Never try, never know!

Vacation is great, but traveling is a different story all together. Making the adventure a lifestyle has opened me to many different experiences and situations I otherwise would not have been in. This choice to travel in SE Asia was more than just a chance to get away for an extended time; It is an opportunity to understand different cultures, lifestyles and beliefs so hopefully I can come away understanding my own much better. Rather than getting away, it feels more like diving in.

Life on the road has already been a very rewarding experience. I have met many interesting people along the way. Sometimes these friendships last just a couple hours, sometimes for several days. But the connections made while abroad are instantly strong and it's easy to open yourself to others that you've met just a few minutes before. It is easy to find like minded people from varied cultures when everyone is seeking an adventure half way across the world. 

Asia has so much good food that it's easy to be excited for every meal. Even small towns have a food cart on every corner and it's easy to eat the local favorites for under $2 (most of our meals combine for $5-$7). The cheap food is not only easy on the budget but provides a much more enjoyable experience. Sitting amongst locals and ordering your meals through the chef is a great setting to try something new. Resort restaurants aimed at providing the western luxuries make it easy to remain within your comfort bubble, with a higher price tag for arguable lower quality food. The 60 year old man who has been cooking just one noodle dish on the same street for 40 years knows how to make it right, while the restaurants appeal to customers with hundreds of choices, choices they also have at home.

SE Asia is predominantly Muslim, but the only time I have felt any judgement is when a Muslim man with a neatly trimmed beard laughed with me and told me my beard was looking pretty shaggy. One of our drivers also explained to me that I would have a much happier family if I were to marry several women (a common practice in Asia). Otherwise everyone has greeted us with a smile. All English accents sound the same to non-native speakers and they only know our nationality when we tell them. Most are impressed, not many Americans travel here the way Erin and I do. Some express their apprehensions towards American foreign policy, but it's never personal, and I am proud that several have told me they were wrong to make so many assumptions before meeting an American.

However, being in new environments almost every day can be a bit taxing on my wits. Every choice becomes a decision in which you must weigh the varied options available. I quickly learned how indecisive I can be, and how to be more observant in order to make each action a choice rather than a reaction. This applies to meals, the days activities, places to go, where to sleep and whether or not we can afford another round of beers. 

In the first 50 days I have made some regrettable choices, the results of which haven't been detrimental but rather a chance to learn what what I like and dislike about the phenomenon of travel. Which places to spend my money and which areas we will be able to experience the cultures in a candid environment. 

Several years ago I read the book "Travel as a Political Act" by Rick Steves, the famous PBS travel show host, and it did a great deal to shape my desire to travel (it's an easy enlightening read and I suggest it to everybody, whether they expect to travel or not). In the book he outlines the difference between vacation and travel...

"I believe that to many Americans, traveling still means seeing if you can eat five meals a day and still snorkel when you get into port... But I am not condemning cruise vacations. I'm simply saying I don't consider it "travel". It's hedonism. (And I don't say that in a judgemental way either. I've got no problem with hedonism.... after all, I'm a Lutheran.) Rather than accentuate the differences between "us" and "them," I believe travel should bring us together."

"Ideally, travel broadens our perspectives personally, culturally and politically. Suddenly, the palette with which we paint the stories of our lives has more colors."

Thailand: the beast in the east.

Well, the last ten days have been pretty hectic.

The island of Langkawi was beautiful. We rented a scooter one day there and explored different beaches and trails. We went to ride the worlds steepest cable car, but it had been closed that morning due to technical issues. The vibe was pretty laid back and was generally pretty affordable. After 4 nights there we took off for Thailand! Our 4th country of the trip and hour home for the next 2 months.

We booked our travel ticket through our guesthouse, we paid him for the entire trip and he arranged for a cab to pick us up at 8am. After the taxi and the boat to main land, we rode in a flat bed across town, waited 90 minutes for a bus ride, then in a tuk-tuk to a travel agent, waited an hour for a van, drove to a car ferry, got stuck in a traffic jam, took another car ferry before we arrived in Koh Lanta 13 hours later! 

And.... Koh Lanta was not what we had anticipated. We read many things about the amazing beaches, which they most definitely are. But there was no sign of life away from the beach front resorts. Most food was westernized with western price tags. Our expenses gave us some anxiety and we quickly decided to cut our island hopping short. We stayed 3 nights, then took a boat to Koh Phi Phi for 2 nights.

Koh Phi Phi's geography is astoundingly dramatic. However, the town is built for parties and clubbing. Not exactly what I am looking to experience on the other side of the world. But we knew that's what we would find there and had already decided to "do as the Romans do". We teamed up with a couple Aussie's and lived it up both nights.

Now I am at Tonsai beach on mainland Thailand. It's very relaxed here. There is only one dirt road running through town. It's considered one of the best winter climbing locations in the world. It feels a bit more like the Yosemite Valley than the beach front clubs of the previous stops. We will be posted up for some time as we await the arrival of Jesse and Jessi Timm, and Micah and Jamie Lichte. 

You room, room, room?

Our time in the Cameron Highlands was great. The town attracts many backpackers but not many tourists. Almost everybody we met had been on the road for at least a couple weeks. It's a popular hiking location and definitely reminded me of Estes Park, just smaller and with less Cowboys fans. I got a chance to drive in my dream car too, the Land Rover Defender 110. The Highlands actually have more Land Rovers per square mile than anywhere else in the world (the picture above is the day we left our guest house when there happened to be 4 of them in front of our building)! The Land Rover ride took us to the highest road in Malaysia and up into a lookout tower. We went to a tea farm and got to have a fresh cup in their cafe which is perched at the top of the plantation.

After 4 nights in the Cameron Highlands we hopped a bus to Georgetown on the island of Penang. The city was built by the Dutch, and many of the original structures still stand. In fact, most of our time there was spent in the huge area that is protected from development. The streets are narrow and busy with a different shop in every building. Georgetown is renowned for it's street food, and we definitely took advantage of the opportunity to eat at incredibly cheap stalls. It's not hard to get a filling Indian breakfast, coffee and all, for $1.50 USD. We rented a scooter for the day and explored the island, we got to see some places that not many others do, and we had fresh fruit and coconut water at a mountaintop farm. 

We also have a knack for finding the cheapest beer. We heard of one small shop that had a good selection and searched it out. It was simply another store front with two fridges full of drinks and a couple tables in the alley. We pulled up some chairs to some younger locals and introduced ourselves. We quickly started a lengthily conversation with a Sri Lankan immigrant, we talked about how our homes are much different and how we as people are much the same. 2 of his friends showed up and we sat talking for hours. We made a plan to go fishing the next night. Many people fish throughout the night time here and we were mostly focused on having fun and playing bongo music. We didn't catch anything, but we had an awesome time. We continued to meet up with our 3 Sri Lankan friends for the last 2 nights of our 5 night stay. We became good friends and we hugged them all before saying our final farewell. 

Yesterday, we took a 3 hour boat ride to the Island of Langkawi. After over a month on the road, we finally made it to the beach! This place is beautiful and relaxing, I will update more photos later. I suppose relaxing on different beaches is mostly what we will be doing for the next month or so. Not a bad way to spend the winter!