Looking back on Asia - Part 1
Five months after starting my adventures in South East Asia, now two months from finishing it, here I finally am to tell the tales of the mind-blowing, exhausting, and all in all amazing experience! I spent 10 weeks backpacking Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, a few weeks traveling with my brother Nahshon and his wife Maja, and a few weeks alone in-between backpacking along side friends made along the way. The trip was such a major, fun and life changing experience for me.
The hardest part about writing about this trip, especially a few months later is not even trying to go back and remember it all, or moving on and forgetting about it, t's still the fact that each moment there is almost… unexplainable. Unless you've been in Asia, I don't think you quite understand it. I can complain about the heat, massive cockroaches, the filth, and getting ripped off constantly, laugh about the annoying tuktuk and moto taxi drivers, and rave about the beaches, street food and beauty of the countries, but it's all just a story to others, an image, a thought. I suppose I like it that way. Everybody's experience in one place is different from the next persons, and I like holding onto my experience, and remembering it as I was living in it. I hardly told my stories to even my family, and when I made a short visit back home, I didn't extend details, my trip was "amazing" and that was that.
Asia was such a chaotic beautiful mess, and in the midst of it all I broke down several times, doubting my will to continue my trip as it sometimes became to much, to much stress and worry, to much chaos, noise and people, to much to handle, it wasn't easy. But, I carried on and finished my planned trip, and from the moment I stepped into that airport in Ho Chi Ming City, Vietnam at the end of my trip, I already missed it all.
So from the moment I left, I was already day dreaming about going back, throwing myself back into the chaos, and exploring so much more! Lately I have been reminiscing over all my photos and racking up the stories and memories from Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, that I have finally came to write about it!
I wont go into every little story from my trip because, well frankly that would be boring for anyone reading this, and I'm happy holding onto those memories for myself and the people I shared them with. So, instead, I give you a bit of perspective from my eyes of Asia!
Thailand… first things first.. coulter shock! I know there are plenty more places in the world so much more crazy and different then Thailand, but for me, this was the first time I was thrown into a world of men peeing on the streets casually, homeless families BBQing massive rats in the gutters, monkeys, scams, INSANE traffic, elephants, monks and everything else that sums up Asia, so I was blown away!… So, Welcome to my Thailand!
I honestly don't even now how to describe Thailand really. The only way I can sum up a wonder through the streets, jungles and cities I did, is through these photos, to pinpoint Thailand, from a first glance, what I stood out to me...
First things noticed in a wonder through Thailand:
The people. You'll definitely notice the people. The mass amount of people, from locals to tourist, EVERYWHERE. One of the things I miss the most is wondering down the road and always seeing locals sitting in there little plastic child size chairs on the corner of every street eating.
China Town in Bangkok, Thailand
Local bus rides through Bangkok.
You'll notice the religious and cultural traditions everywhere
Traditional Thai dance in Chiang Mai
Lighting lanterns in Mae Hong Son
You'll notice the ugly side of things...
And all the strange and different things...
Whiskey bottles of motorbike gasoline outside every shop
Whitening beauty products
and MASSIVE cockroaches.. in your room
The fun, entertaining, aggravating, and stuffy street markets..
Including the interesting vendors
and the delicious food...
Speaking of food, oh the street food!
You would most definitely notice, and NOT ignore all the delicious street food, especially when your pants start fitting a little tighter and you realize you need to lay off the stir fry and fried doughnuts, mmm.
Typical 50 Baht street food breakfast in Bangkok
Look out for strange things in your food though..
Endless possibilites of new concoctions!
Endless amounts of fresh fruit
Fresh pressed sugar cane everywhere
And the all time favorite - mango sticky rice!
But sometimes you just have to give in, and eat what you're used to...
But easily, what you'll notice the most in Thailand, is just the pure beauty of everything!
All this beauty calls for endless relaxation!
So this basically sums up a quick glance into the 3 and a half weeks I spent in Thailand - food, chaos, beaches and shopping!
Wish you were there!
gummygunk
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