7 Things We Will Always Remember About Southeast Asia:
1. The Traffic–
We thought Atlanta traffic was bad. Yeah, it has nothing on Asian traffic.
In Indonesia we would stand and wait for 15 minutes before there was finally a break in the rush of cars coming through. It wasn’t until about week 2 in Asia that we started noticing that the locals just walk in front of cars and just trust that they won’t get hit. It was shocking, but the cars / mopeds always slowed down or dodged them somehow. We finally started getting brave, and sure enough, in Asia, you just have to GO if you ever want to cross the street. There were some close calls, but somehow, we never got hit. 😉
In the Philippines, we were in Manila, also known as “Traffic City”. It could take over an hour to get only 5 miles up the road. Misery at its finest!
In Thailand, we simply walked everywhere due to the traffic and high transportation costs. (We were in a tourist area). One day we had a 25,000 step count from walking so much! It is still the most steps we’ve taken in one day while being on the race.
In Cambodia, we drove bicycles for the month to and from ministry every day. We won’t lie, it was scary riding a bike in Asian traffic at first, but we felt like champions once we were able to confidently drive through it without dying! And oddly enough, we miss it!
And then Vietnam! Hahahahah! Talk about praying harder than you ever have while riding on the back of a Moped with a local. From squeezing in between cars, and hoping your legs don’t get taken off, to going faster than you’d like to, the Asian drivers are ruthless!
MOPEDS, MOPEDS, AND MORE MOPEDS. (Also known as MOTOS) … Southeast Asia is the land of mopeds, and after just five months with them we plan to own one of them for our local Butts County travels. Look out for us in 2019! 😉 Hehehe!
TukTuks! Our personal favorite form of transportation in Asia. It’s like a metal carriage type thing that seats 4-8 people depending on the size of it. It is attached to the back of a Moto, and it is very affordable and fun! It’s also nice to get a nice breeze in the Asia heat!
But overall, thanks to Asian traffic, we learned patience, adventure, trust, and spontaneity!
2. The Street Food–
They told us not to… but did I listen? NO. Justin was good, he rarely ate street food in Asia. If he did, it had to look 100% safe. But then theres me… I wanted to experience the culture and try all the foods. I ate street food quite a bit in Asia. I got sick from Street food for the first time in Thailand, and then in Cambodia. I had all the fun stuff if you know what I mean. So yeah, it was not fun, and I still can’t decide if it was worth it. Hahaha. To future racers or travelers, I DO recommend at least trying cultural food, BUT, be smart. Make sure it is safe before taking a chance on it.
Plus lets be honest, we’ve all heard the jokes about eating cats and dogs and we truly can’t say with total confidence that we haven’t eaten one of them. After all EVERYTHING taste like chicken. Lol
3. The Markets–
Who doesn’t love a good market!?!? Asian markets have it all! Fish markets, meat markets, produce, jewellery, clothes, souvenirs, fabric, food, bags, hair stuff, shoes, sun glasses… you name it, they had it. Tess even got her hair cut in a market for 75 cents! Talk about brave! And then NIGHT markets are really where its at! Prices were a little cheaper, and all of the street vendors were out!
And then the best part. You get to treat markets like a yard sale. In Asian culture, bartering is completely normal. They would name their price and by the end of it, you’re walking away with a fresh pair of pants or new north face shirt for just a few dollars.
Each time we got to a new country and heard about the markets near by we had to go check them out.
4.
4.Rice Is The Main Food Group –
We never thought we could despise a food so much, but then we spent 5 months in Asia.
Rice Anyone? As Bubba Gump would say, “You got steamed rice, fried rice, white rice, rice noodles, rice cakes, rice paper, rice for breakfast, rice for lunch, rice for snacks, rice for dinner, mango sticky rice for dessert. RICE, RICE, RICE!!!”
We might not ever eat rice again…
5. THE HEAT —
There is nothing like the heat that dwells in Southeast Asia. While in Indonesia, we were ON the equator, which tends to be the hottest place on earth.
The rest of Southeast Asia is MIGHTY close to the equator!
Here are some fun quotes heard about the heat in Asia from some of our squad members:
- “It is hotter than the devils armpit!”
- “It iiiissss soooooo hhhoooottttt.” *fans self while rolling eyes*
- While doing a team workout: Me- “Come one guys! This is only the warm up!” — Adam- “I don’t need no warm up! I’m in Southeast Asia! I’m already warmed up!”
- “It’s like a steam bath out here!”
- “I’m wilting…”
- “Excuse me, could I please stick my face in your deep freezer for a moment?”
- “Someone please fan me.”
- “Why did I choose a route with Southeast Asia again?…”
To make matters worse, there aren’t many places with A/C, and CLEAN ice is hard to come by.
There were days that reached over 100 degrees and it showed that it “felt like” 115 some days.
And you’d think when it rained it got better… nope. WORSE. Because then you feel as if you’re in a steam bath because of the intense humidity.
We have never sweat so much in our lives.
Imagine a longggg hot sweaty day. You’re drenched, you feel GROSS. So you go take a nice cold bucket shower (that you’re actually grateful for!). THEN, you get out of the shower, start drying off, and then you’re already sweating again by the time your clothes are on because it is THAT hot. You’re never really dry when in Asia.
There were days that I felt like Sponge Bob when he was in Sandy’s little air bubble…
6. Squatty Potties —
In SE Asia, DON’T flush the toilet paper! I repeat, don’t flush the toilet paper! In Asia, this was one rule that our host always made sure to tell us more than once. The pipes and plumbing system just cannot handle it. Literally you use your TP and then beside the toilet sits a little trash can where you can throw it away. Public restrooms didn’t even have toilet paper as an option… they have a water hose with a spray nozzle. Lol… Spray and Go was the method. Soooooo, we kept toilet paper with us at all times.
Did I mention you were lucky to end up with a toilet. Most places had a little hole in the ground called a “Squatty Potty”, and you just had to hope your aim was on that day. It was always an adventure, and there was never a dull moment in Asian restrooms!
7. The Nicest People On The Planet —
This is not an over-exaggeration. Asians are truly the kindest people group we have personally ever met. They smile ALL the time, no matter what, and about everything! They are the kind of people “that would give you the shirt off their back” even if it was their last one.
The biggest thing we have taken away from Asian culture is that family is everything to them. Before work, money, nice things, food, before everything… comes family.
And the best part is, they always treated us like family from the moment they met us. They loved us like we were their own. We found ourselves meeting someone new a lot and before we knew it, we were at their house having dinner with them and their family. They really taught us a new level of hospitality, selflessness, compassion, and love. Yes, every now and then you would run into a grumpy gills, but overall we’ve never in our lives seen a people group carry themselves in such a joyful way!
Thanks for taking the time to read! 🙂
Love you all!
-Justin and Tess
