Why? Because it was on the way! – Experiences from a trip around the world

Alright, so after having met so many great English-speaking guys on our journey in southeast asia that want to know what we’re up to in the future (on top of those we already knew before we started the trip), we decided to also do a little blog in English. If you should find any mistakes, grammar, vocabulary, spelling, etc….. well, then that’s too bad and you’ll just have to live it ;-)
Unfortunately, it took as two months to reach that decision so here’s a quick (really, I promise it won’t be long!) look at what we saw and experienced in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Of course we’ll be more than happy to discuss it with you at length over a beer when we meet the next time. So, here we go:
Singapore: Basically just another western big town, only that it’s situated in Asia and features a really high number of Chinese and Indian looking people. It is however a great place to start your Southeast Asia experience if you want to avoid the culture shock a bit and don’t dive right in by going straight to, say, Cambodia.
Malaysia: A bit more Asian than Singapore, but still, it’s easy to get around, a lot of people speak good English, so it’s pretty much the logical step after Singapore (apart from the geographical point of view which doesn’t really leave you a choice). Although the places we went to (Melaka, Kuala Lumpur, Cameron Highlands, Taman Negara, Pulau Penang, Pulau Langkawi) were not exactly of the beaten track and were definitely prepared for tourists, looking back at it right now, almost two months later, Malaysia felt really genuine compared to most places we went to later on in Thailand. And it was fun at the same time, because of the people we met (sometimes again and again and again, all the way to northern Thailand or Cambodia), because of the experiences we had, just good fun, period.
Thailand: We basically did Thailand in three parts, our stops being islands in the south, namely Koh Lipe, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Panghan, Koh Tao (Part one), Bangkok (Part two) and Chiang Mai (Part three). First the islands in the south which were absolutely amazing, one paradise-like beach after another. However, I don’t think they have anything to do with actual Thailand. They are so full of tourists and accordingly with stuff to entertain tourists and make money of them, they’re as authentic and real as Disneyland. Bangkok is better in that matter. It is chaotic, dirty, smelly, weird, dangerous, but still, it’s sexy, fun, fascinating, just a great Thai experience. We got ripped off a bit, sometimes probably without knowing, saw millions of temples, shopped our hearts out, bartered like mad for pretty much everything and sweated our asses off in the Southeast Asian big city heat. And part three, Chiang Mai and its surroundings, was probably the most rewarding one. Not only was it cooler (temperaturewise and people-wise), but it also felt more like an actual Thai city and not just something that just exists for the sake of tourism. And it was also a great stop peoplewise as we met a great group of guys that we ended up travelling with for almost a month.
Laos: Laos was kind of extreme on both ends when it comes to authenticity. On the one hand, which is our trip down the Mekong to Luang Prabang in the north and also Luang Prabang itself, it was great, it really felt like, this is Lao, that’s what happens in Laos, and even though they are quite a number of other tourists, it hasn’t lost its charm and authentic looks and feel. Our second stop, Vang Vieng, was exactly the opposite: A Laos version of Ibiza that exists like it is today only to make money of tourists. And our third and last stop, the capital Vientiane, was just plain boring, nevermind being authentic or not. On top of our experiences good or bad, Laos was just a lot of fun for the sake of travelling in a group with great people, getting to know each other, getting drunk with each other, really becoming a group.
Cambodia: Cambodia was fascinating in a lot of ways. The temples of Angkor were fascinating for obvious reasons and also, at least for us, for the fact that on the hand you have Siem Reap, the rich tourist town, which probably has nothing to do with a “real” Cambodian city, and the poor people that you saw everyday in front of the temples, asking you, sometimes almost begging you to buy from them water, books, whatever, so they could make a living. Phnom Penh, our second stop, was fascinating in a sort of sick way for its history in the 1970s when the Khmer Rouge ruled and pretty much ruined the country (I don’t have the space here to elaborate it, but I highly recommend checking this piece of history, at least on wikipedia, if you’re not familiar with it). Second it was fascinating for its traffic which was just insane, with apparently no rules whatsoever, but (probably for that reason) was a lot of fun to experience first-hand. And our third stop, Sihanoukville on the south coast, was just a great beach, already kind of touristy, but still, we had fun enjoying the beach, getting drunk and just enjoying our last days together as a group.

OK, so now you sort of know the basics of our last two months. If you want to know more and you speak German, than check our more detailed German blog at www.weilsamwegliegt.blogspot.com (or if know a German speaker with a sexy voice and matching looks, have them read it to you). Also, check our fotos, some of them you find on the left, some (more) you find in our facebook sites. And of course, if you want to ask more questions right here, right now, feel free to comment on this site anytime.