Home in Penang

Finally, after a couple months of roaming about I am finally back home in Penang. Yes, I know the last time I wrote was about Vang Vieng. I will continue with some of the stories I left out in the last couple three weeks and hopefully this time with some pictures. Unfortunately, I have been very lazy with the camera for my last 2 weeks so there hardly any pictures of my two mates - Boris and Erik whom I travelled with for almost a week plus.

I took the flight from Bangkok to Penang on the 25th November morning. It was a short, one and a half hours ride and quite different from the many 10-hour-plus bus rides I have taken. Actually, quite a pleasant experience for a change. For now, it seems that my travels have ended. The trip has not been as reflective as I would have like it to be - in that I have not found the meaning of life - but the trip was surely a lot of fun. Also, I feel like some of my perspective in life has changed. I have always liked adventure but it seems like my priorities have always been more financially related. Earn more money, be a responsible son, listen to your church leaders, be a good 'Christian'... and things along that line. Now all of that I still want to be but there is so much to see, so much life to live. I cannot just go through life being a goody-two shoes. I still am (a 'nice' person) in more ways than not but I believe that there are flexibilities and freedom in life.

That said, I still realise that without money, none of the travels would have been possible. There needs to be a good balance in using money and acquiring it. Of course, I would like to make a sh*tload worth of money. Yes and I feel that I can contribute more to society when I have money than when I am poor. Yet I can be sadly deceived as money lures and corrupts. It makes you want to covet it without you even realising it. I feel that if I put my 'chinese' business mind to it, I can start a thriving business. I should put down some guidelines to getting rich before I start off on that line. Some line to tell me when is enough and what I should do when I have reached the goal. Something to keep me moral and sane before I turn into a greedy entrepreneur. Success is so often so much more dangerous than failure, in Christian terms, because it makes you proud. It gives you the impression that you do not need anyone, not even God. Only a few exceptional characters can be successful and yet stay humble. Should this be the road that I should be striving for?

Motorbiking in Vang Vieng

On the second day while I was in Vang Vieng, I rented a motorbike to go around the place and visit some of the caves around the area. This was quite a scary experience, not because of the road conditions nor because of the traffic congestion but it was due to my lack of skill and experience on a motorbike. I have not been riding a motorbike since I was 16 and that was only around my school compound or around my residential area. The moment I started on the bike, I had a bad feeling about the whole thing because the motorbike was so crappy and I already paid my rental fee. The engine couldn't start well, the gears did not shift well and the overall feel of the bike was just bad. Fortunately, I had a very pleasant ride in the morning 25km south of Vang Vieng. It was a trip to see a big lake with small islands jutting out of it.

The mistake started when I took some people's advice and visited the Pukham caves. On the journey, the first obstacle was crossing a 200m b ridge that was four plank wide without handrails. Given my skill at the motorbike, I was constantly afraid of falling of the bridge into the river. Also there were the bridge trolls that collected about $1.50 USD for the short journey on the bridge. The price seemed quite high to me if I compared it to the price of the Penang bridge in Malaysia that is 10km long and costs millions to build and cost about the same to cross. After the bridge, it was a 6km journey on a dirt road that was so bumpy, the shock absorbers on the motorcycle fell off. Naturally, I wasn't a happy camper when I had to pay for the shocks on such a trashy bike. I had to abandon the journey and walk the last 700m because I came up to a two-plank wide bridge with gaps in between across the river. I tried to push the bike across but figured there was a 95 percent chance the bike would fall into the river. Not very good odds in my head. I finally found the cave but was down $25USD for 2 new shock absorbers. Af ter thinking about it, I guess it is a small price to pay for motorbike lessons and for coming back in one piece.

