Closing the Book on Asia; Loving Marjie's 'Hood

I spent the past four days experiencing the magic of Vietnam that Marjie has been writing about in her blog for the past eight months. I've been living vicariously, reading about the castle, her neighborhood, her school, the amazing food, her new friends, the Bum Bum and Nam. Marjie is a friend from Seattle who decided to come live and teach in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) starting last August. Our journeys embarked at about the same time, and we've been voyeurs into each other's worlds through our blogs. So it is appropriate that you have to be a voyeur into her amazing world (http://marjiebowker.blogspot.com/2009/03/pams-top-ten-list.html) read about my thoughts on and experiences in Saigon in the previous three blog posts, the last one authored by me!


For now, I am going to use this space to reflect on Asia, and my parting impressions of six and a half months traveling in Nepal, India, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. (You can click on the country's name to go back to read my more thorough blog posts on each country. Unfortunately, I'm not able to access my photo library right now so see the individual blog posts for images.)


Before this trip, my only impressions of Asia were formed in high school during a two week trip to Japan and Hong Kong. But I know now that you can not stereotype Asia, or any other continent I am sure. Each country is so unique - culture, clothes, food, music, landscape - and the people so different!


Nepal is absolutely beautiful, and somewhere that you have to go if you have any interest in hiking and the outdoors. It allows you to peek into the lives of the rural villagers as you trek through the mountains, experiencing the majesty of the Himalayas. Perhaps because Nepal was my first destination I hold a special place in my heart for it, like a first born. But what I think actually happened is that Nepal woke my Spirit. I can almost cry thinking about the loving, warm, generous people of Nepal. Though they are poor, unlike India they really don't have any concept of wealth so you don't feel like they are desperate when they see you for the Western lifestyle of abundance. And, it is a great country for women traveling alone.


India calls me back in a way that none of the other countries I've visited do. As much as I loved Nepal, I feel like I got to see it and know it, from the peaks of the Annapurna to the flatlands of the terai. But in India, I feel like I need at least another three months to see what I want to see and learn what I want to learn. India gets under your skin, and infects you with an appreciation of beautiful chaos. There my open Spirit was like a sponge drinking it all in. I could not get enough! And honestly, would have stayed the rest of my time there if my visa hadn't been expiring. Just the other night I finally got to see Slumdog Millionaire and it gave me goosebumps. Though it was filmed in Mumbai, I could feel the energy, the joy, the poverty, the paradox of all of India. I am glad that I wasn't traveling alone here. Not that it would be impossible for sure, but certainly I didn't feel as safe as I did in Nepal, though luckily I escaped any scary situations. But mostly, I am so glad that I had Gerdien to share so many of my experiences because otherwise no one would ever understand or frankly believe the things I saw!


Then it was off to shiny, clean, organized Thailand. Perhaps being in Nepal and India for five and a half months tainted my perceptions, but I really didn't love Thailand like everyone told me I would. It was too Western for it's own good, and the true essence hard to find. At one time, maybe 20 or 30 years ago I think Thailand was a beautiful country with the culture and beauty that I was expecting to walk into. But now it exists too much for the tourists, and that gives it a positively sanitary, safe feeling. Needless to say, I wasn't sad to leave nor would I choose to return to Thailand again.


Laos was raw, unplugged and unfiltered. While there is a tourist culture for sure, there is also a beauty and magic that is so pure and joyful. You needn't go far past the tourists to see what Laos really is. It's a relatively small country (6 million versus India's 1.2 billion) so most of the people live in very small towns and villages. The beauty of the mountainous northern region was staggering, and I will never forget to happiness of the people! Laos is definitely a country that I would recommend to anyone with an adventurous spirit, and I can't wait to get back myself.


Because I only spent seven days in Siem Reap, I hardly feel like I can comment authoritatively on Cambodia. What I do know is that Cambodia has a sadness that permeates the culture. Perhaps it is the poverty, but most likely it is the legacy of the Khmer Rouge era in which an entire generation, nearly 1/5 of the population, was killed in the mid-1970's. The people are soft and gentle, the culture is survivalistic (new word?) and the landscape is rather flat. This is a country in need of some serious NGO work, and luckily there are groups like Cambodia We Care who are really taking an interest in rebuilding this war-ravaged country.


I can't say that I have impressions of Vietnam. Rather, I got a peek into a microcosm of Saigon, and more specifically into Marjie's world. I loved my experience here, and indulged my way through her neighborhood - especially at the Bum Bum! It was wonderful to connect with home, cry with someone who knew Sadie, and experience small town life in a great big city. While Saigon is probably not a place I would necessarily want to come back to, Marjie's little neighborhood is a place that I could call home. It is a divine slice of heaven!

Next on the agenda: after a military time mistake (20:30 is 8:30 pm Pam, not 10:30! Doh!) and missing my flight to Berlin to meet my mom (Sorry Mom! It was a completely idiotic but honest screw up) I am off to try to book a new flight to meet up with Mom. We will have nearly two weeks to reconnect, laugh and experience the Western world together.

With love,
Pam