Month Thirteen Recap

Where We’ve Been

Thailand, Cambodia and Nepal

The Highs

• Bayon Temple at Angkor Wat.  This was my favorite of the temples – I nearly got chills when we first saw it.  Such an incredible place.
• Phare, the Cambodian circus.  I left that performance feeling so much joy for the performers, the organization and Cambodia in general.  Well worth the incredibly cheap $15 ticket price for such a wonderful show.
• Being woken up by our wonderful hotel manager in time to witness the stunning views from Pokhara.
• Getting 50% of the benefits of visiting India without having to visit India.  John and I agonized about whether we should go to India or not, but finally decided to skip it for a multitude of reasons.  Fortunately, being in Nepal satisfied many of the reasons we wanted to go in the first place:  we got to do a meditation course, eat loads of fantastic Indian/Nepali food, enjoy very similar music and culture, and we even saw some Hindu cremation ceremonies.  And we managed it all without having to suffer the chaos and illness that appears inescapable in India.  Huge win.

The Lows

• More sickness.  John and I both had a cold during and after our 10 day retreat at Kopan.  Being sick really compromises my ability to appreciate my surroundings.
• Lack of wildlife at Chitwan.  The elephant safari was pretty cool on it’s own, but I wish we had been able to see something other than pigs and deer.

Things I’ve Learned

Toward the end of our stint in Thailand, we started thinking maybe we were just sick of Southeast Asia and Thailand itself wasn’t to blame for our unrest.  (You know, the whole “It’s not you, it’s me.” routine.)  Turns out that wasn’t the problem.  Returning to Bangkok for one last night after visiting Cambodia for five days (and loving it) provided the perfect proof that it really was Thailand and not us.  I doubt we’ll be back.

Nepal, however, quickly made the list for one of our favorite spots despite being by far the least developed country we have visited.  (The roads are abysmal, there is rubble and trash everywhere, the internet is nearly impossible, and I’ve never been to a capital city where there are scheduled power outages daily.)  I guess good food and interesting culture can go a long way.

What’s Up Next

United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey.