Asia Insights

I never thought I would travel in Asia, let alone spend 7 months there moving from Vietnam to Thailand, Laos, China, Hong Kong and Philippines! One of the coolest things about traveling is noticing the small differences in culture and human behavior, things we usually take for granted. Here are some of my personal observations on this matter, read on…

Hong Kong High tech shower

Hong Kong High tech shower

Toilets – one of the most diverging points of a society is the bathroom! In China you better be prepared to squat, in Thailand you will use a bucket to flush the toilet even if there is running water in the tap. In Philippines a toilet seat is far from being required and forget about hot water!  Vietnam is quite westernized in this department although there isn’t any separation between the shower and toilet so prepare for a wet toilet seat (like almost everywhere in Asia!) while Hong Kong is a different world and you can even choose the temperature of the water!

street market Hanoi Vietnam

street market Hanoi Vietnam

Supermarkets – supermarkets are a great way to get to know a society. In north Vietnam there almost aren’t any, all the locals still go to the markets twice a day to buy fresh products. Thailand and Hong Kong have been taken over by 711! But in Hong Kong all the supermarkets are so tiny and overcrowded there are actual human traffic jams in the aisles. The Philippines was a big surprise for me with loads of western products. While in China they have no bread, only dried crackers, but a whole section of different kinds of noodles. Also the cosmetics section which is massive everywhere in Asia (packed with skin whitening creams!) was much smaller.

Bicycling in Laos, hiding from the sun as usual in Asia.

Bicycling in Laos, hiding from the sun as usual in Asia.

Getting around – It is amazing how many different ways to make a Tuk Tuk there are. Thailand is famous for its Tuk Tuks that seem to be specifically manufactured. In the Philippines they just attach makeshift carriages to a motorbike. In Vietnam there are only motorbikes! In Laos they look like small converted tractors with the passengers sitting in the back but most people are still on bicycles.

Public transportation also varies a lot. Hong Kong is definitely the best with cheap super advanced metro and buses. Thailand is the land of luxury intercity buses (some even have a massage chair!). Laos will use the words “luxury” and “first class” but don’t believe them. Vietnam was surprisingly ok with bus schedules and air con! In China you have to take your shoes off to get into the sleeper buses which are crammed, with no marked seats and not all seats are created equal. The Philippines was probably the worst, with no schedule, no air con, and buses that seem they might fall apart on the way.

Folding money in the Philippines

Folding money in the Philippines

Money – I mean the actual notes! Vietnam is smart enough to get rid of all the coins although they have an obsession for new crisp notes and won’t accept anything that looks too old. While in the Philippines they are obsessed with folding and crinkling up the notes! Laos has the most confusing notes in my opinion with all of them looking pretty much the same. Hong Kong has some high tech plastic notes. And in Thailand the heavier the coin the less it’s worth!

Utensils – A knife cannot be found anywhere in asia! Even modern Hong Kong will give you a fork and spoon. In Vietnam and China even those are rare and you better know how to use them chopsticks.

Communication – In China you will get shouted at, but don’t take it too hard they shout at each other all the time too. In Laos you might be completely ignored while in Vietnam people might just shake their heads in a ‘no’ motion. In Thailand people will say ‘yes, yes’ even if the answer is no, in Hong Kong people will smile and politely keep speaking Cantonese at you and in the Philippines you will almost always find someone that speaks decent English!!!

Food coloring and bucket of sugar in this Philippines traditional desert

Food coloring and bucket of sugar in this Philippines traditional desert

Food – Asia is known for it’s strange ‘delights’. In Vietnam, silk worms, frogs, snails and dogs are a common thing. China will outdo even that with eating… well everything….there aren’t even any rats on the street. China will also over-fry and over-chemical everything. I’ve heard stories of apples not rotting for more than three months. Personally, for the first time in my life I had constant heartburn after two weeks there.

Thailand is queen, king and emperor of spicy food, but also of delicious fruit, fruit shake and fresh coconut water which I will miss forever. Laos was a bit dull while Philippines is obsessed with food coloring and sugar (seriously they add sugar to peanut butter!). For desserts head over to Hong Kong for endless delicious varieties of sweet soups, mochi style rice dough or jelly dessert.

I would recommend staying away from the Dorian stinky fruit which is popular throughout Asia, unless you enjoy the smell of sewage.

Tea house in China

Tea house in China

Coffee or Tea? Vietnam has Its own delicious variation of ice coffee and also some strange room temperature teas, in China you will spend a small fortune for a cappuccino so you better stick with the endless varieties of teas served in tiny miniature bowls. Laos and especially Thailand are home of bubble milk Tea but not much when it comes to quality stuff.

Drugs – Thailand weed is great, Vietnam isn’t too bad either but don’t expect too much of the Chinese brand. Good luck finding any in Hong Kong. Laos is rumored to have opium but I couldn’t find any. In the Philippines they smoke pipes since rolling paper is very expensive and the weed had a delayed effect on me kicking in only half an hour after I smoked.

