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Journey-Woman
By Yona Kaplan, Israel
The decision to travel in general and to south East Asia specifically was actually quite random. Living in Israel, where it takes less than 10 hours to drive from north to south and probably no more than two hours to drive from east to west makes the allure of seeing other parts of the world a common desire for many Israelis.
"almost four decades after the Vietnam War, the people in this part of the world are still living with the consequences. In fact, in Phonsavan (a town in Laos) restaurants and shops use old bomb shells as decorations. The beautiful plains around the town are pitted with craters left by the bombs that are now part of the permanent landscape. " -Yona Kaplan
After having served in the Israeli army for the past two years where every part of my life was defined by my superiors, the idea of backpacking in a remote place where I could enjoy ultimate freedom was enticing, to say the least.
So why Asia? Two main reasons- first, it's cheap. Try traveling for a few months in Europe on $500-700 a month. Secondly, it presents a culture and lifestyle that is very different from my own. Of course, differences exist between western countries, but let's just say that traveling in Europe won't leave you wondering how you are going to find - let alone use the toilet.
Nonetheless, when my friend and I had saved up some money, we bought our plane tickets and last March we were in Katmandu, Nepal. For four extraordinary months we traveled through Nepal, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, The heat was unbearable, as were the snow storms and the monsoon rains. We traveled by planes, boats, buses, rickshaws, tuktuks, elephants, motorcycles and trains.
What struck me is that almost four decades after the Vietnam War, the people in this part of the world are still living with the consequences. In fact, in Phonsavan (a town in Laos) restaurants and shops use old bomb shells as decorations. The beautiful plains around the town are pitted with craters left by the bombs that are now part of the permanent landscape.
It's hard to imagine what would have happened to these countries without the war. In Cambodia would the Khmer Rouge regime still have murdered millions of their own people if it weren't for the American bombs? If you ask the Vietnamese whether the situation would have been better without American interference there would be no question. The "War Crimes" museum in Ho Chi Min (formerly Saigon) has only recently changed its name to the War Remembrance museum. Traps used by the Vietcong on American soldiers are prominently displayed.
It would be horribly wrong, though, to look at the region and only look for the impact of others making their footprints. These countries boast a culture that is rich - founded on a history that goes much further back and much deeper than any western interference. The Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia, the king's palace in Thailand and other breathtaking sites do not disappoint.
Even their day to day way of life as we learned it from a boy who walked with us from his school to his home in his village - a 6 hour walk - speaks of a culture that is different from the assumed conveniences of Western-style living. The traditional food - a lot of rice but also meats, lentils, noodles and a lot of spices - the lady who carried a live chicken in a plastic bag on her lap for a 7 hour bus ride - the monks who can be seen sitting in quite meditation - families shopping in the market for fresh fish or maybe a snake or a turtle, the men and women running up and down the mountains with heavy loads on there backs or a group of people sitting around singing and playing guitar at night undaunted by the fact that the electricity (which is limited) has gone out speaks volumes about life in Southeast Asia.
See Yona's Photo Gallery here!
