The Asian Project

I'm back in Uc now and trying to work out what all this has done to me.  Something.  I sure as hell don't want to stop travelling.  Best keep on that.

All said and done, I think that we succeeded mightily in our endeavours in SE Asia.  And I really have to pass the bong to my travelling companion Matthew "Everyday" O'Callaghan who, despite being in the type of climate he likes and is as happy in as a human in shit, stepped up tremendously to the challenge.  Mong toi sir!

Vietnam and Cambodia are so very different but I can't really articulate how.  The easiest thing to say is that the Vietnamese have a hell of a lot more Chinese influence, whilst the Khmers have the Indians in the background.  I guess one of the big differences is the amount of money in each country.  Quite a bit in Nam i would think as compared to close to fuck all in Bodia.  The beggars are far more prevelant in Bodia and it's interesting to note the attitude to their own currency (the riel) by the Khmer.  Even the beggars reject riel if you give it to them.  They'll take it if you say "no dollar" (they're all much more interested in USD), but it's literally used as small change.  If you buy something for $4.50 (pretty much all prices are in USD) and you give them a ten, you'll be returned $4 and 2000 riel in change.  Gold.

It was good to touch down in Hanoi again, even if ever so briefly.  The briefness was brought about by the realisation that we hadn't gotten multiple entry visas for Nam, so our current ones were void.  Shit.  We spent half a day doing various enquiries and running around (assisted ably by our driver Joyful Ra.... yes, we even had a driver in Bodia) and thanks to the incredibly capable Khmer people, had a new visa for Vietnam arranged overnight.  This meant we missed a bit of drinking time with Hanoi Helen, but there we got a little of it in, and tried on our new Hoi An suits in the process.  Absolutely gorgeous I must say.

I was able to participate in Vietnamese culture a lot more than Cambodia's.  This was because we were in Nam for three weeks as compared to one in Bodia; we had Hanoi Helen to give us an "in" to the Vietnamese; and the English is so good in Bodia that you don't feel the need to make an attempt with Khmer, in fact I get the feeling they'd rather you didn't.  In Vietnam, I was right up for trying on the language and was reasonably successful at this (despite the dialectical differences between north and south).  And the Vietnamese are always keen to help you with the words.  

The Bodians knew a startling amount about Australia.  The Vietnamese knew the names of cities, etc, but that was about it.  We were approached by a very young Khmer boy at Angkor who asked where we wwere from.  "Australia," I answered.  "What state you live in?" he asked.  "South Australia."  "Capital: Adelaide.  Australia capital:  Can bear ah.  Your Prime Minister:  John How-eerd".  I would wager there are Australians who don't know the answer to all of those questions there.  One other time I was asked about my origins and I met with the reply "oooh, a dingo stole my baby".  True story that occurred at the East Mebon at Angkor.  Awesome.

I loved both the Vietnamese and the Khmer for many different reasons, but both peoples I loved for their clear fuck-you-up strength. resilience and jaw-dropping ability to live.  As well, who in Australia can ride a moto-bike in the midst of a thousand other moto-bikes in an almost chaotic traffic system whilst holding a baby and texting all at the same time? And maybe I also love them for the way they have the art of lying around down to an artform.

Well that's the end of me.  The end result:  Fuck My Life.  I'd rather be naked and travel instead.