So our trip seems to be coming to an end...a journey estimated to take 7 months has actually taken nearly one full year. During this year we have been to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia (including Malaysian Borneo), and Indonesia. If you have been following our blog, you may know that we have seen and experienced a myriad of diverse, amazing and colorful things, the full extent of which is only known to us. Out of our whole trip, we have managed to make a top 10 list. Believe us, it was hard. It should have been more like a top 80 list, but for some reason people like lists of "10 things" (probably due to the convenience of being able to count on your fingers). So to appeal to the masses, here is a top 10 list, of which at least one entry is from each of the 7 countries we visited.
10 Best Things in Southeast Asia:
#10- Kung Si Waterfalls: (Luang Prabang, Laos) -
One's first impression of these falls is shocking - the brilliant turquoise colors of it's pools. I have never seen this shade in nature before, or since. The next shock is the beauty of the tiered falls, the forest path revealing another and yet another system of falls and pools, each more beautiful than the last. We stop to swim in the chilly waters, a welcome counter to the hot Laos sun, jumping off of high rocks and rope swings with other fun-loving tourists with the same idea as us. We enjoyed these falls so much that we came here on 2 separate days. The second day we had an invigorating hike up to the top of the highest tier, a secluded, foresty world away from the splashy tourists below.
#9- Hiking in Tanah Toraja: (Sulawesi, Indonesia) -
Seeking an escape from the culture of death and funerals that pervades this immensely interesting but often overwhelming cultural community, we trekked valiantly off into the countryside with a hand-drawn map and an eye for adventure. We were not disappointed. Following the network of roads (ranging from broken asphalt to red-clay rutted paths), we stopped to ask directions from nearly everyone we met and actually encountered several older people who don't speak bahasa Indonesia, the national language now taught in all schools. We got lost on a forest trail and saw a butterfly bigger than my two hands together and some of the strangest, most fantastical spiders imaginable. Eventually a family offered to host us for the night and we all sat in their bow-roofed traditional Torajan house and talked over dinner. In the morning we walked past a school where dozens of kids swarmed around us in ecstatic excitement at our mere presence. And there were happy buffalo everywhere.
#8- Taman Negara: (West Malaysia) -
The world's oldest rainforest, 130 million years old, untouched by human destruction, ice ages, and volcanoes. The trees tower over us like skyscrapers, their roots forming huge buttresses grasping mightily into the ground. We took a two day unguided hike into the jungle, over challenging terrain. We spent the night in a hide, and witnessed a rare Malay Tapir foraging in the clearing! Imagine a panda, elephant, and a pig all had one baby, and that's what the Malay tapir looks like. We also saw a huge monitor lizard, a hornbill, bats, and scores of leeches. The ants in this jungle were the size of one joint in my finger. We were soaked, sore and exhausted at the end of this hike, but it was so special to be in this amazing habitat.
This magical river-world captured our hearts. We visited several towns in the magnificent delta of the mighty Mekong River, taking trips on little boats to coconut candy factories and floating markets where locals come on boats loaded up with goods to trade: whole boats with nothing but coconuts, others with so many bananas, and just about every imaginable fruit and vegetable in massive bulk (there goes the onion and raddish boat!). We also went to a beautiful brightly colored temple where hundreds of massive slumbering fruit bats stirred in the setting sun and took flight under the brilliant moon, while a monk chanted and used a lotus to shower water on the praying masses for the Buddhist New Year (in April).
We spent 3 days in this incredible park, it is small, but has 5 different habitats within a few minutes walk of one another. We arrived on the beach, where we saw bearded pigs foraging for buried crabs, and counted 11 species in a single tidal pool 10 feet long. We started our hike passing through a mangrove forest, spotting the crazy looking proboscis monkeys swinging through the trees. Soon the terrain became a lush green jungle, with small streams and waterfalls winding through. Uphill we hiked, and the forest became dryer, and we spotted carnivorous pitcher plants on the ground. On the top of the mountain was a sandy grassland, with even more pitcher plants. On our guided night walk, we saw a flying lemur.
Travis' mom and sister came to explore Thailand with us and we celebrated the occasion by going to a temple and petting tigers! These magnificent creatures are so massive they could knock your head off with a playful pat. Luckily tigers are notorious cat-nappers, sleeping most of the day, and the yellow-clad staff led us by the hand from one beautiful beast to the next in the hot Thai sun. They certainly weren't sedated though, as is sometimes claimed by naysayers, as they were awoken for playtime at sunset and went romping up the valley.
We hard about this project from our good friend Nate who took a permaculture design course here. This is a community run farm with mostly expats, and we had a great time here. Every meal is communal, and the people we met, from America, India, England, Spain, Syria, Thailand, Japan, Belguim, and others were a testament to the beauty and grace of humanity. Every day we had a project, like gardening, working in the food forest, or natural building to keep us occupied, and an ample amount of extracurriculars, like swimming, visiting the neighboring farm's cafe, and therapeutic dance sessions. We really learned a lot about sustainability in our two weeks here.
Thousands of ancient temples reach for the sky from the farmer's fields of Bagan. We rented bicycles every day and went gallivanting down the road, passing dozens of impressive pointy-topped brick structures in search of the best and the brightest. Buddhist paintings 800 years old remain in pristine condition inside some of the temples, depicting tales of mythical creatures and of the Buddha's life, as explained by local experts. At sunset we'd ascend one of these spectacular structures and look out over the entire valley at the massive array of temples across the countryside----an unimaginable fount of devotion and beauty.
The splendor and majesty of these monuments cannot be described in words. First off, they're big. Second off, there's a lot of them, and they are all different and interesting in their own way. Angkor Wat, that's the star, as the biggest religious monument, and rightly so. Every surface is intricately carved with beautiful dancing nymphs, or historical scenes of war. Its the might, and the detail of the thing that makes it so amazing. Then there's Ta Prom, the forest temple, with huge tree roots growing right down on top of the temples. And the Bayon, with it's 216 giant stone faces staring out at every angle. Feel like you're being watched? These temples are so amazing that we spent 6 days touring them by ourselves, and then when Sarah's parents came to visit we did it all over again, for 3 days this time. And we still didn't see all of them!
It has been aptly described as "The Best Place Ever." This beautiful Indonesian island is home to a wonderful tight-knit community of friendly folks who welcomed us with open arms. We stayed for a full 3 weeks on this magnificent little island (as long as we spent in all of Cambodia, three times as long as we spent in any one place) learning to scuba dive and making incredible friends all the while. We saw sharks, octopuses, rays, eels, lionfish, and all manner and size of spectacular colorful fish to dazzle the eyes and mind (how did they evolve like that?!). Walking up and down the only narrow path that ran along the beach, we always ran into all our wonderful friends and a short trip turned into an all day adventure. How I long to return to these pristine green shores and convene again with the people (and fish) of Pulau Weh.
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