2016

I knew this Christmas break was going to be one of my hardest ever.  I found the last few weeks in Dhaka extremely stressful; a little due to the job but mainly dealing with my emotions with Stella's birthday and the upcoming break.
My choices were to be with family and friends or to travel alone.  I chose the second.

Lao was demanding to travel in alone.  The local people are lovely.  Humble and unassuming.  But where I was travelling, in the south, English is not well spoken.  At times it was difficult to order a meal at restaurant.  Once I had to walk through the kitchen pointing at the food available so I could get something.  Even my imitation of a chicken did not get any understanding but did cause immense hilarity.  No English menu and absolutely none spoken.  I love those challenges of travel.  But it made communicating difficult.

There is also little infrastructure for travel.  I enjoy watching sport but there was no opportunity for doing this.  It is one of the few places I have been where people don't gather around in a bar to watch a football match.  This is one of the social events that I have often enjoyed when travelling.  But in the parts of Lao I was in it did not exist.  Where I was travelling is very much on the back packer trail.  But there were not a lot of them.  Surprisingly there were very few people from English speaking countries.  Most were French, Swiss and German.  I did not meet one other solo traveler - again a surprise.  I find in Thailand and now in Cambodia it is very easy to meet other single travelers but in Lao everyone seems to travel as a couple or in small groups.

So Lao was a challenge.  Enjoyable and humbling.  My decision to travel alone would mean that I would not need to worry about how my emotions would effect others.  I could be with myself and enjoy whatever that may bring.  It was a decision I made based on a positive view of my future.  A post on Facebook (you know those usually inane links) about 6 months back, was a catalyst for this 'selfish' positiveness. Here is the post.  I have these 5 things written down and read them often.  It has become a bit of a mantra.

Arriving overland into Cambodia was unusual.  The $30 visa 'increases' to $40 at this border.  Five dollars extra to the visa officer, $2 to get your exit stamp from Lao, $2 for a health check and $1 to get your passport carried through immigration.  The bus journey was long with few breaks.  The one meal stop in the 12 hour journey was at a dirty roadside stall.  The food had been sitting around all day.  I did have some chicken soup as it was 7 hours since breakfast.  Bad decision.  I rarely get sick travelling but this chicken soup was not the best.  So my last two days of 2015 were spent with many visits to the toilet.

In Cambodia it has been great to spend time with two wonderful colleagues from Dhaka.  We saw New Year in at Sharkys bar.  This is a very famous place in Cambodia.  Been around for ever and it is my second time there.  It is actually a bit of a dive.  Drunk, over weight expats being gross is not a good look.  But the music was good, the beer cheap and the company great.

As I write this it is now New Years Day.  I said to someone that 2016 could not be as bad as 2015. In some ways it was a remarkable year.  I went to Australia, New Zealand, England, Italy, Spain, France, Turkey, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and of course Bangladesh.  An epic year of travel. I met wonderful new friends (except for Jonathon).  I have a great place to work.

But it has been a challenge.  So I reflect forward to 2016 with much hope.  I am in the process of making my goals for the year as I always do.  One thing I do know is that it will not be like 2015!