Without sacrificing what remains of their traditional way of life (SPrt107-32)

Time for another detour from our Southeast Asia itinerary. Halfway through our trip, we were already noticing some habits and traditions that seemed to cut across the cultures of the area. Some were frustrating or annoying, but most of them were intriguing and gratifying.

Transportation
After food, most people relate Southeast Asia to crazy traffic. Indeed, the streets are full of all types of transportion. Perhaps the most famous is the tuk-tuk. There are many variations, but the basic structure is some type of motorcycle with a place for passengers attached behind. In Vientiane, the tuk-tuks were sturdy and colorful (left), but in Siem Reap, they were less decorative and more functional (right). In both cases, they provided a great way to view the nightlife.

In many places, the tuk-tuks share the road with motorbikes, which also act as taxis, but for single passengers. Their drivers are just as insistent at offering rides and are just as confident with their navigation, even when carrying a tourist and his 40-pound pack. In Luang Prabang, there was an adequate but not overwhelming mix of 2-, 3-, and 4-wheel taxis (top left), but in Phnom Penh, commuters on motorbikes swerve through lanes in a swarm (top right). The only place we felt safe enough to try two wheels was in peaceful Koh Lanta, where we rented a scooter for exploring the island (bottom).

In Koh Lanta, most people find the ocean to be another efficient travel route. We saw the flag-laden boats of the island's Chao Leh, or "sea gypsies," crawl around the southern tip of the island in a steady stream, presumably on their way home to Sang-ga-u (top). We didn't hitch a ride with the gypsies, but we did join the locals in the river ferries of Bangkok (bottom left); the boats, particularly one designed just for tourists, are a quick way to hop from temple to temple. The Saen Saep canal boats are equally useful, although we didn't stumble upon one until we were about to leave the city (bottom right).

 

Leisure
One place you were sure to see lots of tuk-tuks and motorbikes parked outside were the open-air movie theaters in Siem Reap, which were basically tables and chairs set up in front of big-screen TVs (left). Some drivers stopped for such a short time that they didn't even get off their bikes, making it sort of an indoor drive-in (right). For tourists, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville offered personal theaters, such as Top Cat Cinema, where you can pay for a private room with a couch to pop in and watch a (likely pirated) DVD of your choice.

TJ and I unwound by getting a massage and partaking in an herbal sauna at the Lao Red Cross in Luang Prabang (left). Despite the heat, the humidity of the sauna, imbued with lemongrass, did feel cleansing. Unfortunately, we didn't get to experience a similar sauna at Wat Sok Pa Luang in Vientiane, which had been temporarily shut down due to a lack of funds (I have since read that it will re-open soon). If you don't want the full spa experience, you can get a quick massage -- head, hand, foot, or full body -- in numerous streetside establishments. If you're feeling charitable, you can even respond to one's plea to "Feed our hungry fish your dead skin" in Siem Reap (right).

  

If you want a really good deal, you can head to one of the more modern night markets in Siem Reap, where $2 will not only get you a 30-minute massage but also a drag show gratis (left). If you'd rather do the singing, instead of just watching some lip-synching, you can head to the karaoke bar within Munich Beer Restaurant in Phnom Penh (right).

 

Sports
Karaoke is a competition for some, but there are real recreational and professional sports to participate in as well. On our way back from the night market in Vientiane, we stumbled upon a makeshift bar set up beside a alleyside petanque court (left). We accepted and offered a few beers among the players of the game, which is similar to bocce. Later, in Luang Prabang, we saw games going on during the day, on a set of courts cut into tiers along the Mekong River (right).

Soon, the petanque courts disappeared, but we started seeing circles of people in Vietnam and Cambodia playing what appeared to be hacky sack, but the "sack" was more of a hybrid with a badminton shuttlecock. Down from a large pick-up soccer game, many smaller groups in Phnom Penh's waterfront park played Jianzi, or Chinese hacky sack (left). In Bangkok, we decided to check out a professional sport, a line-up of muay thai fights, but the pricing scheme at Lumpini Stadium dissuaded us. The cheapest seats for tourists, $30 a pop, are standing-room-only, so vendors try to upsell you to ringside seats that cost close to $100. All of this was hard to stomach when you could see the billboard advertising a price of $5-$10, likely for locals (right).

Coffee
If you're not into sweat-producing pastimes, the best way to kick back is with a cup of coffee. Like many countries besides the United States, the coffee is thick and strong, so it is served in small doses. It is sometimes served with sugar, but a better idea is to ask for it "white," meaning with condensed milk, which provides plenty of sweetness. Our first taste was in Vientiane, where they made the coffee with water boiled on a gas burner then poured through grounds in a linen sock; being a traditional place, they served the java with cups of tea (left). We thought perhaps the tea was a way to cut the bitterness of the coffee with well-placed sips, but when we had coffee in Cat Ba Town, we realized it might be so you have something to drink while you wait for your coffee to steep. There, the cafe gave us individual drip strainers that we placed directly on our coffee cups (right).

Considering the tropical climate, the region has embraced ice coffee. The best one we had was in Koh Lanta, where we got not only two full glasses, but the proprietor also gave us a third one of the leftovers, as if it were a milkshake (left); truth be told, it tasted nearly as good as a milkshake. In former Indochina, a French influence remains, even within the realm of coffee. At Le Cafe Ban Vat Sene in Luang Prabang, our croissant and baguette were accompanied with individual French presses (right).

Beer
Coffee is great, but it is also readily available in Pakistan. Unlike beer, which might be why we went a little overboard with the brewskis on vacation. Another reason might be because it is so darn cheap. At bia hoi stands in Hanoi, you can get a draft beer for the equivalent of 25 cents -- and they even give you free boiled peanuts (left)! In Laos, there is only one beer on offer, Beer Lao. At most places, it seemed the custom to order at least two large bottles of it to share among the table. The bottles, chilled in a bucket of ice, would be placed on a small stand next to the table; you simply set your empty bottles on the bottom shelf of the stand. It's easy to lose track of how many bottles you've consumed, which means some bars end up looking like the bad end of a frat party (right).

Throughout the other countries, we tried just about every beer available on the market, even the disgusting ones, such as SiamSato (which is actually rice wine). Here are the ones that I can remember:
Vietnam: Bia Ha Noi, Biere Larue, 333 and Bia Saigon, Huda Beer, Halida
Cambodia: Cambodia Beer; Angkor Beer; Tiger, Anchor and ABC; Kingdom
Thailand: Chang Beer, Singha, Leo Beer, Cheers Beer
This might seem a bit indulgent, but it shouldn't seem too out of line, considering that we saw offerings of beer (and Coca-Cola) at a temple in Hanoi.