Fun facts & learnings from a vagabond in Asia - Paris, France
Paris, France
Ok, now let's have fun ranking the Asia Pacific countries I visited. Of course no hard data here, rather a purely subjective exercise based on my experience visiting these unique countries during almost a year and a half...
Most attractive Asian cuties
1. Japan
2. Myanmar
3. Thailand
Arrrg.. Tough choice, I really met beauties everywhere... For obvious reasons, Russia is off competition. And I know, Japan is not part of Asia... :P
Best food
1. Japan
2. Thailand
3. Singapore
Try to beat a good sashimi or ramen soup... A special thought for Indian biryani rice.
Best service minded
1. Thailand
2. Japan
3. Myanmar
A Japanese won't let you go til you find your way.
Best massage
1. Thailand
2. Thailand
3. Thailand
Dirtiest
1. India
2. China
3. Nepal
From Indians using train's window as trash to Chinese spiting inside a restaurant...
Craziest drivers
1. India
2. Indonesia
3. Nepal
To their credit, Indians manage chaos amazingly well, though...
Cheapest
1. India
2. Philippines
3. Indonesia
Can't beat a $2 room in India or a 30 cent beer in the Philippines...
A comparison of the cost of a bottle of water in the countries visited showed the cheapest were China, Indonesia, India & Nepal; & the most expensive: Australia, Japan & Singapore.
Most beautiful landscape
1. Nepal
2. Indonesia
3. Thailand
Hard to beat a sunset on the Himalaya. Indonesia for its unique diversity. Thailand for some of the prettiest islands around. A thought for El Nido, the Philippines and Inle Lake, Myanmar (feeling guilty for all the other good spots...)
Nicest people
1. Tibet
2. Mongolia
3. Myanmar/Thailand
Mongolia: excluding Ulaan Baatar.
Most amazing culture
1. Tibet
2. India/Nepal
3. Mongolia
All cultures are amazing. I believe these ones to be the most preserved (still...) and authentic.
Best Asian wines
1. Japan
2. Thailand
3. India
See the cover of the articles (translated to German) I wrote for Swiss-Vinum magazine on wines in Japan, Thailand, India and Myanmar. Each article has been uploaded post-publication in the corresponding wine region in this blog.
How to say 'Cheers' in...
India: 'Cheers' - Myanmar: 'Aung myin par say' - Thailand: 'Chok-die' - Cambodia: 'Jul mouy' - Vietnam: 'Mot, Hai, Ba, Yooo' - Maori: 'Kia ora' - Japan: 'Kampai' - South Korea: 'Gun bae' - China: 'Gān bēi' - Indonesia: 'Pro' - Philippines: 'Mabuhay' - Taiwan: 'Gam-Bei' - Mongolia: 'Togtooy' - Russia: 'Na zdorovie'.
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Most magic moments
20. Aussie's reddish open Outback
19. Swimming in Luang Prabang's turquoise waterfalls
18. Beautiful Indian women in colorful saris
17. All you want sashimi in Tokyo
16. Smiley kids in Nepal's ethnic villages
15. Gorgeous Chinese painter in Guianxi
14. Pretty Myanmar women taking bath in river
13. Blue ice Namtso Lake, Tibet
12. Diving with a green turtle on the Great Barrier
11. Trekking around rice terraces in China and the Philippines
10. Rough Friendship Highway by 4x4, Tibet
9. Joining a circumambulation around Jokhang Temple, Lhasa
8. Camping near volcano crater in Lombok, Indonesia
7. A good Thai massage after 2 months trekking the Himalayas
6. Trekking around Gokyo lakes at 5,000m elevation, Nepal
5. A night in a Vietnamese home near the Lao border
4. Camel safari in Thar Desert, India
3. Galloping the wild Mongolian steppes
2. Sunset over Everest (both sides)
1. View from Island Peak summit, Nepal
Most embarrassing moments
10. Hotel in Sichuan, China: taking an emergency sh... in someone else room/bathroom while they are asleep (embarrassing for them really as they escaped their room running!). You gotta do what you gotta do).
9. After a long hot morning trekking, having people in a Nepali hot spring stare at me after I joined the party without passing under the shower. (Oups... did I forgot to mention that I just experienced severe rapid transit?)
8. Throwing some trash on a garbage pile in a street of Kathmandu, and finding out there was a woman sleeping there.
7. Having a gay man in Kuala Lumpur ask me: "Would you give me a chance?"
6. Flirting for one hour with a gorgeous little Thai girl. And finding out it's a ladyboy.
5. Sitting next to a minx with a bloody wound on her calf in Laos and hearing my brother say "This is AIDS smiling at you".
4. Asking a tuk-tuk driver to bring me to a specific hotel in Varanasi, India. Finding out later on than I'm in the wrong hotel. More angry than embarrassed here.
3. Having my camera stolen in a bus in Xi'an, China.
2. Making the joke: "I like veg food... provided it's surrounded by meat" while invited for dinner at an important executive's house in Bangalore. And finding out it's a veg meal.
