Tuk tuks, temples, and noodle soup....

In a nutshell, tuk tuks, temples and noodle soup represent strong themes experienced throughout my adventures in S.E. Asia. Its interesting because when I really think critically about the places we've been and the people we've encountered....the moments that have impacted me the most seem to barely skim the surface of the complex societies we've been introduced too. I guess that's the difference between passing through somewhere and really settling in for a closer look. I can't help but think that we haven't really dug into the substance of daily life here ....probably 'cause we haven't! 8 countries in 4 months -yyyeeessh!

The GDPs/capita of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam range from $800 to $1000/year, but in reality there are great inequities of distribution -this means that probably the majority of people in these countries live on far less than that, while an elite minority live on far more. For the most part, I've found that people don't let it show. Yes, -if you looked objectively- many homes are quite humble (to put it mildly), children are walking around in rags-by-western-standards and often shoeless, and families of four or five are crammed on to one moto weaving through the crazy traffic. BUT, people also wear smiles and warmly greet us (almost) everywhere we go. People are SO friendly, warm and happy that its easy to stop seeing these things. I wonder how difficult life really is for some of these people once they stop playing host and have to face the realities of their world. Or if its not? Maybe my western eyes are making assumptions that shouldn't be made.

Cambodia is the poorest of the countries we've been too. Unlike Vietnam and Laos, there are many beggars everywhere we go (more predominant, however, in the most touristy places). Our guidebook warns not to give money to children -they don't get to keep it anyway. This leaves you with a heartbreaking dilemna of what to do instead. Little girls walk around carrying their baby brothers/sisters limp in their arms and beg for money. You assume that there's some adult behind the scenes orchestrating this incredibly effective pull at your heart (and hopefully wallet) strings. For a minute, you hate. You hate the person who has sent this child out into the street without shoes, carrying a baby just because they are far more likely to recieve handouts. You hate the child who begs you to buy enfant formula, always holding an empty bottle and baby, because you're pretty sure that he/she is just going to sell it back to the store once you leave. And you hate yourself for being so cynical that even when a child begs you for $1, you stop yourself from handing it over.

It takes a lot of will power to do some important remembering. To remember that we're all human, and that most mothers or fathers would not subject their children to such lives, if not out of complete desperation. To remember that here, there are no social services -no pensions, no welfare, no EI. If that little old lady who can't quite walk properly is sitting on the ground begging for money, chances are she really needs it. Remembering that the kids probably can't afford to go to school and even if they are lucky enough to get an education, high unemployment rates make it difficult, if not impossible, to find a worthwhile job on the other end.

Remembering these things and thinking about them means facing the reality -not blocking it out. It means struggling to grasp the horrendously unjust world we live in without feeling shame for who I am or where I come from. To really do the people of S.E. Asia justice, I think we have to look past the tuk tuks, temples and (delicious) noodle soup...and attempt to see the how such warm and friendly people really live on a daily basis. I think that's probably harder to do than it seems.

The 'Nam

Right....so after the arduous trek in Luang Nam Tha, I got pretty sick. We journeyed east across Laos into Northern Vietnam. Now, if you look at a map, that doesn't seem too bad. I looks like it should be maybe 10 hrs. Actual time it took = 3 days. Yep, sick, tired and crammed into a small local minibus on the very bumpy, curvy, inconsistent roads of rural Laos. Driving here is absolutely nuts. People go in every direction all at the same time and I seriously don't know how we haven't witnessed a fatal accident yet. Going around the sharp curves of the mountainous highway through Laos, the driver would merely honk (a.k.a I'm coming, make way) and continue on. There were a couple of close calls. On our bus across the Laos-Viet border, our driver was definitely falling asleep. *Cringe* Alas, there is not much you can do. My favourite moment of our 3 bus ride was again with Mr. Sleepy. We stopped for no apparent reason and the driver's helper said "Road block, peepee time" Now, pee breaks on these journeys are few and far between and you never really know if there is going to be a toilet, a hole in the ground, or just a bush. But we had just stopped for lunch so we knew something was not right. Upon exiting the bus, we see the road ahead is blocked by huge piles of dirt and two diggers proceeding to add to the piles. Awesome. It ended up being not so bad....we only waited about an hour for the road to be cleared.

ANYWAY...Vietnam...Our first stop was Dien Bien Phu which actually wasn't very nice at all. It was where the French were defeated by the Vietnamese in 1954 so I was a bit surprised at how little there was to see. I didn't really care -still sick, I retreated to our guesthouse and slept for about 20 hrs.

Next on the itinerary was Sapa. It was a really cute (albeit slightly overtouristed) town to the North West of Hanoi. There are many hilltribe /minority villages around the area and May, Andrew and Tom (our Brit friend) did a trek to see a few. I stayed in the hotel room. :( Another GREAT thing about sapa was that it was the first time in about 10 days that there were proper restaurants with DELICIOUS FRENCH...and vietnamese cuisine. :)

After Sapa, we took an overnight train down to Hanoi. Enter crazy traffic. Basically, to cross the road you just have to walk at a slow and steady pace and hope that the hundreds of motorbikes go around you. Its mad. To turn left, cars turn into and block oncoming traffic and then just proceed to plow through the sea of motorbikes until they are more-or-less going with the flow. (*see comment above about surprising lack of fatal accidents -at least that we've witnessed)
I took Hanoi as an opportunity to finally let myself recover -I went to an international clinic which was actually very nice (a nice that you had to pay for) and an American doctor prescribed some antibiotics...wooppeee. After about 4 days stuck in a stuffy hotel room, I treated myself to a not-so-backpacker-priced cruise in Halong Bay...it was AMAZING! After which, I trained down to Hoi An to meet up with the others. Vientam is suffering from some pretty major floods right now. As a result, my overnight train ride (which was supposed to be 14 hrs) took 26. It wasn't so bad. At least I wasn't stuck on a bus.

Hoi An is a really charming town full of tailor shops waiting to take all your money. Its pretty impressive actually. You walk into a shop and point to a picture in a magazine and the next day they've reproduced a pretty exact replica tailor-made to fit you. I spent a lot of money in Hoi An. We also rented motorbikes (I know we're crazy) and went for a ride through the outskirts of the city to China Beach (where American troops landed during the war) and a place called Marble Mountain -you guessed it- marble shops EVERYWHERE....but actually a pretty cool Pagoda and some very cool caves to be explored coupled with exquisite views of Danang and Hoi An.

Now we're in Ho Chi Minh/Saigon in the South of Vietnam. People here are sooooo friendly (even compared to N. Viet) and we're having a pretty good time just exploring the city.....