THINGS WE LEARNED IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

We learned to forget everything you ever knew about being a pedestrian and crossing the street. Except for the "hold hands and stick together", that still applies. Best advice we got was "Don't Run!!"  It really got to be fun, stepping into the street as bikes, tuk tuks, and cars whiz past you....not for the faint of heart.

We learned how good the food is here, and discovered some amazing spices, fruits and vegetables. We even took cooking classes, and will try our best to recreate some of the fabulous cuisine when we get home. We also learned that crickets, scorpions, beef penis and balls are surprising to see on the menu, but just because it is on the menu, doesn't mean we have to eat it. Although, we did get a sick sense of enjoyment out of watching others bravery.

We learned you pronounce tuk tuk ....."took took", and Laos has a silent S.

We learned that small plastic tables and chairs aren't just for kids. Every city and village has them lining the sidewalks and all the locals and some tourists sit and eat their meals this way.

We learned that when traffic is congested, you can just drive on the sidewalk, or the wrong way, or on the sidewalk going the wrong way. It all works so smoothly here. And horns are used in a positive way, not a negative way, and again, it works.

We learned that history really does keep repeating itself, and not in a good way.

We learned that the human spirit is so strong and resilient, even when they have experienced the worst things imaginable. The Cambodian people say they want to end the violence and the only way to do that is to forgive and move forward. Very strong and very smart people.

Oh, and we also learned when in Hong Kong, don't use the phone booths. 

This has been a wonderful holiday,  up there with the best. It was a real cultural experience and fascinating to see and learn about the differences between the countries. We loved meeting our fabulous and fun loving fellow G travellers, and our fearless leader Zoom Zoom. We also loved meeting all the people that we crossed paths with along the way.  We hope to come back to this part of the world again and spend some time getting to know the beaches.

Homeward bound now....always a good thing.