Chocolate? What in Asia? You have to be kidding me?!?!

 

 

 

 

Thai Massage

I’ve spent the last two weeks, waking up at 8 a.m to go back to school, massage school. Read on…

Practicing on my teacher

Practicing on my teacher

Hanging out with loads of climbers, my basic massage skills have definitely been useful, so I figured I might as well get some real training in Chiang Mai, which is known for its massage schools. After some research I headed to the Thai Massage School Shivagakomarpaj in The Old Medicine hospital. It is the oldest massage school in Chiang Mai. I knew I should expect a big group but the group was even bigger than what the school had told me. We were 24 student with only 2 or 3 teachers at any time.

What the school altogether didn’t mention is that every day starts with 20 minutes of prayers!!! My allergic reaction to religion went off, while all the students stood and chanted words they don’t even understand (there were only 2 Thai women and the rest were westerners). I  sat, on a bench, refusing to stand, experiencing post traumatic flashbacks from my childhood. The next day I obviously came late but to my surprise after the prayer the class began with another half hour of meditation! No I’m not entirely against meditation, although I’m pretty sure that the teacher leading it was making fun of us, saying things like “thank you for the water and the soup as well, especially the tom yom soup”, but this is not what I paid money for.

The class guide book was very basic so we were all snapping extra pictures and I ended up making a detailed powerpoint of all the classes. The teaching was very “eastern”, which means watch and copy, do as you are told. This is typical to the martial arts I practiced in Vietnam and is the traditional way to pass on knowledge but for it to work you need a lot of personal attention from your teacher, which we weren’t really getting. I guess the only really good thing about the school was meeting a bunch of very interesting people.

Yep I'm Certified!!!

Yep I’m Certified!!!

Anyway, after I got the first level certificate and headed to look for a private teacher. I found Nanthikan whose massage skills are far superior than anyone I’ve met. The flow of her movements is like a dance. She plays the human body like a musical instrument, coordinating her fingers, arms and body position. Unlike a lot of teachers and schools that are very strict and traditional she is very open to focus on what I want to learn, not forcing me to memorize the exact sequence but instead explaining the reasoning and working with me on techniques and precision. Even a professional complainer like me has found nothing to complain about! We’ve been working on getting my whole body weight behind every movement, using my skeleton and not muscle power (much like climbing), learning how to dig my fingers into tendons and a whole lot of very interesting stretches.

I’ve been practicing almost every day after class and it really is amazing how each body is different and how much I feel I’m training my own body while actually working on someone. Even if I’m really tired before I start, at the end I’m really energized, like after a nice, not too hard, workout.

The results so far from the people I’m training on have been quite good. Still an occasional flinch here and there but they all seem to enjoy it. One person even fell asleep, which my teacher says should be a compliment, although I’m pretty sure he was just really tired.

The Sky is Burning!

The Yi Peng festival in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand embodied the essence of Thailand’s ‘Safety Last!’ moto. If I’d believe in miracles I’d say it was a miracle the city hasn’t burnt down. Since I don’t I’ll just say it’s a statistical deviation – read on!

A lantern stuck in a tree

A lantern stuck in a tree

Lighting the night sky

Lighting the night sky

Thousands of people went out to the streets, buying small hot air lanterns and literally burning their money into the sky for “good luck”. The air balloons mostly lit the sky in a beautiful, if very polluting display. Some of the balloons weren’t so lucky and got tangled in trees and electric lines, burning everything in their way. But a power outage here and there is not going to stop the celebration is it?

There were also parades and food stalls

One of the smallest Fireworks that filled the nigh

One of the smallest Fireworks that filled the night

but the real danger was the Fireworks. It seems the municipality found a way to save funds. Instead of paying for fireworks they just make it legal (or at least not illegal) to buy and shoot fireworks anywhere you want. Walking down the road felt like a war zone, fire crackers exploding left and right. More than one massive firework missile was accidentally shot into a bar or hotel. Kids as young as two years old were playing with explosives in the road. Hopefully they came out of the 3 day festival with the same amount of fingers.

It's not starts it's lanterns!

It’s not stars – it’s lanterns!

Supply and Demand

On a short stopover in Bangkok I’ve decided it’s time to write about my encounters with the Thailand sex trade. I’m not sure I can make any sense of it but I’ll do my best.

Out of respect for privacy I didn't take pics of any of the workers..

Out of respect for privacy I didn’t take pics of any of the workers..

Although prostitution in Thailand is illegal it is extremely wide spread in every touristic area. I’m not sure if this is only because the “high” season hasn’t started yet but right now the supply of sex workers seems to be much larger than the demand. This creates a very strange atmosphere in the prostitution areas (which include just about every club and pub or sidewalk outside a big hotel and many massage places with “extra” menus). Many prostitutes actually harass men that pass by them, grabbing at them and pinching them. My male friends reported that they are afraid to look around at a night club because the moment their eyes cross a sex worker’s she will immediately leech on to them thinking that they are interested. Unfortunately many women can relate to this feeling when going dancing anywhere else in the world.

