After a few days struggling in Krabi with the hardest decision I ever had to make, I'd had it. I was completely finished, done for, up, ... I couldn't go further; I couldn't bring up the energy to find out where to go or what to do. The prospect of going to Laos, Cambodia and the north of Thailand, instead of filling me with joy, only filled me with tiredness and a feeling of disinterest.
I realized that I was travel tired already for a while, and the only thing that kept me going was Alex' company. He makes traveling a lot of fun and made me do things and go places that I otherwise wouldn't have done.
It took me a few Skype calls and cookies from the lovely girls in my dormitory, as well as a few talks with them, to come to my conclusion: I wanted to go home. The only thing I could think about was being at home, have a hot bath, drink hot chocolate, snuggle in front of the television in a blanket and fall asleep.
Traveling home happened in a frenzy. On Saturday night I took a night bus from Krabi to Bangkok. In Bangkok, where I arrived at 6 am, I was met by Chai, Alex' friend, who let me sleep for a while in his hostel. After that I did some last shopping on Khao San Road and I realized that - in better times - there is something to say for the area and Bangkok.
I met up with Chai for a few last cheap beers and a talk about life and love. Good dude.
After that, struggling with the idea that my coward's flight home was a mistake - or not - I got to the airport in the evening, wandered around, and caught my plane at 00.45 in the night. It would take me another 26 hours to get home.
All this time I was wondering if I was doing the right thing. I still don't know.
In the airport of Zaventem - so familiar and yet so strange - I was met by all the people I love and love me. They even made a "welcome home"-banner for me, and had a chocolate chicken, a toy bear and bubbles. Ahhh ... :-). The meet-up was followed by a little lovely "welcome home"-party. Unfortunately I was so knackered that I couldn't really participate a lot, but I did love the excited buzz around me, the bubbles in my hand and the splendid food my sister had made. Thanks all of you guys.
In the mean time I've been home for about 3 days now and I still don't know if my decision has been the right one. I think it's right in the sense that I honestly couldn't go on in the state that I was in. Yes, I do want to see Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and every other country in the world, but I want to see them in a proper way, I want to get all the fun and joy out of it the way it's supposed to be. I also think it was imperative that I met my friends and family again and get pampered for a while and come back to my senses, because I'd honestly lost them in Krabi.
But do I want to be back in Belgium? I don't know.
The first thing I thought when I flew over Brussels, was: "No! No way. But ... I could go to the mountains now."
I have no idea what's going to happen now and where I'm headed off next. I've been filled with the strange craving of going back to the mountains and snow (I think that's why I love New Zealand so much) so my path might lead there soon(-ish). In any case, these next few weeks will be filled with a lot of thinking.
I have no regrets about this trip (except maybe the one tour Inge and me did in New Zealand towards Glenorchy that was pretty boring and overpriced :-)).
I have seen 5 countries, I-don't-know-how-many cities. I have seen glorious mountains, wonderful lakes, pristine beaches, lush forests and the most perfect sunsets imaginable. I have held a koala, a wallaby and a snake. I've seen the strangest bugs ever in my life. The biggest spiders. Kangaroos, dolphins, penguins, turtles and whales. And so much more.
I have met the nicest people and have come to realize that everywhere in the world, there are so many good people about, of every color, race and sex, who will always be ready to have fun, to just have a chat, and if necessary, to catch you when you fall, even though they have only known you for five minutes.
And I have met Alex. Although we parted in a confused haze, there are still a million feelings there. It's a very big part of my confusion in being home, but also here I have no regrets whatsoever, on the contrary. I love every minute we have spent together, and hope he enjoys the rest of his travels and going home again. Somehow I have the feeling that this is not the end.
So here I am: home. Or not? We'll have to see that in a while.
In the mean time, you won't have to check this blog again. I'll let you know when I'll take it up again :-).
Cheers, people. We've had a lovely ride.
Wednesday 16 March 2011
Thursday 10 March 2011
Destination: unknown
The last days in Penang with Alex were great, and the goodbye at 8 am was hard.
A minivan brought me to Tanah Rata, which is located in the heart of the Cameron Highlands. These highlands are to be found in the middle of peninsular Malaysia's main mountain range (Banjaran Titiwangsa, for the interested), and are known for their cooler climate, tea plantations and some other things like strawberry farms - although the locals are the only ones who don't eat strawberries.
I booked into a nice guesthouse called Eight Mentigi which was brand new. It even had hot showers :-). I hooked up with some people and explored Tanah Rata a bit, although to be honest there wasn't a lot to explore there - the town is very very small and consists mostly of restaurants and souvenirs shops with everything in the form of a strawberry. On top of that it started to rain heavily - rain! Who would've thought! And a cold rain too, mind you. So we got back inside quickly and indulged in some reading and bumming around.
