And so we, dear readers, the second of the four continental epilogue that will have this blog. However, not chronologically comes just half of the trip, because we had divided the continent equally, if we set aside 3 months for Africa and South America, at the beginning and end of the year respectively, but decided to use 4 months in Asia and only 2 in Oceania. Mainly because, with all that Asia has to see, we had never encouraged to come by here (except for a scale of one day in Singapore), while we already knew enough of Australia and New Zealand. So in Oceania us "conformabamos" to visit some of the South Pacific islands, along with Papua New Guinea which has finally fallen on the itinerary.
By starting this asian with a headline summary very, very general, could be said to have met our expectations with reasonable accuracy. And I mean that if at the beginning of the journey you ask me which is the region of the world think you'll like very least, he said Asia. It is true that has been somewhat mixed. Even while in Asia, Nepal was our most sought after destinations globally, and left us speechless, return safely, and do not take long. Laos has been a pleasant surprise, a small oasis of calm and authenticity, but we travel in some detail and I have not been the itch to come back soon. You know very well the little disappointment that we get to India, and in this second stage in Vietnam is likely to have accused some wear with their way of being ... and the little while of this region. And, also as an important part of this overview, we must say that we had not passed in our lives as hot as these 4 months (excluding days on the mountain in Nepal ... and not all :-/). People (the number of people, I mean his way of being ... in some places, too), and extreme heat, do something more logically durillo the trip, and we had plates full of both over the 4 months old.
So, as I said, is likely to meet our initial feeling, and when we finish the year we see in Asia, a region in which we really enjoyed, although less than in the other 3. But does not seem fair as compared with the continents to which we have not yet arrived (although we know from before), making this final reflection I tried to simply compare with Africa, to find that our feelings so different in either site.
In an effort to distill and synthesize the maximum, I think what attracts us is the underdevelopment of Africa primitive, a kind of "original poverty" that is as embedded and assumed. Even as the cradle of humanity, I think the wheel of progress over hundreds of years there has simply turned more slowly. And everything is there another rhythm, time passes more languidly (what they call "African time"). In Asia, much more densely populated, lower development of many of these countries gives the feeling of being the result most of its troubled history, which has slowed them every now and again have had to take a run, rather than their way of being or lack of entrepreneurial spirit. In general, Asia curran long and hard, and that's just a matter of time that all these countries are placed at our level, and some we brought forward without regard (does anyone doubt that China will be the first world power in a few years?) . Always, of course, that his political situation remains more or less stable, regardless of the color you have (and is that red is not what it was
:-) And how does this translate that Africa wins the departure for us? Well, that is like a diamond in the rough, hypnotic beauty despite (or because of) their patents imperfections. Asian diamond is discovered and polished rather than "to our liking" (That of a majority of tourists, foreigners but also local), is no less precious, as I have enjoyed it much, but has not attracted the fascination about Africa animal that made us feel.
Finally, of course this is a huge generalization and, especially, is very personal . We "semos asin", and in the same way that (thankfully) not everyone frequents the nudist beach just 10 km from Valencia and others prefer a thousand times "acclimated" beaches, it is perfectly possible (and normal) than for other Asia win by a landslide. For us it was worth, was a new experience that we wanted to have, Nepal and we fall in love again, and the rest we enjoyed almost daily perhaps something less than daily in India. But, as even before this trip, Asia is likely to continue without being a destination of choice in our future choices of vacation destinations.
That said, I would add that each time I am more conscious of the fact that a trip like this can take some of the assessments to transfer to the blog. While it is true that sometimes I find myself striving to be objective ... in the background is absurd, I pour everything here is totally subjective and so must be (this is not a newspaper). But it is fair to include some qualifications, it is easy to keep the excitement level and the ability to enjoy any kitchen for 3 or 4 weeks (the duration of a typical trip), including several more, but several months will inevitably go through phases in your state of mind as is any other year. Well of course it is not "like any other year," but I understand :-)
So Far, I have already told in previous posts some unwanted effects (and also unexpected) of a trip like this, one year continuously. We are importing or the least that more than one has asked us, each day sleeping on a site and thus lead the pack ... Well, this last if you get lazy: - / But in the same way that sometimes a destination is negatively influenced by another recent destination, and with which it is impossible not to compare, on other occasions current target is affected by later. "Ein? How we manage that trick in the time? It turns out that, in general, we need not do a lot of prior preparation, we bought the guide of the country following a few days before arrival and arrange everything on the fly, with very few exceptions (some have rental car booked in advance The first hotel in a new country, things like that). But in the last month we have been forced to anticipate and prepare for some destinations much later (Fiji, Tahiti, to investigate whether we want to see some other South Pacific island ... even Chile, at the end of our year!), Or for various reasons we made and we could see problems on these sites once (Without accommodation, without transport, both). This planning in advance is normal, and that's what we've done so many times ... also constitute a first step pre-trip we have always enjoyed. Of course, when you do in your spare time at home, but scratching hours your current destination, the conflict of interest is ... Terrible! It's great to start dreaming of that country to which we will shortly, but sucks a lot to do at the expense of sacrificing some other things in today, because you can not always connect to the Internet late in the evening when you will be advisable. Finally, it is paradoxical, a tad stressful, and in short is not cool ... but sometimes no other choice, and this last stage as we walked Vietnam have had enough of this for our taste. What are the things!