1. Paying 100€ for a tea session with my cousin in Beijing and still wondering 2 weeks later whether I've been set up.
Most thrilling moments
10. Landing on Lukla tiny runway, Nepal
9. Rock climbing Krabi, Thailand
8. Abseiling down the ice wall after summit, Island Peak, Nepal
7. First time snorkeling alone with sharks, Phi Phi, Thailand
6. Making fun of the Chinese Army at EBC, Tibet
5. Skydiving head down in Thailand
4. Paragliding over Pokhara lake, Nepal
3. Seeing the tiger at Corbett reserve after a 2-day hunt, India
2. Bull shark passing 5m away, 30m deep, Ko Thao, Thailand
1. Facing a female Rhino with calf during a 'jungle walk' in Chitwan, Nepal
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Top 10 items to take with you (for the cold, the hot and the wet)
[Essentials]:
1. Bags: good rucksack, small backpack, dry bag, rucksack cover (for rain & to avoid being easily robbed)
2. Good trekking shoes
3. Good Goretex jacket
4. Small and warm sleeping bag
5. First aid kit (water purification tabs, mosquito repellent with high % DEET, yeasts for diarrhea, Malarone for malaria treatment, antibacterial cream for wounds, ...)
6. Waterproof watch with compass and altimeter
7. Waterproof camera with BIG memory cards/sticks
8. Water bottle/Camelbak (handles hot/boiled water)
9. Layers: down jacket, fleeces, tights, socks, winter hat, gloves for the cold, breathable pants/shirts and a hat or cap or veil... Just anything to protect you from the heat. Do as locals do
10. A good book about the country you're in for the looooong bus rides. Then you swap it at the next city
[Nice to have]:
11. Poncho raincoat, useful as ground pad, too
12. Used travel guide (Lonely Planet type), so you save time, keep budget tight and know where tourists go. To avoid them.
13. A multi-function knife
Since I wanted to live this experience as unplugged as possible, I took no smartphone (or GPS) and tried to limit internet access to once a week.
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Stats & data from the trip
- 480 days on the road
- 24 countries and 200+ cities visited
- 108,000km traveled by foot, bike, boat, train, bus, jeep, hitchhike, plane, ox cart, etc.
- 20,000 photos/videos taken or 60 Go or 40 pics a day (I know, this is insane)
- 10 pairs of flip flops, at least
- Latitude: lowest: 39 South (NZ), highest: 55 North (Russia)
- Altitude: highest: 6,189m (Nepal), lowest: - 40m (diving, Philippines)
- Vertical trekking speed: 10m/min below elevation 5000m; 5m/min above
- Speed: 300km/h (skydiving head down, Thailand)
- Money spent on the field, per month: 500€
- Time between decision to travel and departure date: 6 weeks
- Bag's weight: 10 to 15kg
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Wrap up
Hopefully reading this travel blog gives a little flavor of this amazing adventure through the Asia Pacific region and a little taste of the cultures visited. One idea about this blog was to try to give a taste of what is unique and representative about each country visited. I won't pretend knowing these countries after only spending a few weeks or months there, even though I tried to capture some humble cultural insights and understandings in the "Fun facts & learning" entries.
One question I had before this trip was whether I should do it alone or accompanied. I believe all experiences bring you different and valuable outcomes. I chose to do it alone and soon realized that I was really never alone. When you are on your own, it forces you to meet locals which soon enough, becomes natural. You meet other independent travelers on the way, too, (some of them amazing) and most importantly: locals come naturally to you and invite you for lunch, a drink, even to stay at their home sometime or share a moment of their life... I enjoyed it very much so. Living a year and a half doing what you like most is worth living. Funnily the number one comment I received from my friends around the world learning about this trip was 'So jealous!'. When I interviewed for jobs after the trip the only thing they wanted to hear was crispy stories about my climbs or dives or cultural discoveries... I feel like asking: 'Why don't you take your rucksack and hit the road, too?' I believe many people will choose unhappiness over uncertainty. I met a Japanese cardiologist who was taking a sabbatical every other year. Doesn't that makes more sense than waiting until you retire? 'Making a commitment to long-term adventuring is like upgrading your role in life from passenger to pilot' as rightly said Timothy Ferriss.
Learnings from the trip include: differentiating events you can do something about with the ones you can do nothing about and simply accepting and not worrying for the latter ones (as most Asians do so well); realizing (as I was unplugged) how much our surroundings shape who we become; the more simple life is, the more people focus on basic values such as family, friends, having a balanced life with simple pleasures... I guess happiness comes from experiences rather than owning things. What else? Wandering and getting voluntarily lost (one of my favorite quote from John Lennon: 'Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.'), learning to unqueue in India and to slurp noodles noisily in China, trying to restore body harmony when sick vs. fighting the pathology as we do in the west, balancing time between 'do's' and 'be's', taking the time to sit, observe or travel slowly, one flip flop at a time - so as to almost make time slow down (I believe Gandhi said: "There is more to life than increasing its speed"?). Then most importantly, trying not to judge people based on their appearance or country of origin allowed me to appreciate more what each culture has to offer...
I'll probably be adding to the list 5 years later as I slowly realize how much I've absorbed. One sure thing is I'm going to be living from my passions, for now and on. As French writer and adventurer Sylvain Tesson said: 'To live is to make your dreams become souvenirs'. Let's become a creator of endless souvenirs!
To finish up, a big thanks to the many inspiring friends I met on the road (locals and travelers) and those who kept looking at this blog, that kept me writing! As adventurer Christopher McCandless rightly put it: 'Passion is only real when shared'.