Judy and I are off to Southeast Asia soon and this posting gives an overview of where we’re going and what we’ll be doing. We’ll be visiting five countries in a period of 30 days. Here’s an overview of the trip, including a map to help you (and us) understand where in the world we’ll be. By the way, it’s a regular Google map so you can use your mouse or fingers to expand/contract and move around as you wish. But be careful; if you scroll across the map while trying to scroll down the page of this blog you might end up changing the map! You can always redo the map of course – no damage done.
By the way, Google tells me that we’ll fly 4,000 miles while in Southeast Asia on 9 flights over 28 days. The trip from Boston to Hong Kong is a little less than 15 non-stop hours covering almost 8,000 miles.
Whose idea was this trip, anyway?
1 – Nov 10 – 11 Travel to Hong Kong from Boston nonstop
2 – 4 Nov 11 – 13 (1) Hong Kong on our own
5 – 7 Nov 14 – 16 (2) Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar
8 – 9 Nov 17 – 18 (3) Bagan, Myanmar
10 – 11 Nov 19 – 20 (4) Mandalay, Myanmar
12 – 15 Nov 21 – 24 (5) Bangkok, Thailand
16 – 18 Nov 25 – 27 (6) Luang Prabang, Laos
19 – 20 Nov 28 – 29 (7) Vientiane, Laos
21 – 22 Nov 30 – Dec 1 (8) Phnom Penh, Cambodia
23 – 25 Dec 2 – 4 (9) Siem Reap, Cambodia
26 – 29 Dec 5 – Dec 8 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Viet Nam
30 – Dec 9 Fly to Boston via Hong Kong
What will we see? Who knows, for sure. Lots of Buddhists and their temples, no question. Lots of scenery and, we hope, lots of chances to meet people and learn what life is like in Southeast Asia. Food? Will we gain or lose weight? How will wifi availability stack up against Cuba? New Zealand? Onawa?
We’ll be interested to see what the local political and cultural situation is today and how the past of colonialism and the Vietnam war affect today’s world. Of course each country has its own pre-colonialization history and culture shaping its present.
Hong Kong is trying to maintain a level of independence now that the Brits have left and Mainland China is in control. Myanmar/Burma is facing worldwide condemnation for their treatment of the Muslim Rohingya peoples. Thailand has the world’s 27th largest economy but has a history of bouncing between the current constitutional monarchy and military juntas. Laos, a true Communist nation but with a private business sector, depends heavily on trade with its neighbors and is one of the poorest Southeast Asia countries. Cambodia has a one-party constitutional monarchy and a fast-growing economy but lives in the shadows of the Khmer Rouge period of the 1970s. Viet Nam is seeming to succeed as a market-oriented Communist state.
All face issues with ethnic minorities. All have their fair share of political instability, corruption and poverty. And of course their common neighbor, China, looms large over all.
Nonetheless, it has been our experience that there are some universal truths across all cultures. People still grow up as children, fall in love, have families, worry about feeding their kids, finding some kind of gainful employment, develop friendships, argue with oneanother – the whole range of day-to-day human activities. It’s interesting to watch people grapple with day-to-day living.
So there will be lots to do, see and learn and one or two pictures to snap. We’ll try to keep you updated with regular blog postings here, as regular as our energy and wifi availability permit.
Jon and Judy