young, dumb and on the run

A few years ago, I hit a point where I had no idea what the hell I was doing. I was too young to really know how to fix the problem, although wisdom is a very subjective thing so even though I would do things differently now, in ten years I will think I was a dumbass back in 2012.

Anyway, I decided the solution was to run away.

Not ‘run away’ in the ten-year-old sense where you run away from home and hide out in the park until dinner time when your mum comes and picks you up, but in the sense that the idea of staying put was so overwhelming, so awful and so depressing that if I didn’t leave I would scream, tear my hair out, and probably die (or some other example of the histrionics nineteen-year-olds are prone to).

Off I went to Europe. Looking back, I like to picture it as something akin to the movie Euro Trip, with Amsterdam hash cookies, pervy Italian men on trains who say “mescuzzi” in sultry tones, and accidentally ending up in Bratislava. It wasn’t like that though. Yes, I learned how to drink beer, took up smoking like all the sophisticated European girls do, and salsa-danced with a bunch of soldiers in a nightclub in Budapest, but it was more a journey of growth than a “can’t-remember-half-of-it Contiki tour” (not that I am opposed to these in ANY way).  There were tears for sure and I learned some pretty hard lessons about people, but I also learned about my own strength which had, until that point, eluded me somewhat. I did things I would never have done before that, I went out on my own and made things work, I made friends and I lost friends, and I stood up for myself when I needed to. I guess it was my own personal form of rebellion.

As with all my travel so far, I learned a lot about myself. Seeing other cultures in action often gives you a reference point for your own life and I think travel gives you the opportunity to develop as a person. It is rare that I would go somewhere without having this in mind.

I don’t run anymore. Not everything in life is peachy but I have it pretty good now. And I know that most things can be fixed one way or another with the three Hs: Hard work, Humility and Humour.

By the way I don’t smoke any more – it was a short lived phase. Health over cool factor and whatnot. I do, however, enjoy a nice beer… But the only bloke I would salsa with is Boyfriend (and that is a big ask!)

catacombs, paris... chillin' with the dead

grandma's monkey business

We sat on the bus and thought about our trip so far.

“Are we boring?” Boyfriend asked me. I tried to answer diplomatically but the truth was… yes. We were both giant sticks-in-the-mud. We were two unimpressed old biddies out to see the world then criticise it. We had already had an altercation with a tour guide, complained about our local representative and lectured people about respecting important sites (namely, the ANZAC grave at River Kwai).

The day’s tour guide offered us the opportunity to get out and see a monkey show and, of course, we scoffed. Monkeys should only be in the wild; exploitation; can’t encourage this behaviour; yada yada yada. We weren’t paying for that!

Then came the dreaded question. “Honey, are we boring?” We compared ourselves to some of our friends. Would our friends see the monkey show? Yes. Did our friends usually seem to have a lot more fun than we did? Yes. So it was settled… We would see the damn monkey show.

We tried to enjoy it, we really did. We even had our photos taken with one of them. But we just couldn’t hack it and raced out of there as soon as it was over.

Outside, one of the girls on the tour asked if we’d been to see it and when we replied the affirmative and gave her our wrap up she said, “Yeah, I didn’t go. I don’t want to encourage that sort of behaviour.” We were put in our place!

So 400 Baht down, 30 minutes later we realised we might as well get back in the mud, because that’s where we belong.

a fun but terrible person

the getaway plan

We’d been counting down for months. We made lists. We made plans. We made more lists. What were we going to do? Where were we going to go? What were we going to buy? We were two more farangs in Bangkok and we were going to let loose.

Bangkok got us.

We’d had such a crazy month, working so hard and then both quitting our jobs (!) just before we left. We were so exhausted and stressed out - we just needed a holiday. And although we weren’t out and about every five seconds, I think this holiday was just what we needed.

The highlights:

•   Bai Pai Cooking School in Bangkok. It’s an absolute must! We were taught by Chef Noi, a contender on Iron Chef Thailand (for realz!) and her stunning assistant Darin. Best moment: When we took a picture of Chef Noi and she declared “I’m a movie star!” before Darin’s comeback: “yeah, as a stand-in for Chewbacca!”
•  The Floating Markets. The actual boat ride TO the markets is my actual highlight, but I had a great experience throughout. The fried banana chips are a real treat, and only 20Baht for a whole bag.
•  Paying our respects to the ANZACs who died as POWs building the Burma Railway. The gardens they rest in are beautiful, too.  
•        Hua Hin. We stayed at the Anantara Resort and Spa and it was such a lovely way to finish our holiday. Four nights wasn’t enough; I could have chilled out there for a month.

The low-lights:

•         A couple of rude and dishonest tour guides/reps really let the team down. We are always told that Thailand is the Land of Smiles but maybe not for all! However, we were determined not to let them ruin our day and, funnily enough, once I told them what I do for a living they were nice as pie.
•         The local kids on field trip running around and yelling in the cemetery, although I do understand that they have very different traditions when it comes to honouring the dead so they probably just thought it was a nice garden.

The neither-here-nor-there-lights:

•   The Tiger Temple. Yes, the concept is cool, but once I had a good photo I didn’t need to take a million more. The whole idea of donating to take pictures didn’t really gel with me either; I would rather just have given them a donation because I wanted to support their work. The tour guide didn’t like this much.

Fly Girl Tip: do what you want to do. Bankgok’s a big place so take each second as it comes!

houses on the River Kwai, Kanchanaburi

thailand in pictures

FACT: my photographic skills are horrendous.

FACT: this will never, ever be a photography blog.

but here are some photos anyway...

Boyfriend, who can actually take a decent photo, unlike me, gives it a go on the River Kwai.

Bridge over River Kwai (Burmese Railway), Kanchanaburi

My new friend! Tiger Temple

Boat trippin' through the canals to the Floating Markets

Our little boat

Sampling the local brew

Pretending for five minutes that we like monkeys (more on this later)

At Red Sky Bar on the top of our hotel (the Centara Grand at Central World)

Amazing nibbles at Red Sky Bar

How to handle an annoying Boyfriend

Boyfriend gets sophisticated at the pool bar

north korea WILL happen

I’m not going to get all romantic or nostalgic and say, “it’s a place I’ve always dreamed of” because it’s not. It’s not my Galapagos Holy Grail; it’s not even close. It is, however, an important piece of my World Puzzle. And one day, I’m determined to put that piece in place.

I figure, the world is what it is. As with anything, you take the good with the bad. There are two sides to every story and whatnot. But the key is always to form one’s own opinion. I understand that in North Korea, travellers are subject to propaganda and only propaganda, and it could be very hard to see how the ‘99%’ live in such a place. But even so, to witness whatever I could with my own eyes would be fantastic.

I know some people who agree with me and I certainly know some who don’t. I completely understand why it wouldn’t be on everyone’s list and I realise that timing is key. I won’t, for example, be heading there on my honeymoon or at a time where I can only take a week or when I just “need a holiday”. I’m sure it’s not that kind of place.

I guess half of the appeal is to be able to say I’ve done it, and to have the passport stamp to prove it. Plus, the following excerpt from the DFAT Smart Traveller website makes the whole thing feel a little James Bond-esque:

“Showing disrespect, including in jest, to the country's current or former leadership or their families is a crime in the DPRK. Foreigners in the DPRK are closely observed by the authorities, which may include searching belongings in hotel rooms and monitoring telephone and facsimile services…

Photographing roads, bridges, airports, rail stations, seaports, or anything other than designated public tourist sites can be perceived as espionage and may result in confiscation of cameras and film, and/or detention. Photographing scenes of poverty or other things that may cause a negative impression of the DPRK may also result in confiscation. You should ask permission before taking photographs in the DPRK, including of officials, soldiers or other people. DPRK guides can provide permission to take photographs. Attempts to engage in unauthorised conversation with DPRK citizens may be viewed by security personnel as espionage.”

My ignorant 15-year-old self would say, "pretty cool, huh?"

photo courtesy of flickr/Joseph A Ferris III and this article from businessinsider.com

perspective

Does anyone remember Couchsurfing? For those who don’t, it’s a website where you can meet other backpackers and the basic concept is that anywhere in the world you have a couch to crash on. It’s a great way of seeing the world for those on a budget, and offers the chance to hang out with locals in each place you visit. For more insight read Brian Thacker’s Sleeping Around; it’s great.

The reason I bring it up is because once, a long time ago, a young guy wrote to me from Aleppo, Syria, via the site. He was the “Ambassador” for Aleppo, which basically meant he had hosted a lot of couch surfers in his time, had a really good rating, and his passion was to show tourists around his hometown. Being 19 or however old I was, Syria wasn’t really on my to-do list yet, but I was really interested in what he had to say and I was fascinated and inspired by the passion he had for his home.

Of course, I can’t turn on the television, radio or internet now without hearing about the violence currently occurring in Syria and more recently Aleppo in particular. It always saddens me when these things go on, as they always do, and I have followed news on the Arab Spring closely (I’ve had to anyway because of my job). However, I think it’s so easy for us to be vaguely saddened by what’s happening but then to be able to ignore it because we have more important things to deal with right here.

I find myself thinking about this young man, so ecstatic about the city he was lucky enough to call home, and wondering where he is now and what he’s doing. I can only hope and pray he’s okay, and that he’s either fighting the good fight if that’s what he feels is right, or he’s in a much safer place. Either way, I hope he’s still teaching people about his country and reminding them of its place in the world.

He gave me a different perspective on a part of the world that was unknown to me, and for that I will be forever grateful. I hope thousands more are lucky enough to be given the same opportunity.

photo courtesy of Reuters

the sell out

I’ve done it. It’s true. I’ve sold out.

I finally booked August’s holiday and after all the to-ing and fro-ing, what did I book? 5-star Thailand.

It was dirt cheap, which is what I can afford. It’s Asia, which is what I love. But it’s 5-star, which is what I seem to have gotten used to and I don’t like to settle for less these days.

Once upon a time I didn’t care. I had my backpack on and as long as I had electricity and running water I was set. Once I even flirted with a hostel manager to secure a spare bed in the staff rooms after I had been left without a room in a fully-booked city. I did what I could and lived on the thrill. Now I couldn’t think of anything worse.

I’m staying away from Khao San Rd on this trip (well, it might pay to visit anyway) and I expect King beds, welcome cocktails, spa baths and 24 hour room service. My main aim in Bangkok is to acquire tailor made fashion and jewellery, then we will head down to Hua Hin to to lie on the same beach as the Thai royal family.

The silly thing is, I’m really not spoilt. Though I say I couldn’t think of anything worse, sometimes I actually feel like doing it again - because travel isn’t about the creature comforts, even though they’re nice to have sometimes. It’s about the experience, making new friends, learning new things, forming new memories. Every time I head away I come back a slightly different person because of thethings I’ve seen or done. I may get the opportunity to try the nicer places sometimes because of my job, but where I sleep is never the bit I rave about when I come back.

The purpose of this trip is to spend some much needed time away with Boyfriend. We have been working so hard and we're so strung out. Plus, this will probably be our last getaway for a while as life will be busy for the next 18 months or so, and there will be some massive expenses to boot. I just want the kind of holiday where everything's taken care of and we're free to roam around, shop, lie on the beach if we want to and not have to worry about where we're going to sleep tomorrow night.

And after writing that last paragraph, the concept isn't actually sounding too bad to me anymore...