Summing up Southeast Asia 2009: An absolutely amazing 3 months of learning to live again

so here's me, in the final hours, being the small early morning ones waiting for my *lovely* 20 hour, change 2x flight back over the pacific. Guess I am stuck waiting in these hours cos I booked the cheapest ticket and you get what you pay for!

so, summing up - here goes, something I've never been good at, and am even worse at when in this moment of being on the verge of a big change AGAIN, etc, etc, but I try..

(Thailand) post new year carnage arrival in Bangkok, free tuk tuk ride followed by invite to tuk tuk party (um, no..), reuniting with Next in Khao Lak, Tsunami museum, Similan islands, beaches, crab-hunt, perfect meditation spot, singing Japanese song live at the bar, dancing latin dance on stage with random Mexican, Happy Snapper, Thai rock star, Finnish porn star, 'my precious' bucket, 'Boris and Natasha', mad Aussie boys, Lady boys (which were Thai, not aussie), gastroenteritis, Wat Po Massage massacre (err..school..), Cambodia border run rip off, Sheesha on the beach with the Swedes, Treehouse sunsets, being chatted up by various randoms, 'the other side', French connection 'Fry ink' Dutchman, crazy singing kayaking, beer for breakfast, chasing buses in Chonburi, One night in Bangkok, night train, diving with sea fishes, eating same at beach bbq after, mopeds and dodgy island roads, boats, boats, boats, dive, dive, dive, bbq, bbq, bbq, flaming skipping ropes

(Laos) 'are you going to Vientiane to shop for a husband? (first interaction with locals; asked by a Lao woman in tuk tuk from border as she used my THAI/English phrasebook...), Beerlao, deep red Mekong sunsets, lecherous local men (surely not the ones from the husband market, hah!), job offers - arrange contract signing - um, no don't want job (je ne veux pas travailler...) - arrange Vietnam visa and bus to Luang Prabang instead, Monk chat, horror night bus with kid puking and tarzan swinging to get into seat, Mekong cruise, buddha cave, 'Lao Lao', 'the other side of Luang Prabang', Moto-taxi driver/stalker 'do you want Lao boyfriend', the wish to head north, but..

(Vietnam) Motorbike madness, squirmy fish and chunky frogs, hyperactive temple minders/lost in translation, 'stylish' cafes, cyclos, elusive 'bia hoi', conical hats, Hoi An tailor made clothes addiction (contagious!), tomato roses and cucumber fans, random Mr. Trung tour, Vietnam boy band sings 'La Bamba', round boats, night bus, night bus, night bus, War remnants museum, Reunification Palace, Mekong Delta and Coconut candy, yum!

I won't miss:

- mozzies
- being an involuntary smoker (ie, inhaling all that of others)
- recurring gastroenteritis
- potentially being ripped off at every turn
- night transport

I will miss:

-coconuts
-the gorgeous weather
-sage-robed monks walking the street being a common, everyday occurrence
-temples and buddhas
-the sea
-the fish (seeing and eating, bad bad bad)
-fresh fruit, fresh fruit shakes, dragonfruit, starfruit, sapodilla, mango, oh the list goes on..
-not needing shoes
-bamboo
-coconut trees
-the absolute freedoms a solo traveler has at times
-beaches
-night transport
-sunlight
-the buzz of Bangkok and Saigon
-the peace of Vientiane
-the people!!!!!! including, but not limited to:

-'Next': although not someone new on this trip but rather from a trip many years ago. Thanks for all the travel arranging in Khao Lak and all the fun times!!! Though maybe next time no 7.30 boat trips the morning after that many big Singhas, ok? ok! hee hee
-Stefan and Christoph : the 2 people on the similans trip who actually socialized with me, and then bore witness to my stellar Japanese number in Khao Lak after. good times, good times!
-Malin: simply put, you just rock. One could not find a cooler chick to travel with
-'Boris and Natasha' (don't worry guys, I do know your real names, but I'm just uh..protecting your identity, hah!): shame my stomach had other plans and didn't allow me to meet you all in Phuket, but nonetheless nice to see you Khao Lak!
-Magnus: the victim of mine and Next's nationality guessing game. Good so, great meeting you in Khao Lak and sharing a shisha on Koh Chang!
-Nyi Nyi: totally spelled wrong, the great Burmese guy working at my place in Khao Lak. just an all round lovely person (see earlier entry) who went out of his way to help me, especially in times of gastro-crises and ensuring I caught my bus to Surat Thani.
- Wat Po Massage Crew!: Marco, sexy-italian-police-gogo boy, 'I almost failed for having too sexy hair' Yuko, Mushroom mama Yukiko, Hardcore drinking Hiroki, Ana, Otto..couldn't have asked for a better group
-Toom: good to see you after all those years, and thanks so much for all the travel arranging on the Bangkok side of things! hope to see you again soon too!
- Jenn: sooo glad to meet a non-Calgarian..Calgarian. great convo on that Cambodia bound bus, and lets keep each other sane in the homeland
-Obi wan Timobi! for keeping the force on ko Chang, on land, in the water, in the kayak..and being my first paying massage customer!
-Byron and Sarah, for the introductory evening in Vientiane
- Marnie, the great yoga teacher in Vientiane who not only brought me some inner peace, but job hunt tips which helped me make the informed decision I did
- Kheum, the monk I was priveleged to meet at the monk chat. 2 of the best hours spent on the entire trip
- Matt: could a more STYLISH person exist? I highly doubt it. Hopefully we can stylishly own another exotic city one day (um, ya, maybe Chicago counts for me?)
- Irene: who else would be so kind as to buy a random Vietnamese old man an ice cream, just cos she was eating one and he was standing there?
- Marcia: although she only joined us for one dinner in Hoi An, an exceptional lady in her 50's who'd come to Vietnam on her own to search for teaching work (hmm, sound familiar? hopefully she lacks my commitment phobicity though..)
- Cooking (with) Class! Terry, Lisa and again Irene, I thoroughly enjoyed, despite the fact your roses and fans were all better than mine
- Uri & Daniel: Para bailar La Bamba, Se necessita una poca de gracia! Thanks for the great spirit on that boat trip despite the rubbish weather! Of course with that great band, how could we not smile..
- Roberto: grazie, grazie mille per tutto (including that story about the americans on the NY - Dublin flight who thought they were part of the EU..)
- Tiffany: for the short but fulfilling convo in Ko Tao...
- Carmen: dive buddy number one! what a great day..
- Dan and Becca: more divers!
- Rosie, Annabel and Kieran: great to meet such a down to earth group of people where one might not otherwise find them (ie, the haad rin beach area). Made the 'munchies' day and fish bbq that night so much more enjoyable. we still should have commandeered that boat though..

and one side note on someone I actually did not have the fortune of meeting, but was rather told about by a girl who was on a Surin islands trip with this person: a lady, in her 70's called Betty. She is American, and retired from the foreign service, now living in Nepal. Never married, never had kids. why? 'no commitment'. kudos to her for living how she wanted. by the account I was given, she lives quite happily (and healthily) trekking the mountains of middle asia. I saw a photo of her and she looked about 10 years younger, at least..coincidence? I think not. I mention it only, because I always like to hear about those who zig while others zag. Even nowadays being so independent can be met with resistance, so I cannot imagine how it would have been for her.

Happy travels to all of you, and should you land in..well, wherever I may land, I welcome you!

all in all, this trip has been...a trip. I left Vienna last year running on empty, but I now return to the homeland, by choice (for now!) with fully charged batteries. I'm incredibly, incredibly blessed and lucky to have had this experience, and in the iconic words of Ahhhnold...'I'll be back'!