Meetings with Monks

For me, traveling in Southeast Asia was a time of many firsts: It was the first time I accepted an invitation from complete strangers to eat a meal at their house, the first time I rode a motorbike, the first (and last) time I took a 24 hour bus journey... the list goes on and on.

It was also the first time I saw a monk which, I quickly realized, is a very common sight in this part of the world. During the time I spent in Southeast Asia (particularly in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar) I met and befriended many monks who, in addition to being some of the kindest and most genuine people I've ever come across, were absolutely fascinating to talk to. I often asked them questions and ended up learning quite a bit about how they live.

Making my offering of Goldfish crackers to a monk in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Here are a few of the things I learned during my various meetings with monks:*

• They live very simply and do not receive any kind of income; they survive solely off donations and offerings from people who use their 'services', which can include performing blessings, teaching and spiritual counselling

• They take vows of celibacy, and females should never touch male monks (though I'm not sure the same applies to males touching female monks)

• They live communally in temples or pagodas

• They are required to shave their heads and wear robes, usually in orange or red for males and pink for females

• If there is ever a situation where non-monks are eating with monks, the latter eats first

• It's not only for adults, children can also be 'monks in training'

• For some, being a monk is something they may try for a year or so, while others remain monks for their whole lives (I met an elderly man who had been a monk for over 70 years!)

• They are not allowed to drive vehicles, however they can use mobile phones and computers

Learning about and befriending monks was without a doubt one of my favourite parts of traveling in Southeast Asia, and is one of the things that I miss most.

* Just as there are different types of Buddhism, there are different types of monks, so the rules I mentioned may not apply to every single monk. I don't claim to be an expert on the subject, this is just some of what I learned while speaking with monks during my travels!

International K-9

Most of my friends and family know that I'm a massive dog person. If the idea of walking around with a person who stops to pet practically every dog they see embarrasses you, spending any amount of time around me would probably be very difficult for you. Honestly, when it comes to cute (heck, even not so cute) canines, I have virtually no self-control; I HAVE to go say hello and give them a pet. Just yesterday as I was going into the supermarket, there was this 12 week old black lab named Bonnie... Ben practically had to drag me away so we could get on with our grocery shopping. 

That's something I've absolutely loved about traveling: playing with dogs anywhere and everywhere I go (rabies be damned!). Just like the vast majority of people I met along the way, nearly every dog I've come across has been friendly (except for this one dog in Germany who tried to bite me at a flea market. Ah well, can't win 'em all). These are just some of the many canine friends I've made during my travels:

Agadir, Morocco

Mandalay, Myanmar

Dong Hoi, Vietnam

New York, USA

Siem Reap, Cambodia 

Nha Trang, Vietnam

Tavewa Island, Fiji

Santorini, Greece

Shrewsbury, England

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Venice, Italy (can't find the dog? Look in the pram. Yeah, that's a thing)

2013: A Year in Review

As cliche as it is to say, I honestly cannot believe another year has gone by.

2013 was certainly one of my busiest years to date. I spent the first half of the year as a nomad in Asia: visiting tea plantations in Malaysia, snowboarding in Japan, volunteering with elephants in Cambodia, overcoming my fear of riding a motorbike in Vietnam, participating in the world's biggest waterfight in Thailand and meeting some of the friendliest people ever in Myanmar.

Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Sen Monorom, Cambodia

Yangon, Myanmar

Sapa, Vietnam

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Post-Asia it was time to move to Melbourne, where I met up with this guy who became my boyfriend, tried my hand at being a barista and went on an amazing road trip. From there it was off to tropical Fiji, where I explored its underwater world and hung out in a local village. I was lucky enough to reconnect with family and friends in beautiful British Columbia, as well as meet Ben's family in Shropshire, England for the first time. After that it was back to Australia to try living in a different city (and to earn some money for 2014 travel plans.)

This guy.

Barista-ing, Melbourne

Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Coral Coast, Fiji

Tofino, BC

Ben's house in Shrewsbury, UK

Eleven countries, one boyfriend, countless new experiences... 2013 has certainly been eventful. While this year has made me realize that I couldn't lead this type of nomadic lifestyle forever, it's also reaffirmed my belief that traveling is what I'm supposed to be doing right now. There are certain aspects of a more settled life I'm already looking forward to one day but there are still too many more things in this world I want to see, do, learn, taste and experience first.

I don't yet know what 2014 is going to look like, although I have some ideas (Diving the Great Barrier Reef? Visiting my Cambodian 'family'? Attending a wedding in England? Teaching English in Korea?) so stay tuned!

Words from a Monk

Although I find blogging the best way to share my travel stories and photos, I'm still very much a pen and paper kind of girl. Since I began this trip nearly 10 months ago I have been using a planner, rather than my iPhone, to keep track of various things like flight dates, how much money I've been spending and useful phrases in foreign languages.

The other day while flipping through said planner, I came across a page with a short yet meaningful message written way back in December. It was from Sony, a monk I befriended in Siem Reap. Reading his words couldn't help but remind me just how random and wonderful traveling can be, something that hasn't been on my mind as much since I've started working rather than traveling.

Before leaving home there were many things I never thought I would do: dance in the street to celebrate the 80th birthday of a woman I just met, participate in a Taiko drumming class, take part in the world's biggest water fight or make friends with a monk (more than one in fact) but I did. Travel can be challenging, tiring and frustrating but if you keep an open mind, you will undoubtedly be rewarded with countless memorable experiences like the ones mentioned above.

Thanks for the reminder Sony.

Adios Asia!

After seven months, eight countries and approximately 180 servings of rice, the sun has set on my time in Asia. 

Traveling in this part of the world has been a completely eye opening experience. I had no idea just how different everything, from toilets to modes of transportation, would be! There are many things that I love about Asia and am definitely going to miss...

Beautiful beaches

Riding on the back of motos

Visiting temples and pagodas

Eating cheap and delicious food

Befriending monks

Tuk tuk rides

'Interesting' fashion statements

 ... and some things that I got used to, but will not miss in the slightest

Enough said

Crazy traffic and way too much honking

In addition to adjusting to new norms, I've also learned a great deal about countries I previously knew very little about. The genocide in Cambodia, the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam, the Secret War in Laos, the oppression in Myanmar... while I could have read about these events from home, for me it's no substitute to visiting these places and meeting people who've experienced things first hand.

Killing fields in Cambodia

Bomb crater in Laos

While I'm sad that this chapter of my trip has come to a close, I'm also very much looking forward to the next one. It's time to explore the land down 'unda, where new people, experiences and sunsets await. Bring it on Australia!

The Wow Factor

Two of Myanmar's most popular tourist destinations are Inle Lake, where locals live in houses on stilts over the water and earn their livelihood primarily by fishing...

...and Bagan, an ancient city where there are over 3,000 temples, pagodas and stupas.

I'd heard a lot about both and was really looking forward to seeing them. They both had their pleasant aspects but nevertheless, left me slightly underwhelmed.

It wasn't that these places weren't charming or interesting but I couldn't help comparing them to similar places I had already been to. The stilted houses at Inle Lake reminded me a lot of Tonle Sap Lake, while the many temples in Bagan made me think of Angkor Wat. At the risk of sounding a bit spoiled, they just didn’t impress me the way they might have had I not already seen such similar places in Cambodia. I guess that's a potential downfall of traveling: the more you see of something, be it churches, fountains, waterfalls or temples, the more elusive the 'wow factor' becomes.

Still, just because something doesn't wow you doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourself!