First Month of Asia
- Ben Rempe
- Feb 7
- 14 min read
This trip has been insane. This will be my honest opinions, read at your own risk. Will be a long post. Some of the most fun I've ever had by far, also some of the scariest/saddening experiences.
Japan
Spent 3 nights in Tokyo, then took bullet train to Osaka and was there 3 nights. From Osaka I did two day trips to Kyoto and Nara.
Socializing
Most Americans don't understand how actually social "solo traveling" is. Hostels everywhere are packed with solo travelers, who are very eager to talk to new people, and explore places together. Not only is it safer, but its fun to share experiences together and learn about peoples lives, as people are usually from different countries.
You will have hundreds of surface-level interactions that go exactly like this.
"Hello, what's your name where are you from?"
As I have traveled more I've gotten better and skipping this surface level interaction. There's nothing wrong with it, its just repetitive. And to make a genuine connection with someone you need to be very open with your opinion.
This is a reason drinking alcohol is so common amongst the backpackers. It helps to lower inhibitions. Not saying it’s good or healthy, but also don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing. Tipsy conversations are fun.
The common beers in Asia are rice based, instead of wheat which we are used to back home. I’m telling you wheat in beer is so bad for you. I have not had any hangover feelings from drinking the beer here, whereas I usually at least have a minor headache from beer in the US when I have a couple more than I should.
Japan Culture
The difference in culture was more novel than my travels to Europe and South America.
Language shapes a culture, and their language is very different. They don’t use the English alphabet like European and Spanish cultures use. So everything sounds very different, looks weird, is structured differently, etc.
One distinct memory in Japan was standing in the crowded subways and looking at people type on their keyboards, because I was a foot taller than everyone.😂 Was so weird to me how different they type.
Japanese people are very hooked on their phones, Americans are as well, so it’s not that different.
Sex is less taboo in Japan. Lots of advertisements everywhere would have sexualized anime figures. Porn addiction is definitely a problem for the men, as well as in America. I met travelers in hostels who were there for that type of thing. Taking advantage of “love rooms” you can rent for a couple hours. Soft men in my opinion, but I try not to place judgement.
The old Buddhist temples and stuff were cool. Lots of curved edges in their architecture. Things feel more straight and less artistic in America.
The public transport was phenomenal. Trains will get you everywhere. Has to have something to do with how densely populated they are on small island. Obviously Japan is known for their high quality engineering. Some subway stations were literally entire cities underground. Miles of shops underground.
The cars were funny. Very boxy, like stubby noses on the cars. Smaller and more compact on average.
Another thing I found interesting was there was no honking. People are very courteous and respectful in Japan. I never saw anyone even disobey a crosswalk sign, even if there was no car in sight. Bikes are a very common form of transportation and none of them had locks on them. Imagine that, in Colorado I had my locked bike stolen the first night I left it outside.
The food was awesome. Really enjoyed the ramen and sushi I had. A notable meal I had was a restaurant where we caught our own fish. There were no street vendors. Everything was in a restaurant. Fun fact, in Japanese tradition, its considered "compliments to the chef" the loader you slurp your noodles. Had some fun with fellow travelers slurping ramen loudly.
Apparently Tokyo has a conservative governor who ships all the homeless to Osaka, a more liberal city. We see this with Texas sending people to liberal states in the US. Osaka felt a little dirtier. But that also comes with better art, food, bars, etc. “Dirty” in Japan is still worlds better than our gross cities in the US.
I loved the convenient store snacks. There is a lot of cheap snacks. I've met backpackers who are vegetarian who struggle to find food because Asian food is very protein based. Japan's vending machines are also famous. They offer warm or cold drinks. I enjoyed many warm coffees from vending machines.
It was winter, was pretty mild but evenings got chilly. Probably 50-60s during the day and 35-40s at night where I was.
Costs
Proper filling restaurant meals were about $7.
Quick snacks and bottled drinks at convenient stores were about $1-2.
A nice Starbucks coffee was $3.
Hostels were about $20/night.
Beers were about $1.5. A soda was about $1.
Train rides were $1-2 in city, longer rides (45 min) were ~$5 one way. The 2 hour bullet train to Osaka was $90.
1 USD was about 150 Yen. So was dealing in hundreds. A good priced meal would be around 1000 Yen.
I took a 6 hour flight from Osaka, Japan, to Bangkok, Thailand. Cost about $200.
Google Photos Album - https://photos.app.goo.gl/exsZweBWgjfKkuXm9
Thailand
culture shock has entered the chat
SE Asia is way different than Japan. Japan had western capitalism and democracy. These countries are still working through that. Infrastructure sucks, construction methods are sketch, the governments limit their people for their own personal gain. We see this happening in America, hope the new regime pivots us in the right direction.
The major cities like Bangkok do have wealth, so there are lots of nice buildings and skyscrapers. Just not really a public transport system. They have a different app, called Grab, which is their Uber. You can have a guy take you on the back of a moped for pretty cheap, which I enjoyed. Taxis and tuk tuks were also readily available.
Western Tourism's Effect
Western tourism in these countries has lots of bad aspects, as well as some good. I got a little depressed seeing this in Bangkok. Of course I had to check out Khao Sam road, which is the wild street (lady boy prostitutes, crazy loud rave bars, drugs, etc.)
I didn't enjoy seeing interactions between drunk western tourists and the Thai service workers. Lots of kids were working on this street which was sad to me. Some sex workers get eye lashes surgery so they look more appealing to westerners. Many gross westerners go here for the prostitutes. Its more normal in the culture, but from my perspective I couldn't help but feel awful for those workers. I would see them put a nice smile, a fake face, on for a tourist who walked by, and then immediately that smile would leave their face when they passed by.
I discussed with friends about how Bangkok is a vortex for mens souls. From my perspective, people loose a piece of themselves with this type of indulgence. Men feel like gods, they love the power. Their western money is limitless, people beg to serve them, they can rent/buy/f*k whoever they want, are much larger than the local people, it goes on and on. This sounds extreme but I literally met people who had that mindset. Im not innocent, I experienced some of these feelings myself.
"I decide to do good, but I don't really do it. I decide not to do bad, but I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in action. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge." (The Message)
This was also my first couple days in SE Asia so the architecture and art was so foreign to me. It looks so funky, the attention to detail on those temples were insane. The current kings face was posted everywhere, on the streets, skyscrapers, etc. You can get in serious trouble if you say anything negative about the government. Sound familiar to how America was headed? In Thailand, you could get arrested for stepping on a coin, because the kings face is on it.
I did have a good time overall. Only a fraction of tourist partake in that obnoxious behavior. I met some really sound friends and we explored markets, went to a really cool rooftop bar, and ate some really good food. Seeing local artists and musicians gave me comfort. So did forming some deeper relationships with some friends.
Three of the friends I made at a hostel I have been traveling with all the way to Laos. Almost three weeks together now.
These are some solid guys. Hamilton just finished school at Georgia Tech and will be moving to San Francisco after this trip for a finance job. Andrew just finished a masters in mechanical engineering. Nick has a sociology degree, and is between jobs. We are all traveling the same direction so fate brought us together. Each of us are very different than another, and we really enjoy each others company.
After Bangkok I flew to Chiang Mai, about a $70 flight. Really enjoyed my time here, the night markets here are insane, they go on forever. Hostel we were at was extremely social. We did a day trip to this massive waterpark in an old quarry, one of my favorite days of the trip.
In Chiang Mai we paired up with these four girls from England. I really like these girls, our friend group vibes very well. Us eight have been traveling together since Chiang Mai, over two weeks now.
These girls are all from England. Traveling in pairs, two sets of two. The girls personalities are all very different than each other. Our group finds each other very entertaining. They enjoy making fun of us Americans for not knowing half of the words they use in their more extensive version of English. Been some extremely memorable times together, our group will split up when we leave Laos in a couple days, will be pretty sad. The nature of traveler relationships.