The day after I went on a day tour to see the highlands and a tea plantation. The visit to the plantation was amazing with gorgeous views (never knew a tea plantation could be so beautiful), they were quite the stunner. The mossy forest (literally a forest overgrown with moss) was interesting as well - our guide showed us a lot of different types of plants and so on. The views on the highlands were pretty breathtaking too. The afternoon part, unfortunately, was a bit boring, with a visit to a butterfly farm, a strawberry farm (totally NOT interesting), the time tunnel (pretty pointless, although I did want to take every artefact in there home) and a market. But ah, now I've seen it all.
The next day I set off again, towards Kuala Lumpur this time. I was looking forward to this because this has been the hometown of one of my best friends for a while, but I wasn't immediately impressed. Sure, it's a lot more western than anything I'd seen before, but my first impression was one of total chaos. I couldn't tell north from south from east from west. Chinatown, where I was staying, was a lot less impressive than Penang's, and the hotel I stayed at was a big miss. But ahh. I explored a bit and spent a lot of time in the big malls, mostly because of the air conditioning and because of the rain that fell at a set time every afternoon, which made it impossible to stay outside.
The lake gardens were a nice spot though, where I spent a few hours reading and endeavouring on my own yoga moves :-).
I also went to the Batu Caves, of which I was really disappointed. The Batu Caves are a sort of temple complex inside limestone crops just outside KL. The caves themselves were really nice and worth it, but everything man-made in there ruined the experience in my opinion. I felt no spirituality at all. The only good thing about going there was that I met Malcolm, a retired traveler with loads of stories to tell.
In about 2 hours we were there and back in the city, and since I had a few things to do I agreed to meet Malcolm for dinner. I bought my train ticket to Singapore, sent off a 3kg package to home (my backpack is again a lot lighter!) and rested up a bit in the hotel afterwards (it was raining anyway...).
I met Malcolm and 2 Irish guys in Chinatown which was good for a few animated conversations. I was happy to know that Malcolm would take the same train to Singapore the day after.
I went to see the Petronas towers with the Irish blokes, because I had to have a picture of them by night, right? Now this was finally worth the effort. Plain as they may seem by day, and a bit lost in the skyline of KL, by night the towers really stand out and shine. Good thing I took the trouble to go out there!
The train ride to Singapore was long and boring, although every once and a while Malcolm and I would get into a nice conversation.
Singapore really is so different from KL. Where in KL I was overwhelmed by the chaos, in Singapore I was amazed by the efficiency and cleanliness. People even stopped for us when we wanted to cross a street! Go figure.
We went straight for the hostel (The Inn Crowd) which was a very decent place - so different with what I had in KL. The atmosphere was great.
Malcolm and I went for dinner in the area, which was really not that good to be honest, and I went to bed early because I was starting to get sick.
The day after we set off for a walk through Singapore towards Marina Bay Sands, which stands out in the skyline with its three big towers connected by something that looks like a boat on top. Spectacular! We tried to get in one of the restaurants on the roof to get a view, but were told we had to dress 'smartly' for that ... Too bad, my backpack doesn't carry high heels.
After this I rushed to a meet up with a true Singapore girl - Christel - who was really nice. Unfortunately, my throat, ears and lungs were getting really bad now and I rushed back to the hostel when Christel had to go. Malcolm told me he'd booked a flight to Kuching for the day after, and I realised I really was going to miss him. I figured out my own itinerary and had a last dinner with him, and went to bed for yet another early night, followed by a doctor's visit this morning. I have the feeling I've visited a few too many doctors on this trip! I got yet again a whole range of pills, syrups and antibiotics, and hopefully it helps - I'm knackered.
In the mean time I think I've hit the imaginary wall. The parting from Alex has been weighing on me more than I thought it would, and has left me with a void which I haven't been able to fill up. I've realised that travelling is not only about where you go, but also has a lot to do with who you're with. Well, I miss my partner in crime ...
I've been doing it pretty hardcore so far, rushing from this place to that and trying to see as much as possible, but I've come to understand that in the end it doesn't really matter if you've seen every nook and cranny of every city in every country - as long as you're happy, that's what it is about.
I've been at a loss as to what to do and where to go at the moment, so I decided to go back to Krabi - where, strangely enough, I felt myself pretty at home - to rest up from being sick and to take it easy for a while. I might go to an island from here, I might take up yoga, I might go to the other coast, I might go somewhere completely different - the reason I decided to come here is because of the homey feeling, the very good hostel, the perfect food on the night markets and the closeness of beaches and things to do. I'll decide from here where I'm going next. So for now: destination unknown! But I'm sure that will be fixed soon :-). I'll let you know!
A minivan brought me to Tanah Rata, which is located in the heart of the Cameron Highlands. These highlands are to be found in the middle of peninsular Malaysia's main mountain range (Banjaran Titiwangsa, for the interested), and are known for their cooler climate, tea plantations and some other things like strawberry farms - although the locals are the only ones who don't eat strawberries.
