls, and in our case we had one in the beginning and a lovely lady at the end who managed to negotiate a taxi for us without even asking. For now Arrivederci Asia, as our journey continues to Australia. We loved our time, but my goodness, I need to see a road sign in English, a shop assistant that doesn’t pounce and the ability to order jam that doesn’t turn out tasting like marmalade. Other Mentions: – Vans drive around Thailand playing loud music advertising who knows what – If you are a couple, you are officially married in Asia – ironic really seen as hostels still keep housing us in twin beds – Massage quality really vary, yes, you do get massages for around £5-£6 but if you care for your body pay between £10-£15 and you’ll get a really good one – Communication is really an issue with Thai people, in specific taxi drivers. Due to the Thai and Latin alphabet, taxi drivers can’t seem to understand so get that destination written in Thai by your hotel. Saying that, taxi drivers actually need to be told where to go anyway, so get a GPS app and use it religiously – As the football chant goes, “There’s only one toast in Asia”, to explain myself if you ask for toast, every one wherever you go will look, feel and taste exactly the same – we like to call it ‘Air Toast’ – Another expression comes to mind when understanding elephant commands, they say “Phae Bai”, which they mean as “Go Go”, however literally translated it means “Come Go. I see where we got our expression “I don’t know whether to come or go” and understand the inspiration behind The Clash’s, “Should, I stay or should I go” #elephantconfusion