Final Thoughts on Planning a Trip to SouthEast Asia
AlteCocker is a veteran traveler. She travels frequently to Western Europe, but Asia was a new experience for her. As with all trips, what you expect in advance is never what you find when you arrive at your destination. In Western Europe you get on a plane. When you arrive, you get a visa--generally good for 3 months. For most travelers a visa is not necessary except to countries like Russia and Belarus in Eastern Europe. In Asia almost all of the countries require visas and the rules for each are different. In Thailand, you can get a 30 day visa at the airport. If you want to stay longer, you will need a another sort of visa. AlteCocker applied and got one for 2 months at the Thai consulate in Washington, DC. Since she lives in the DC area, it was fairly easy although a nuisance. Just remember that foreigners almost all need visas for the US. A lot of the meshugana mischigas that goes on overseas with Americans needing visas is just tit for tat. In the end, Americans get their visas but it ain't so easy for foreigners to get into the US. So when you are going around in circles with visas, keep that in mind.
Next year, and AlteCocker will be returning to Chiang Mai next year, AlteCocker will plan ahead. She didn't this year. She planned her out of Thailand side trips after she got there. Big mistake. That ended up in difficulties (and expense) in getting a visa for Myanmar. That was something that could have been easily done ahead of time in Washington, DC. She will plan and research and her side trips in advance before leaving the US (although she can always buy airfares in Thailand through the internet). No more visa mess ups!
Nothing can prepare you for the smells of Southeast Asia. Some of those are good smells--cooking food on the street, for example. Other smells are less savory. Walk down any street and you will get a wiff of sewage at some point. Trash is all over. When you are a poor country, picking up the trash is just not high on the list. People do help some. Everyone seems to collect bags of plastic bottles for recycling to make some money. In the condo where AlteCocker stayed, she at first threw her plastic water bottles in the appropriate bin but she soon observed one of the parking lot attendants rooting around in the bin for plastic bottles. After that, she just gave it to him directly and/or left it in the shack used by the guards. In fact, everyone was doing it. Every little bit helps and the attendant makes a few extra Thai baht to feed and house his family.
Would that there was a way to deal with the plague of plastic bags that has envelopped Southeast Asia. In the old days, they used banana leaves to wrap purchases. No more. They've discovered plastic bags. The detritus is all over the place. Southeast Asians don't always put things in the trash cans. Sometimes they throw them on the ground. It's awful. So, AlteCocker refused to contribute to it. She simply refused plastic bags. Bring your own bag and avoid adding to the plague. It's bad for the environment.
You will see poverty beyond anything you have seen and you will learn to ignore it. Putting a dollar in every beggar's cup is not going to save the problems. If you want to help, pick a project. AlteCocker gave a donation to the Rotary Club in Chiang Mai that was raising money for some of its projects. She was asked which project she wanted it to go to. She said "wherever the need was greatest". She did notice one thing she would like to be involved in--and she is going to do some research before next year. What Southeast Asia needs that could really help a lot of people is 3-D printers that could make some of those newfangled prostheses cheaply for those missing arms and legs. Many have lost legs to landmines. No decent prosthesis means not being able to work. The sidewalks--when they are there at all--are uneven, broken and full of holes. Walking is treacherous for the two legged. Lose a leg--or break one (as my friend did)--and you stay home. Ramps for wheelchairs are often not there where you need them--or far too steep to comfortably negotiate. You always have to look down when you are walking and do bring a stick--especially if you are an AlteCocker.
Ordering from a menu in Southeast Asia isn't only difficult for Americans. Southeast Asians speak a myriad of languages and often cannot understand one another even within the same country. Not only are the languages mutually unintelligible, each language appears to have its own alphabet. While Thai and Khymer (Cambodian) have the same root, they do not understand one another. Burmese? It is related to Tibetan not Thai. The variety of languages is the reason why many expats never really tackle learning the local lingo. English has become the lingua franca. That means that those who already speak English get lazy. Ordering from a menu? You point to the picture of what you want and hope it won't be too spicey.