Tubing in Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng was good fun. On the day that I arrive, I went tubing with 3 British girls that I met in Vietnam. Tubing down the Nam Song river was definitely a relaxing event. It gives you an illusion that there are no cares in the world. You just drift down the river and stop by the river side 'Beer Lao' bars and have a beer or two. The bars usually set up some form of entertainment to entice you to stop - rope swings into the river, platform jumps, etc. Many, I think, get drunk before the trip ends. It was a fun and relaxing experience. In fact, this other lady who jumped on to the tuk-tuk before it went off, lost count of the number of times she has went tubing. Guess maybe she had a few 'happy' pizzas or 'happy' shakes too many. She said she lost count after the 18th time. However, one of my friends got molested by 2 innocent eleven-year old looking boys that jumped on to her tube, near the end of the trip. They jumped on, looking very innocent and cute, but started to touch her soon enough. She made good fun of it afterwards but guess we should have taught those porno kids a good lesson.

Vientiane, P.D.R - Please don't rush.

Coming in to Vientiane from Hanoi, I am hit by a complete change of culture. In Hanoi, people were very industrious. Many woke up very early. When I woke up at 7am, seems like the whole place was awoke; breakfast was on the table, people were all around rushing for work, roadside eating stores were filled with people. In Vientiane, the people running my guesthouse was still half asleep when I came down at half past 8. Things were generally slower and tuk-tuk drivers hardly bother you with going somewhere eventhough I was looking for one.

Anyway, I have been Vientiane for a few days now. I was hoping to meet up with some of the Christians from my church in Vientianne. However, the Vientiane contact I had was in Bangkok so I did not manage to meet up with any of the locals. Spent my days visiting temples, parks and museums around Vientiane. Spent 2 days staying with some really budget travellers so I spent only $10 a day. And that was because I ate $5 for breakfast and dinner. I was staying in a real dodgy guesthouse for $1.50 a bed. After 2 days of being bitten by mosquitoes and facing dirty toilets and unclean bed sheets, I had enough and moved on to a $5 a day room. Not the best place but very clean and the owner seems to have an obsession with killing bugs - a real luxury compared to the rathole that I had to endure for the past 2 days.

Vientiane does not seem like a popular place for the tourist. Most of the tourist stops here for a day or two and move off. Half of them don't even make an effort to see the popular sights in Vientiane. Many just come here for visas or official business. They probably would rather spend their days in Luang Prabang. Overall, Vientiane is a slow, quiet and beautiful city overlooking the Mekong River.

Halong Bay, the pearl of Vietnam

People say if you go to Vietnam, you must visit Halong Bay. They are right. It is a beautiful part of Vietnam. Thousands of little islands sticking out from the sea and many small caves around, the scenery is simply magnificent. The boat ride was also serene. I stayed only 1 night on the boat. A little rush but then that gives an excuse to return to Vietnam some time later, if ever. Also I missed Sapa, a northern town in Vietnam very popular with the tourists, because of the budget constraint. Had a lot of time on the boat just chilling out on my boat.On other boats, it could just be a big long party. Some of these travellers seem to come on holidays just to have a long party. Some get pissed so many nights that the holiday is recovering from one hangover after the other. Not trying to judge them but having a hangover on Halong Bay just didn't seem too fun. You'd just miss most of the trip. But then what do I know about hangovers since I've never had one.

Backpackers in Nam

I rushed through Hoi An, Hue and Hanoi as there was still quite a lot to see and I thought I should go a little faster. While I was in Hue, I cycled to and around the Old Citadel and the purple city with this Japanese girl, Haruko as she was also travelling alone and we were going to the same places in Hue. It is funny how you meet back different people who are backpacking because many are doing the same route. I met Jonny and Kate in Hue again after saying goodbye to them in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I sat with them through the awful, rickety bus ride to Siem Reap from the Thai border. They were with a huge group of Europeans who seemed to be drinking through the night and most of the day. A really fun bunch comprised of Swedes, British, Irish & French. At the end of the day, they were a little too 'party going' for me so I had too sneak of to Halong bay on my own. There were so many Europeans travelling in Vietnam but I was surprised that I hardly met any Americans as the American dollars go rather far around this region. Also they were many Australians and Japanese along the route. Many of the Japanese are travelling alone. I finally met a Singaporean (uncle) who was backpacking in Hanoi. He just came from China and was boasting about how cheap the food was in China. How typical - Europeans would have talked about how beautiful the place were and the people that they met. Singaporeans - a die-hard fan for the bargains. Okay not all Singaporeans, but many. I kid you not.