I was wondering how I would be treated as a female walking down one of the main prostitution streets in Bangkok. In Amsterdam’s red light district I was constantly harassed by drunken tourists who had completely lost it after seeing some naked women standing in the windows.  In Bangkok I felt completely safe. I was an over-privileged white women, no one even looked at me. Some Canadians who were talking to my guy friends about a “ping pong show” seemed slightly embarrassed by my presence.

We walked into many of the “go go” bars. Outside the bars women in some type of half-clad uniform were trying to beckon people to come in. Inside, those same women were standing on a stage with poles, but they weren’t pole dancing. They were moving their hips mechanically with zero enthusiasm and utter boredom. There were no men inside the club. The bartenders and managers were all older women. I would like to believe that the women are really managing the business but that would probably be naïve. The ‘system’ at the bar is paying for a “lady’s drink” which goes to the bar and then negotiating with the lady.

We also ventured into a “lady boy” club. “Lady Boys” or Kathoey in Thai are transsexuals, some of who have undergone sex change operations. Kathoey are much more visible in Thailand and socially accepted, many of them work at shops and restaurants yet still suffer from discrimination legally and socially. The “Lady Boy” club was completely different. The moment we entered 20 workers jumped at us and sat all around us making a crazy amount of noise. When they realized we weren’t going to buy any “Lady drinks” they disappeared and one of them even tried to shoo us away. The ladies on the stage were dancing much more enthusiastically and constantly checking how they looked in the mirrors around the club, fixing their clothing and hair which was much fancier than the women in the other clubs. Some of them were utterly gorgeous and it seemed to me they were enjoying their bodies which they had worked very hard to get.

The most distressing part for me was seeing very young women. It’s true that it is very hard to tell with Asians but I’m pretty sure at least some of the workers were underage. I guess the interesting upside for me was seeing representations of all the various body types, fat, thin, old, tall or short. The Hollywood “one women to fit them all” hasn’t yet taken hold and since this is a market governed by supply and demand I guess this means that when men are free to choose what they want they don’t all want the same thing.

In general I’m not against the sex trade. I would rather strengthen sex workers, care for their health and erase the “stigma” society sticks to them than drive them to the underground where pimps rule. I obviously don’t know enough to make any real judgment about the Thai sex trade but the power dynamics and the freedom sex workers seemed to have (negotiating their own price and saying no to customers they don’t want) gave me some semblance of hope. Yet the bottom line remains, mixing so much sex and money leaves room for so little sexy.

 

 

 

Paradise Lost

I know I’ve disappeared a little in the last few days. I’ve made it out to Tonsai, a remote beach in Thiland, dominated by climbers. It’s where the ghost of Bob Marley has come to live and smells of ganja mixed with tiger balm, sweat and magnesium. Such beautiful people on a beautiful beach that I find myself contemplating ‘what I have done to deserve this?’

Beautiful beach beautiful people

Beautiful beach beautiful people

The uniqueness of Tonsai starts with the remoteness. It’s not an island but there is no way to get to it over land. Getting to the “modern” Reily beach is done by treking through the jungle or crossing over slippery stones at low tide. This means there is no law enforcement around, and “sex, drugs and Bob Marley” rule the island. But that’s only the beginning of the story, there are many such remote beautiful places that have been taken over by big resorts and hotels. Tonsai is different. Locals own all the small bungalows and restaurants. The reason for that seems to be due to Tonsai’s one major imperfection. Its beach doesn’t have enough sand. At low tide the water front moves far out and a stone field takes over making it almost impossible to get into the ocean while at high tide the water covers the entire beach and you have to wade through the waves to go from one bar to the other.

Climbing with monkeys!

Climbing with monkeys!

This is not the only imperfection that keeps the main stream crowd away. There is no electricity in Tonsai during the day and no hot water anywhere on the beach. When it rains the paths become one big mudslide, evil mosquitoes are always buzzing around and sometimes you literally do get ants in your pants!!!

 

Pink Floyd reggae style with a violin... Nuff said!

Pink Floyd reggae style with a violin… Nuff said!

Most everyone that comes to Tonsai comes to climb the beautiful cliffs. Even those that didn’t come for that get sucked into the sport/art. Climbers don’t usually just pass through, they come for longer periods, which allows for a real comradery to develop between climbers from all over the world. I’ve already written about the sharing and support I’ve found in climbing culture and Tonsai is no different, only more international and the night life is more active. With fire shows, drinking, some really good local bands and some terrible open mic nights and obviously the weed (some mushrooms and LSD too).

Locals playing a crazy game  that combines Soccer and Volleyball

Locals playing a crazy game that combines Soccer and Volleyball

There is also a very interesting symbiosis between the locals and the climbers. I’m hoping that it’s not just the money that the climbers bring in that makes the locals who have ‘seen it all’ so laid back and ok with it all.

Anyway, I’ll probably be here for a while more…. It is my version of paradise after all.