The substitute blog

I had a blog ready and waiting for you, but my brother went and got in there before me. Have a read - its much better than the one I would have written - http://www.mihirsadventures.blogspot.com/. He's got some interesting descriptions of me on there too, so that should be reason enough to read it! So rather than bore you with the same thing all over again, I've decided to give you some reflections on my trip so far.

I recently read a trashy travel novel (actually, Khilna was reading it - I'd already read it a couple of years ago, and was hijacking the book when possible), about a guy going to India on his gap year. The book contained the standard parts about drink, drugs, sex, and diarrhoea, but in it, there was an extended tirade by a Westerner towards the book's subject (a 19 year old gap year kid). Anyway, the brunt of the rant was about the fact that this flock of kids come over to a developing country, stay in traveller resorts, never interact with the locals, congratulate themselves on how "brave" and "adventurous" they've been, and leave with something to write down on their CVs - Third World experience - check. (The book was called Are You Experienced by William Sutcliffe for anyone interested). So before I start rambling and lose my point, this led me to question the whole "Gap Year" experience. Was it just another box to tick off on the list? Has it "changed me as a person"? And have I had a lot of interaction with foreign culture, learning more about the countries in question? Well, I'm sorry to say that I don't know the answer to these questions.

So what is travelling? Well its waking up every day in a foreign country, being at total liberty for what to do. I've never experienced this much freedom. You can stay in bed all day, go to a pub at 12 in the afternoon, sit and read all day - anything that takes your fancy on that particular day. When you're at home, there's always an errand to run, or someone to phone, or something on TV - here, there's nothing. Its a disconcerting but beautiful feeling. As I've said, some abuse this freedom, and spend every day in a drunken stupor, but that's not a valuable usage of their precious time. During this trip, I've had the opportunity to go tubing (twice), to go white water rafting, to bathe with the elephants, to feed elephants (on numerous occassions), to visit numerous waterfalls, to do both a Thai and Vietnamese cooking course, to see the temples at Angkor Wat - and these are just the things that I can remember. A lifetime's worth of experiences in three months.

So how much have I experienced the local culture? Not very much I'd say. Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam are rites of passage for most middle-class kids these days, and the result is that you're provided with an experience that is watered down, and not "authentic". After you've got over the disappointment of not being able to stay in village huts with no electricity and running water, you realise that this isn't a bad thing, and that the local areas are just a stone's throw away from the backpacker districts - if you can just be bothered to put down the Lonely Planet and actually look for them! The fact that the route is so touristy means that things like elephant riding and the like are actually quite accessible and inexpensive - something to be grateful for.

So how have I changed as a person? The first thing to change was my attire.. Out went the Ralph Lauren Polos and True Religion jeans, and in came the linen trousers, and locally sourced T-shirts. Over here, nobody cares whether you've got the Abercrombie stag on your shirt, or the Nike tick on your shoes, instead its about comfort, and the hippy vibe! Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix t-shirts are everwhere, as are funky cotton trousers and shorts. Its a great feeling.

Losing my trainers was a blessing in disguise. As much as I loved the Adidas 3-stripe shell toes, I'm enjoying the liberating feeling of not having worn proper shoes and socks for 3 months. I'm currently on my third pair of flip flops, and as people will tell you, every pair of flip flops tells a story! My current flip flops were purchased when my beloved bamboo flip flops broke in Vietnam, just before a long bus journey. These flip flops were bought as a stop gap solution 7 weeks ago, and are still serving me faithfully to this day. They're the very same pair that accompanied me on that trek, when I had to go barefoot. Everyone knows that I've always been a strong advocate of the trainer, but I'm currently loving the feeling that a good flip flop brings!

As for other changes, travelling lets you spend a lot of time thinking about things - a luxury not afforded in the hectic London lifestyle. I've come to some important decisions about my life, and I'll let you know about these later on. I don't feel like I've become a more spiritual person, but I do feel like I have a lot more to talk about (as is evident from these overly lengthy blogs).

I've always been a fan of a good book, and being abroad has allowed me to indulge this passion. Initially, I attempted to read two stupidly complicated books (keeping the mind engaged and all) - A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell, and the encyclopaedia-esque An Outline of History by HG Wells. Both attracted strange looks from fellow travellers, and both were abandoned - at 200 pages and at 500 pages respectively. I've reverted to my true passion - fiction. I hope this doesn't come across as pretentious, unneccessary or stupid, but I'll list my holiday reading, accompanied by a brief review:

The Damned United - a fantastic page turner. This book resulted in a couple of sleepness nights in China, in a desperate attempt to finish the book. A great insight into Brian Clough.

The Grapes of Wrath - possibly one of the best books I've ever read. I've always been snobby about American culture (I don't know why - just a British stigma), but this was a beautiful account of problems affecting those farmers in the Deep South in the early 1900s. I enjoyed the way that it was written by both the farmers and the big businessmen. I can't recommend it strongly enough.

First They Killed my Father - A first person account of a young girl's experience during the Cambodian genocide. A truly harrowing and upsetting book, but a great read for anyone wishing to learn more about Cambodia.

White Teeth - a book that I initially enjoyed a great deal, but that I felt became more and more laboured as it went on. Very creative, and perhaps overly so - Zadie Smith seemed to get more and more lost in her own plot.

A Suitable Boy (volume one) - I'd intended to read this book for a while, especially after having seen Vikram Seth at the Jaipur Literature Festival. It was a wonderfully convaluted account of the attempt to find a husband for one Lata Mehra. I loved it. I was lucky enough to find this book in my guesthouse, and unfortunately for me, all of the local bookshops only seemed to stock Volumes One and Three - the result being that I wasn't able to continue with A Suitable Boy. I briefly toyed with the idea of carrying the 3kg, 3000 page unabridged version, but practicality put a stop to this silly idea.

Right now, I'm reading Dostoevsky's The Idiot (cue the silly jokes) in an effort to be all intellectual, and its proving to be a slog. I did think about giving up on the book, but am now starting to enjoy it. My pride wouldn't let me give up on a third book anyway!

Anyway, enough of this fragmented, nonsensical blog. Next time, order as usual will be resumed. I'm currently on the beautiful Koh Chang, with my beautiful girlfriend. On the beach by day, at beach parties drinking tropical cocktails by night - life doesn't get much better!

Hope everyone is well,

Love to all,

Nihal

PS, after Mihir left Chiang Mai, we spent another two days there. Visited a temple, went to Chiang Mai zoo, and met up with Sagar, Ashni, Amar and their two friends. Good fun.