Body Paint & Culture Shock

Last week we made our way back into Thailand via Bangkok, and headed south for two weeks of fun in the sun.

First we went to Had Rin beach, on Koh Phan-gan, for our second Full Moon Party. We met up with our Dutch friends Floris, Marlous, Dolce, and Gabbana, and had four (late) nights of hard-core partying. It's all a blur of fluorescent body paint, beers, foam parties, drinking cocktails out of buckets, fire games, and beach dance parties. Once again the average age of party-goers was around 22. Craig is rocking a three-month-old handlebar moustache (Yosemite Sam-style, now) and Floris had a relatively young one-month-old 'stache. All the young 20-year-old backpackers fell in love with the guys' facial hair - petting them, having pictures taken with them, grooming them, and just all round complimenting them. Needless to say, a fun time was had by all.

Now the two of us are on Koh Samui, enjoying a week of down time. Our bungalow is 100 m from the sea, there is amazing food, we haven't had a day of rain, and Craig still gets at least one compliment a day on his moustache.

Tomorrow we head back to Bangkok (on our last overnight bus!) one last time, where we'll again meet up with Marlous. We have six days to shop 'til we drop, and celebrate Craig's September 7th birthday in a way you only can in Bangkok.


REVERSE CULTURE SHOCK

After living and travelling in Asia for the past nine months or so, we know we're bound to have some major culture shock upon returning to Canada. There are a million and a half differences between the relative order of Canada and the apparent chaos of Asia, never mind the differences between life on the road (or out of a backpack) and a "settled-down" life that includes jobs. Here are some of the things we think will be the biggest shocks:

Food & Drink - We haven't drank water from a tap since leaving New Zealand in January. Having spent time in Asian cities (mostly in India) where you're guaranteed to get sick if you do, it will be weird to be able to do it back home. Also, for nine months we've eaten out, three meals a day, every single day. We immersed ourselves in Asian culture by rarely eating "Western" meals - we've eaten pizza twice, and haven't had peanut butter at all. Cooking our own meals (including real cheese!) according to our daily cravings will be wonderful.

Bathrooms - Let us paint a picture for you of the typical Asian bathroom. About 90% of the time, the toilet is Western-syle (on the travelling scene); 10% of the time, it's a squat toilet. Whether it is in your hotel or at a restaurant, toilet paper usually isn't provided, so hopefully you brought your own (locals use that bucket of water over there and their left hand; or, the spray gun attached to the wall). The Asian plumbing often can't handle toilet paper (a Western invention), so when you're finished, throw it in the garbage can (that may or may not have a lid). If you're lucky, the toilet has a working flusher. If not, take that bucket of water and pour it in the bowl - that's bucket flush! The tap by the bucket is in case it's a two- or three-bucket job. Oh, you want to take a shower? In India, often you just got a bucket with a smaller bucket, for throwing water on yourself. Here is Southeast Asia, there are shower heads. But notice the lack of a tub or shower cubicle, and the drain in the floow. The whole bathroom is your shower! And the floor and toilet seat will stay wet for hours! After nine months of this, bathrooms back home will be so... luxurious.

Show Me the Money - Each country required bargaining in varying degrees, from Vietnam (for bloody everything) to Thailand (only for souveniers and transportation). But back home, it happens face-to-face usually for used cars and at garage sales. Fixed prices will be a refreshing change. We've been paying for internet by the hour since we left Canada, and we're sick of it! The cost has ranged from 25 cents to $5 per hour... and speeds have varied from slower than dial-up to lightening fast. North America is about the only place in the world where we must pay for incoming calls on our cell phones - pretty much everywhere else this is unheard of - even in Asia! And of course, although we are not looking forward to working again, it will be nice to be earning money again, and watching our bank balance grow instead of shrink!

(Inter)National Communities - We have become so used to 95% of the people around us not speaking English, it will be weird to be surrounded by English speakers - with similar accents, no less! Being part of an international travelling community means meeting new, interesting people from all over the world every day. Is it common to randomly talk to people at restaurants, on buses, anywhere really - everyone is friendly, everyone is in the same boat, and everyone has a story to tell. The next time you are out for dinner, imagine a stranger (probably from another country) suddenly pulls up a chair to your table and asks you where you are from, where you are heading, and then gives you their email address. Randomly talking to strangers and trading contact information just isn't as accepted once you're off the travelling scene.

Add to all that living with a closet/dresser instead of out of a backpack, a wardrobe 20 times as big as the one we've been living with, cold weather, high prices (HOW MUCH for a beer???), dogs on leashes, and weird animals like skunks and squirrels... if you see us walking around back home in a daze, please ensure we get home safely! Or, please, just buy us a beer!