Another Travel Story

Since Daniel and I have spent the last 57 days traveling together and today is our last day together, we thought it would be fun if I wrote an entry reflecting on our adventure through Southeast Asia.

After living in Korea for one year teaching English, I decided to do some traveling through the glorious contient I had been living on. I headed first to Bali, then to Singapore, then Malaysia then finally to the land of all lands: Thailand. 

In this glorious land of lands, I met a sound group of people at a pretty sound hostel called Pak-Up. They all met on Ko Phi Phi the previous week and were already tightly bonded. Luckily, they had room in their hearts for one more. In Krabi we all did some kayaking and let our inner child come out at the carnival each night playing balloon dart games. We also indulged in heaps of pad thai, one too many Chang's and of course, some buckets. 

From Krabi we all headed to Ko Phangan for the Full Moon Party which was a crazy time for all of us. Some of us got really sick (myself included) and some of us had a little too much fun (no names will be mentioned here :P). From Ko Phangan I left the Krabi- Crew and went to Ko Phi Phi. I later met some of the Krabi-Crew in Bangkok. 

From Bangkok the group split even more. Left was Daniel, Fritha, Rob and myself. We took an overnighter and headed to the north (Chiang Mai) for some relaxation and elephant riding. After that, the final split was about to take place. Fritha and Rob went their way, and Daniel and I headed to Chiang Rai to cross into Laos the following day.

We crossed into Laos (which is easier than buying a chocolate bar at the 7/11). We stayed in Huay Xai for one night and then went on The Gibbons Experience. The Gibbons Experience is one of my best memories on my trip. We zip lined through the Bokeo Jungle and slept in a treehouse. A REAL treehouse. Built on the biggest tree in that jungle. 

Daniel decided to take the slow boat to Luangprabang and I wanted to explore the north of Laos a bit more, so we parted for a few days. (He probably also took this time to regain some of his sanity after spending so much time with my crazy self). We met again in Luangprabang and it was a happy day. It was even happier the next day when we met up with a fellow Krabi Crew member: Max. Luangprabang was a really unique city. It's colonial architecture mixed with the slow-paced lifestyle makes you forget that you are right smack-dab in the middle of Southeast Asia. We met some cool people that we were lucky enough to meet again later on our journey.

So Daniel, Max and I went ventured down to Vang Vieng, did some river tubing, feffed around a little, and then split from Max the next day. He was heading home in a few days and we were heading to the 4000 Islands for the holidays. 

The 4000 Islands were a blast. The culture of this island is so different from the islands we visited before. There's one main road. The only vehicles that use this road are motorbikes and bicycles (besides the odd tuk tuk truck). Along this road are restaurants and bungalows looking out onto the river. There are two sides to this island: the sunrise side and the sunset side. We stayed on the sunrise side, which was 10 minutes from the island centre. We stayed in a cheap bungalow with a straw-matressed bed, offering nothing but hamocks, silence (except for the morning rooster calls), good food and good company. It was here that we met a good pal named Nithun. He was really happy and made us happy as well. Along with a buddy from Luangprabang, we did some river tubing and on Christmas Eve day we went on a kayaking trip to see river dolphins. 

Christmas didn't feel like Christmas, but it's one I'll always remember because it felt like any other day. I was happy to spend it with good friends. 

After Christmas day, we headed to Cambodia. We had a long, long day of traveling and were plesantly surprised when we arrived at our hotel and it was AMAAAAZZZZING! So clean, great staff, comfy bed, TV and good wifi. Like a dream I tell ya, like a dream. 

We spent the next few days discovering the temples of Angkor Wat. New Years Eve was fast approaching and we thought "what better way to spend New Year's Eve than on a beach?" So, we did. Took the overnighter to Sihanoukville and plopped ourselves on loungers by the ocean as soon as we got there (because our we couldn't check into our hotel yet). On the day of New Year's Eve we went on a party boat. We thought it was going to be a rager, but the only thing party-esque about this party boat was the name of the party boat which is Party Boat. Our fellow partiers were not very social and the children weren't big drinkers. The current was too strong to head onto the island where the fun was to happen, people complained and we turned around and got our money back. It was for the best though, as I figured out that I get seasick and was lying on the floor practising my yoga breath trying not to show everyone what I ate for lunch.

New Years Eve was special and probably the most pivotal point of mine and Daniel's friendship. We always knew that we had a connection, but this was when we realized that we were more alike and that our friendship was more special than just a travel buddy friendship. It's a real learn from each other, get mad at each other, laugh with each other, talk about anything with each other and always have each other's back kind of friendship. 

A few days later we went to Phenom Phen in Cambodia and then left for Vietnam. Vietnam was one of the places I was most looking forward to traveling through, although I had heard it's also one of the most annoying countries to travel through (which is true). There are people literally at your ear, in your face, at your feet (trying to shine your shoes) everytime you leave your hostel. I knew that in Southeast Asia (and most tourist countries) people see you as a walking dollar sign, but Vietnam really puts the icing on the cake for this. The first tour we went on was good, but the second was awful. The tour guides blatenly ask you to tip them and the bus drivers, even though you already pay to go on the tour. At this point of my trip, i was losing it a little and even lost it a little on a tour guide. Luckily, Daniel stayed calm through the few days i was breaking down and helped me through it to contiue on our way. 

We stopped in Nha Trang on our way from Ho Chi Minh to Hoi An and spent the day at a spa. It was a much needed and glorious day of relaxation. We had a mud bath, a mineral bath and then lounged all day and swam in the hot pool and cold pool. Hoi An was a really cool city (both weather and scenery wise). We met a really nice couple and went bike riding with them (as well as shared a few glasses of 3000 dong fresh beer)! 

Daniel and I stopped in Dong Hoi on our way up north and went to Phong Nha- Ke National Park to see the caves. These caves were unreal. It's hard to beleive that they are natural (although I have no doubt that they are) because they look perfectly scultped. No picture could do them justice. This was a great day too because we met some lovely people on the trip. We met a couple from Holland and a girl from Australia. 

We only spent a day in Dong Hoi because my travel time was coming to an end. We took the overnighter to Hanoi (where we met the Dutch couple again) and then headed to Halong Bay the next day. Halong Bay was beautiful and we had great company. Yuroon and Sophie (Dutch couple) came on the same trip as us and we met another couple from England and the U.S. 

Halong Bay was pretty hazy and chilly and we heard Sapa was even worse (which was our next and last stop) so Daniel and I fled to Malaysia. So now, we are in Kuala Lumpur, which is one of my favourite cities I've visited, and I am writing this as the clock ticks our time together away. 

This post is what it is; another travel story. But if you read between the lines, you can see it's more than that. It's about two people from completely different backgrounds with different interests and a different life, meeting and going on the journey of a lifetime together. Most people traveling alone meet people here and there along the way. If you travel alone (which I encourage you to do) you may be lucky, like we were lucky, to meet someone going your way, the whole way. For me, having this experience was life changing and being able to share this life changing experience with someone so special, well, that was just pure luck.