Asian Impressions

I'm back from my 4 week stint travelling across South East Asia; Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand to be exact.

I loved it. The people I was with, the people we met, the places we were, the foods we ate, the stories we made and the memories we'll have.

I've travelled to many countries and once again, after my return I feel like Canada, North America and probably the entire Western culture has gotten turned around all in a huff to be some where to do something.

But when we stop to think about what we're doing and ask ourselves "Why?", we probably can't tell you why we do the things that we do. There are so many outside driving factors in everything we do, think and say, we're lost in our own ignorance.

Travelling down the Mekong Delta either on metal long boat, luxury cruiser, or rowing our own boat amongst the floating villages, one thing seemed clear to me: relax, be happy, and worry about what you have, not what you don't have.

As we puttered down the river, children would fight to be the closest to the river to yell "Hello! Hello! Hello!" with the biggest smiles while waving their entire arm like a flag blowing in a tornado. They would push each other off the dock, boat or floating log so they could be noticed.

Even the adults couldn't hide their enthusiasm. While they didn't put as much physical effort into greeting random strangers they'll never see again, their smiles gave away their enthusiasm. You could tell, for some strange reason unbenownced to most Westerners, they were genuinely excited to see you, if only for long enough to catch your attention and get a wave in return. When was the last time you saw a foreigner or even just a stranger and gave such a big warm smile and said hello?

Hopefully over the next few days, or likely weeks, I'll post stories--serious and comical--along with some of my favourite pictures.

My favourite pictures are of the children and families bathing or playing in the Mekong River.