After Chiang Mai we took a three hour bus ride to Pai, in northwest Thailand. We all freaking loved this place, it was so chill and beautiful. We stayed here five nights. Did "tipsy tubing" on the river, rented mopeds for a couple days, drove to hot springs, waterfalls, viewpoints, scenic cafes, and much more. Pai was awesome.
Thailand Costs
We stayed at popular, pretty nice hostels. ~$20/night
There were cheaper options that would've also been nice. But happy with where we stayed.
Proper restaurant meals were about $7-10
Street food meals were about $2-6. Some fantastic vendors.
Beer was about $2-3.
Bought a bunch of clothes that ran about $3 each.
Mopeds were $10/day.
Activity admissions were about $2/each for admission.
Three day journey to Laos (bus and boat) cost $15, booked through hostel reception. Included one night stay in hotel as well.
1 USD was about 35 Baht, all transactions done with cash, pulled out of ATMs.
Thailand Google Photos Album - https://photos.app.goo.gl/3v7Q5Vr9WPrrVQvaA
Laos
After Pai, we did a three day journey to Luang Prabang, Laos. Starting with a six hour bus ride, then a two day "slow boat". The bus brought us through the Laos border. Sheesh that was an weird. The border was unorganized and we basically bribed our way through. Laos visa was $25. Stayed the night in a decent hotel before the boat trip.
The boat down the Mekong River was an experience. Very overcrowded with travelers. Super sketchy river, bobbing and weaving around jagged rocks. My group was fortunate to sit next to each other, and we kept each other company through the long two days. The scenery was awesome.
Alongside the riverbanks we saw farmers tending crops, farm animals (water buffalo, cows, and chickens), people fishing, an elephant, lots of kids, construction, etc. That river is a lifeline, as the land here is so mountainous it is hard to build roads. We stayed at a hotel in Pagbang, which is a village that isn't even on Google Maps. Hotel was decent though and had a absolutely fantastic restaurant. We all felt grateful to arrive safely in Luang Prabang after those two long days.
Luang Prabang is a city in central northern Laos, population of roughly 56,000. Felt nice to get to civilization, after that boat journey. We were here a couple nights, at a really nice riverside hostel. Here we enjoyed a really cool street market, nice restaurants, a local gym, peaceful vibes. Rented a moped for a day and drove to a beautiful waterfall. This is where I really started liking Laos.
Laos Culture
Laos government is very corrupt, they're communist. One memory ill never shake was this interaction between a local artist and I. I was buying one his shirts, something he designed himself. He spoke good English so Izy and I got into conversation with him. He went on and on about how suppressed the people of Laos are.
The Lao people make an average of $100 USD a month. Their currency, the kip, is very weak and the people aren't able to exchange it for any other currency. The artist said if he were to visit America, he would have to give the government at $5000 deposit. That is impossible for them to save up. There are many restrictions to prevent the people from leaving. One example is that you cant bring your family, only one person can leave. The artist spoke of his dreams of traveling, but said he will never be able to leave Laos. I could see the pain in his eyes when he told me these things.
He became a Buddhist monk and that is why he spoke English. Many boys become monks for the chance of a decent education, serving at least six years. The public education is a joke here. Same in America but this is different. When boys leave their village to pursue their dreams in a bigger city, their elders suffer. There is no social security system, and if people don't have their kids to take care of them when they're older, they are helpless. Most people live day by day out here.
I asked if depression is a thing here, and he said no. The people are more family oriented and grounded with nature. Us westerners are cracked out on pharmaceutical drugs and complain about the smallest things. I'm a big advocate of western capitalism, it brings so much freedom and opportunity. But peoples souls, on average, are more at peace here. Who really has it better?
After Luang Prabang we took a train one hour south to Vang Vieng. The train was built by China and was very nice. China spreads their economic influence into these developing countries by building vital infrastructure. They are doing this a lot in Africa as well. It is a way of making these countries rely on them. The infrastructure also allows China the supply chain infrastructure to sell products in these areas, there are many Chinese supermarkets and cars.
I spent a week in Vang Vieng, and it may have been the craziest week of my life. First of all this area is so beautiful. Insane jagged mountains, our hostel had a gorgeous view of them. We rented dirt bikes for five days and I had some of the most fun riding of my life back into the mountains. There were nine "blue lagoons" where we could swim. That was the good part, couple crazy things happened as well.