The politics. All of the governments in SE Asia are not exactly democracies. It is best to just ignore the authoritarian environment and visit tourist sites. You get involved with politics out of a sense of morality and you will find yourself kicked out of the country. In Thailand you don't say a bad word about the King. That could mean big trouble. Not everyone loves him, but Thai laws, called "lese majeste" laws, mean they shut up unless they want to be thrown into prison. One oddity in Thailand is that his picture is everywhere. That means on every street corner and sometimes in the middle of the block. On December 5th, the King's birthday, many where yellow shirts with the saying "I love 'Daddy'". Thais refer to the King as "father"--hence the shirts. One further oddity is that few of the photographs show the King as he really looks. He's 87. His photos often show him when he was a teenager or in his 20's. Maybe it would too expensive to replace all the photos. Maybe they just want to think of him as a young man. Dunno. Cambodia has a king, but there are a lot fewer pictures of him all over.
You don't really understand the politics anyway--which is another reason not to get involved. AlteCocker read a lot of books before going and plenty while she was in Southeast Asia. The more she read the more confused she got. Local politics is something for the locals to settle. So, while you may wonder, just go visit another wat. If there is a demonstration, best to walk there other way. You don't know who is "right" anyway. AlteCocker wouldn't take photos of any demonstrations either--unless she was well out of sight. She wants to have her trip and not to be thrown out on her fanny.
Price in the countries often make no sense. Why is Myanmar much more expensive than Bangkok? Beats AlteCocker, but, if you want to visit, you pay. Cambodia, by the way, was much cheaper. Again, who can know why? The dollar moves up and down and so do foreign currencies.
AlteCocker did not research Cambodia and Myanmar until she was already in Thailand. Cambodia is totally dollarized in the tourist areas. You won't see Cambodian currency unless you get change for less than a dollar. In Myanmar, you use the local currency, but they love dollars. If you bring dollars, however, make sure they are new ones. AlteCocker had hers examined for "defects". The hotel rejected most of her cash. The big problem: The dollars had been folded over. Crazy, yes, but that's what they do. Iron your dollar bills and, even better, have new ones.
Toilets: Go where you live and learn to hold it while you are out. Bring your own TP but don't throw it in the toilet. Learn to use those little hoses to clean yourself and then wipe off the dampness with the TP. Stinky TP should not what you put in the bin. Toilets will often be as clean as you like--even when you pay to pee. Get over it. That's the way it is. In fact, public toilets at home aren't always that clean. Insofar as squat toilets, AlteCocker can't use them. She has reached the point that, if she bends down, she can't get up. That could cause a big mess in a squat toilet. One of the funniest signs she saw, was one that said "the toilet seat" so that you would know which one was relatively like at home.
Food: Learn to try everything and do bring immodium. Stronger stuff can be obtained at pharmacies if you get, well, you know what you get. AlteCocker had to use antibiotics once and only really got sick the one time (at the beginning of the trip) but she did use immodium once later on. Street food really did not cause much difficulty and it was worth the risk just to taste it. If you are going to Southeast Asia and not try street food, you will be missing a lot.
Religion: Prepared to be confused. Southeast Asia is mostly Buddhist, but be prepared for a healthy dose of Hindu (remember the whole area was Hindu before it was Buddhist) and msicellaneous spirit worship. Sometimes you see incense being offered in the middle of the street. If you can figure it out, you're a better man than AlteCocker is, Gunga Din. There are also Muslims, but AlteCocker did not visit any of the Muslim majority countries in 2014--e.g., Malaysia. Some of tribes are even animist. Christian missionaries have also made inroads. Remember Buddhism is more like a philosophy and is not necessarily incompatible with religions that have dogma. Someone can, for example, be a Buddhist and a Christian/Hindu at the same time. It would be very unlikely for someone to be Buddhist and Muslim at the same time, however.
Don't just cocoon yourself with expats. A little bit of this goes a long way. AlteCocker did visit some nice restaurants with the expats, but she was not going to spend all her time playing bridge (she doesn't know how anyway) or canasta (she knows how to play that card game, but just was not interested). She is going to work more with Pimsleur Thai before visiting Chiang Mai again. No, she will never be fluent, but she will be able to get around slightly better. Insofar as Khymer, Burmese, Vietnamese, etc., are concerned, you pick one language and stick with it--depending upon where you are going.
AlteCocker will come back and add to this post as great thoughts come to her!
Next year, and AlteCocker will be returning to Chiang Mai next year, AlteCocker will plan ahead. She didn't this year. She planned her out of Thailand side trips after she got there. Big mistake. That ended up in difficulties (and expense) in getting a visa for Myanmar. That was something that could have been easily done ahead of time in Washington, DC. She will plan and research and her side trips in advance before leaving the US (although she can always buy airfares in Thailand through the internet). No more visa mess ups!
Nothing can prepare you for the smells of Southeast Asia. Some of those are good smells--cooking food on the street, for example. Other smells are less savory. Walk down any street and you will get a wiff of sewage at some point. Trash is all over. When you are a poor country, picking up the trash is just not high on the list. People do help some. Everyone seems to collect bags of plastic bottles for recycling to make some money. In the condo where AlteCocker stayed, she at first threw her plastic water bottles in the appropriate bin but she soon observed one of the parking lot attendants rooting around in the bin for plastic bottles. After that, she just gave it to him directly and/or left it in the shack used by the guards. In fact, everyone was doing it. Every little bit helps and the attendant makes a few extra Thai baht to feed and house his family.
Would that there was a way to deal with the plague of plastic bags that has envelopped Southeast Asia. In the old days, they used banana leaves to wrap purchases. No more. They've discovered plastic bags. The detritus is all over the place. Southeast Asians don't always put things in the trash cans. Sometimes they throw them on the ground. It's awful. So, AlteCocker refused to contribute to it. She simply refused plastic bags. Bring your own bag and avoid adding to the plague. It's bad for the environment.
You will see poverty beyond anything you have seen and you will learn to ignore it. Putting a dollar in every beggar's cup is not going to save the problems. If you want to help, pick a project. AlteCocker gave a donation to the Rotary Club in Chiang Mai that was raising money for some of its projects. She was asked which project she wanted it to go to. She said "wherever the need was greatest". She did notice one thing she would like to be involved in--and she is going to do some research before next year. What Southeast Asia needs that could really help a lot of people is 3-D printers that could make some of those newfangled prostheses cheaply for those missing arms and legs. Many have lost legs to landmines. No decent prosthesis means not being able to work. The sidewalks--when they are there at all--are uneven, broken and full of holes. Walking is treacherous for the two legged. Lose a leg--or break one (as my friend did)--and you stay home. Ramps for wheelchairs are often not there where you need them--or far too steep to comfortably negotiate. You always have to look down when you are walking and do bring a stick--especially if you are an AlteCocker.
Ordering from a menu in Southeast Asia isn't only difficult for Americans. Southeast Asians speak a myriad of languages and often cannot understand one another even within the same country. Not only are the languages mutually unintelligible, each language appears to have its own alphabet. While Thai and Khymer (Cambodian) have the same root, they do not understand one another. Burmese? It is related to Tibetan not Thai. The variety of languages is the reason why many expats never really tackle learning the local lingo. English has become the lingua franca. That means that those who already speak English get lazy. Ordering from a menu? You point to the picture of what you want and hope it won't be too spicey.