I booked into a nice guesthouse called Eight Mentigi which was brand new. It even had hot showers :-). I hooked up with some people and explored Tanah Rata a bit, although to be honest there wasn't a lot to explore there - the town is very very small and consists mostly of restaurants and souvenirs shops with everything in the form of a strawberry. On top of that it started to rain heavily - rain! Who would've thought! And a cold rain too, mind you. So we got back inside quickly and indulged in some reading and bumming around.
The day after I went on a day tour to see the highlands and a tea plantation. The visit to the plantation was amazing with gorgeous views (never knew a tea plantation could be so beautiful), they were quite the stunner. The mossy forest (literally a forest overgrown with moss) was interesting as well - our guide showed us a lot of different types of plants and so on. The views on the highlands were pretty breathtaking too. The afternoon part, unfortunately, was a bit boring, with a visit to a butterfly farm, a strawberry farm (totally NOT interesting), the time tunnel (pretty pointless, although I did want to take every artefact in there home) and a market. But ah, now I've seen it all.
The next day I set off again, towards Kuala Lumpur this time. I was looking forward to this because this has been the hometown of one of my best friends for a while, but I wasn't immediately impressed. Sure, it's a lot more western than anything I'd seen before, but my first impression was one of total chaos. I couldn't tell north from south from east from west. Chinatown, where I was staying, was a lot less impressive than Penang's, and the hotel I stayed at was a big miss. But ahh. I explored a bit and spent a lot of time in the big malls, mostly because of the air conditioning and because of the rain that fell at a set time every afternoon, which made it impossible to stay outside.
The lake gardens were a nice spot though, where I spent a few hours reading and endeavouring on my own yoga moves :-).
I also went to the Batu Caves, of which I was really disappointed. The Batu Caves are a sort of temple complex inside limestone crops just outside KL. The caves themselves were really nice and worth it, but everything man-made in there ruined the experience in my opinion. I felt no spirituality at all. The only good thing about going there was that I met Malcolm, a retired traveler with loads of stories to tell.
In about 2 hours we were there and back in the city, and since I had a few things to do I agreed to meet Malcolm for dinner. I bought my train ticket to Singapore, sent off a 3kg package to home (my backpack is again a lot lighter!) and rested up a bit in the hotel afterwards (it was raining anyway...).
I met Malcolm and 2 Irish guys in Chinatown which was good for a few animated conversations. I was happy to know that Malcolm would take the same train to Singapore the day after.
I went to see the Petronas towers with the Irish blokes, because I had to have a picture of them by night, right? Now this was finally worth the effort. Plain as they may seem by day, and a bit lost in the skyline of KL, by night the towers really stand out and shine. Good thing I took the trouble to go out there!
The train ride to Singapore was long and boring, although every once and a while Malcolm and I would get into a nice conversation.
Singapore really is so different from KL. Where in KL I was overwhelmed by the chaos, in Singapore I was amazed by the efficiency and cleanliness. People even stopped for us when we wanted to cross a street! Go figure.
We went straight for the hostel (The Inn Crowd) which was a very decent place - so different with what I had in KL. The atmosphere was great.
Malcolm and I went for dinner in the area, which was really not that good to be honest, and I went to bed early because I was starting to get sick.
The day after we set off for a walk through Singapore towards Marina Bay Sands, which stands out in the skyline with its three big towers connected by something that looks like a boat on top. Spectacular! We tried to get in one of the restaurants on the roof to get a view, but were told we had to dress 'smartly' for that ... Too bad, my backpack doesn't carry high heels.
After this I rushed to a meet up with a true Singapore girl - Christel - who was really nice. Unfortunately, my throat, ears and lungs were getting really bad now and I rushed back to the hostel when Christel had to go. Malcolm told me he'd booked a flight to Kuching for the day after, and I realised I really was going to miss him. I figured out my own itinerary and had a last dinner with him, and went to bed for yet another early night, followed by a doctor's visit this morning. I have the feeling I've visited a few too many doctors on this trip! I got yet again a whole range of pills, syrups and antibiotics, and hopefully it helps - I'm knackered.
In the mean time I think I've hit the imaginary wall. The parting from Alex has been weighing on me more than I thought it would, and has left me with a void which I haven't been able to fill up. I've realised that travelling is not only about where you go, but also has a lot to do with who you're with. Well, I miss my partner in crime ...
I've been doing it pretty hardcore so far, rushing from this place to that and trying to see as much as possible, but I've come to understand that in the end it doesn't really matter if you've seen every nook and cranny of every city in every country - as long as you're happy, that's what it is about.
I've been at a loss as to what to do and where to go at the moment, so I decided to go back to Krabi - where, strangely enough, I felt myself pretty at home - to rest up from being sick and to take it easy for a while. I might go to an island from here, I might take up yoga, I might go to the other coast, I might go somewhere completely different - the reason I decided to come here is because of the homey feeling, the very good hostel, the perfect food on the night markets and the closeness of beaches and things to do. I'll decide from here where I'm going next. So for now: destination unknown! But I'm sure that will be fixed soon :-). I'll let you know!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)