Luckily, although we play there also be more hours than we wanted on the Internet, Asia ended with a small pearl: Hong Kong. In total we spent 3 days in this city, which deserves special mention is intersantisima. It's one of those "new" Asian metropolis, in the line of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and the most devoted itself as Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing ... we know only Singapore and Hong Kong now, but I would bet that they all have many similarities. Especially one, the cult of modernity and consumerism in these cities minimally nothing "old" remains standing, and what replaces it is unlikely to be an office building or shopping center. Or both at once. This means that housing is not expensive, expensive! (To laugh at the prices of Madrid, really). But those who get to live in these cities enjoy more pointers services, also much better than we have in large Western cities. Without going any further, the Hong Kong public transportation is disbelief, especially the metro. And among that is fast, expansive and modern, and also very cheap, it's wonderful to see a city as crowded as Hong Kong has virtually no traffic jams ... Everyone take public transportation! And to think that a "clothed themselves" too simple to apply get almost nowhere :-(
Logistics
Honestly, there is little to say on this subject in this part of the world. Unlike Africa, for here there is little adventure possible, especially if you are confined to more routes classic. Along with South America (though possibly more), is the backpacker area of \u200b\u200bthe world but, for ease of travel independently and, above all, by their prices. Now I have given some examples but for that you see more concrete idea in these 4 months we will have spent on average about 25 euros a day each. Yes, everything including, without bracelet :-)
The most "difficult" in these countries may be just what you least expect , due to very different standards of beauty, it is curious as the dark here is not seen as something beautiful but quite the contrary ... Eve so that the saw and wanted them to find moisturizers that have similar or bleach! But come on, was of the few things that although not in the supermarkets, do not got. And they are so insistent offering you just about everything, every hour on the street, some shirts that sold totally hit the nail on the head. In India and Nepal had a few in which he read a string like "tuk-tuk No, no taxi, no tiger balm, no marijuana, no shopping, no dollar", to try to "avoid" having to repeat "no" to so many colorful offerings. And there was another Indochina a mythical phrase that area, "SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT ..." which is what I told you to match what you are looking for what they have, in most of the time even remotely similar ... Hence the irony of the tagline: - /
we eat (and drink)
I'm not doing a review of the cuisine in these last 4 months, but if it had targeted a couple of curiosities about meals .
For example, since we arrived in Asia, we realized that there do not take the menu lists the ingredients of each dish to the letter, if one or several things that have not, you exchange it for other or bring it to you without it and as hot dogs, though the dish may no longer have much to do with the original. Without exception has occurred in India, Nepal, Vietnam and Laos in've read somewhere they do not like "disappointed" and tell you not have certain thing, so as closely as possible. In short, no longer merely anecdotal and smiled when the approach is rather symbolic, while the dish is still edible. Or not as exaggerated as a site of Nepal, in which I asked apple pie and, as they had not brought me directly (this time telling me ... but according to their own criteria) ... Rice pudding! And see you were right :-) And in Nepal
us peculiar not something we ate, but the site itself. It was a typical Nepali restaurant, relatively "Fisna" to what was usual for there, 'and a pair of swallows had nested inside. Well, without thinking twice, the owners had adopted without hesitation, even though they had upholstered poop most of the walls (which is also cleaned, it was like an eschatological coated) and threw some good fly low over the diners during dinner. We loved. That is to integrate nature and the rest talk :-) That
read a while since I went over the best that we have eaten, because if we read two at a good pace. Although, as usual, lately I'm over Eve, but with some advantage, we have had many hours of bus, and I do not get dizzy reading :-)
Leaving India, wanted to read some of Gandhi. But the only thing I could find (in the thrift stores) turned out to be about, not written by him, and was more of a Toston. "Instead," fell into our hands another book whose characters were Muslims, although this time unfolding in Afghanistan, and were not immigrants as "Maps for Lost Lovers." "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is a bestseller written by an Afghan refugee in the U.S. during the Russian invasion of his country, and the harshness with which the story of two women living in that country over the last, terrible 30 years , is shocking. Fiction, but I fear that too many doses of reality, a lot of fabric! Also
to make your hair stand on end, but in another completely different line, is "Into thin air." Of course, after Annapurna, I wanted to read any book of mountaineering, and this is possibly the most famous (Eva and I had read when it came out 13 years ago), on an expedition to Everest that left rather frog. I still shudder to remember it, but if you animais thou mayest not release until the end ... As I removed was keen to draw a eight thousand, but most of us we had neither the agenda, "ein? =: -0
Finally, in an exchange several bands with the 6 that we are in northern Laos, we play the second part of "The Pillars of the Earth" in Spain entitled "World Without End ". Literature and entertaining easy, as the first, so that is 1200 pages fly by. Highly recommended for those seeking a fun book to disconnect, beach vacation :-) --------------------------
For this and a biscuit, we have a light snack Asia and we are in the eighth month of sabbatical =: -0 You can imagine what we would like, in a few weeks crossing the International Date Line Change Date, we jump back not a day but many more.
Finally, in the absence of a time machine, by all means try to imbue the "island pace" that pride themselves on our next destination (like Fiji, where we publish this.) At the moment, promises.
Hasta la vista, Asia! Juan and Eva
PS: With the previous post we went back to have a few "direct problems," as we came up with some frequency in Africa (a continent less connected to the internet), but I already had forgotten since I stepped on the India. In the end, that was not gone much longer publish a hurry that he had, and after a couple of times I have edited and expanded what I wrote in his day ... if you want to read it again.
0 comments:
Post a Comment