The politics. All of the governments in SE Asia are not exactly democracies. It is best to just ignore the authoritarian environment and visit tourist sites. You get involved with politics out of a sense of morality and you will find yourself kicked out of the country. In Thailand you don't say a bad word about the King. That could mean big trouble. Not everyone loves him, but Thai laws, called "lese majeste" laws, mean they shut up unless they want to be thrown into prison. One oddity in Thailand is that his picture is everywhere. That means on every street corner and sometimes in the middle of the block. On December 5th, the King's birthday, many where yellow shirts with the saying "I love 'Daddy'". Thais refer to the King as "father"--hence the shirts. One further oddity is that few of the photographs show the King as he really looks. He's 87. His photos often show him when he was a teenager or in his 20's. Maybe it would too expensive to replace all the photos. Maybe they just want to think of him as a young man. Dunno. Cambodia has a king, but there are a lot fewer pictures of him all over.
You don't really understand the politics anyway--which is another reason not to get involved. AlteCocker read a lot of books before going and plenty while she was in Southeast Asia. The more she read the more confused she got. Local politics is something for the locals to settle. So, while you may wonder, just go visit another wat. If there is a demonstration, best to walk there other way. You don't know who is "right" anyway. AlteCocker wouldn't take photos of any demonstrations either--unless she was well out of sight. She wants to have her trip and not to be thrown out on her fanny.
Price in the countries often make no sense. Why is Myanmar much more expensive than Bangkok? Beats AlteCocker, but, if you want to visit, you pay. Cambodia, by the way, was much cheaper. Again, who can know why? The dollar moves up and down and so do foreign currencies.
AlteCocker did not research Cambodia and Myanmar until she was already in Thailand. Cambodia is totally dollarized in the tourist areas. You won't see Cambodian currency unless you get change for less than a dollar. In Myanmar, you use the local currency, but they love dollars. If you bring dollars, however, make sure they are new ones. AlteCocker had hers examined for "defects". The hotel rejected most of her cash. The big problem: The dollars had been folded over. Crazy, yes, but that's what they do. Iron your dollar bills and, even better, have new ones.
Toilets: Go where you live and learn to hold it while you are out. Bring your own TP but don't throw it in the toilet. Learn to use those little hoses to clean yourself and then wipe off the dampness with the TP. Stinky TP should not what you put in the bin. Toilets will often be as clean as you like--even when you pay to pee. Get over it. That's the way it is. In fact, public toilets at home aren't always that clean. Insofar as squat toilets, AlteCocker can't use them. She has reached the point that, if she bends down, she can't get up. That could cause a big mess in a squat toilet. One of the funniest signs she saw, was one that said "the toilet seat" so that you would know which one was relatively like at home.
Food: Learn to try everything and do bring immodium. Stronger stuff can be obtained at pharmacies if you get, well, you know what you get. AlteCocker had to use antibiotics once and only really got sick the one time (at the beginning of the trip) but she did use immodium once later on. Street food really did not cause much difficulty and it was worth the risk just to taste it. If you are going to Southeast Asia and not try street food, you will be missing a lot.
Religion: Prepared to be confused. Southeast Asia is mostly Buddhist, but be prepared for a healthy dose of Hindu (remember the whole area was Hindu before it was Buddhist) and msicellaneous spirit worship. Sometimes you see incense being offered in the middle of the street. If you can figure it out, you're a better man than AlteCocker is, Gunga Din. There are also Muslims, but AlteCocker did not visit any of the Muslim majority countries in 2014--e.g., Malaysia. Some of tribes are even animist. Christian missionaries have also made inroads. Remember Buddhism is more like a philosophy and is not necessarily incompatible with religions that have dogma. Someone can, for example, be a Buddhist and a Christian/Hindu at the same time. It would be very unlikely for someone to be Buddhist and Muslim at the same time, however.
Don't just cocoon yourself with expats. A little bit of this goes a long way. AlteCocker did visit some nice restaurants with the expats, but she was not going to spend all her time playing bridge (she doesn't know how anyway) or canasta (she knows how to play that card game, but just was not interested). She is going to work more with Pimsleur Thai before visiting Chiang Mai again. No, she will never be fluent, but she will be able to get around slightly better. Insofar as Khymer, Burmese, Vietnamese, etc., are concerned, you pick one language and stick with it--depending upon where you are going.
AlteCocker will come back and add to this post as great thoughts come to her!