The first night we had to go to the hospital in the middle of the night. One of my friends felt very unwell from something at the bars. Was a bit of a scare, could of been party drugs, bad alcohol, or whatever. The hospital we went to was completely deserted, not a soul there to help. We realized were on our own out here. That was the first bit of bad luck.
The next day we went to this popular hike. Its a very steep and rugged trail. About halfway up there was a standstill, and we heard a man had collapsed ahead. I ran up to the man, clearly deceased. I did CPR for what felt like an eternity, realistically probably about five minutes. His partner was there screaming in despair the whole time, shaking him. It was a horrific scene. Once someone else took over on CPR I did the blowing into his mouth. I could only do this about six-eight times before I had to stop. I could taste the gasses inside his lungs, it was so gross. The man was completely white and purple.
After we all gave up, I learned the man had probably been down ten+ minutes before we got there. Probably too late for me to have been able to help. Was basically messing with a dead corpse. You could tell he was long gone. The man was an English, his partner looked like she was from Laos. He was overweight, at least 300 pounds. Probably had cardiac arrest from the strenuous hike.
I was feeling very nauseous from the mouth compressions, and more people were coming up trying to tell us what to do. The bystander effect started pissing me off. Just a bunch of people standing around. You wouldn't believe it, some people were still trying to do the hike. The rest of my group was down the trail telling people to turn around. Initially I thought I would offer to help carry him down the treacherous trail, but I needed to get out of that situation desperately. We hiked down, got on our bikes, and rode home. I was fine, but was no longer in the mood to do anything for a while afterwards, just chilled, watched some TV, went to a gym, went for a run. I'm not traumatized or anything, just hope I'm never in a situation like that again. Gave me a newfound respect for first responders.
Also had some amazing times in Vang Vieng. I had so much fun riding the dirt bike, swimming, hiking, and enjoying the views. Our group went to some pretty good restaurants, and the street food was great as well. One day, Nick and I stopped at this schoolyard and played soccer with the local kids. That was so fun. These activities restored my soul.
Going back to my thoughts on western tourism. I've noticed so many entitled tourists, taking advantage of their wealth of money in these areas. Not treating the locals as people. It doesn't help that the language barrier is so extreme. These things hurt me to see, most people are blind to it. But I see this entitled mindset everywhere. If you've ever done service work I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. And people put their western standards on the service workers here, people need to realize where they're at. Often times our servers were younger children. I thought they did an amazing job for the most part.
I don't blame the tourist, we were just raised in very different situations. I believe everyone is well intended, and there is a ton of healthy interactions. But in case you didn't know, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I don't know why I've noticed this so much on this trip, has to be something with my current mindset. Or maybe its the amount of 18ish year old Europeans that travel here. I was an absolute idiot when I was eighteen. Sorry, side thoughts over for now.
Everyone in my group got ill in our time here as well. Nothing too serious, diarrhea and fatigue for me. Andrew's was the worst, he was bed ridden for a day. Sickness is common in these dirty hostel conditions, and your meeting loads of new people everyday. There is also zero regulation on sanitary cooking practices, so you just kind of take the risk with everything you eat. Our sickness had us ready to get out of Laos. Don't get me wrong, this country is beautiful, the people were very nice, and the people were amazing. But our time in Laos was so extreme, we were exited to move on to Vietnam.
Laos Costs
Hostels roughly $7/night, breakfast included
Restaurant meals - $3-5
Street food - $1-2
Moped rentals - $7/day
Dirt bike rentals - $20/day
Activities entrance (blue lagoons, waterfalls, and hikes) - $1
Laos Google Photos Album - https://photos.app.goo.gl/u6NijFB22S9eiP1p6
If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I could go on and on, this trip has been dense. Took a flight from Vientiane, Laos, to Hanoi, Vietnam, cost about $180. Sleeper bus was much cheaper, but decided on an hour flight over a 26 hour bus ride. Excited for the next chapter of my trip in Vietnam.
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