Expectations

Southeast Asia is one of the few – though, comparatively, some might say many – regions of the world that I have been obsessed with for quite some time. I’ve fulfilled some of those obsessions – the Balkans, Israel, for instance – and others – Iran, North Korea – will remain pipe dreams for years. The erstwhile Indochina, to sound somewhat un-PC, has been among that group of obsessions.

I’ve worked briefly in the region before. In 2005, I spent three days in Manila and five in Jakarta, fighting traffic and jetlag in each to show an Afghan ministry advisor around and garner best practices that (we hoped) could be replicated in Afghanistan. My impressions of each were somewhat superficial; jetsetting from ministry to ministry, hotel lobby to lobby to meet consultants and government officials. The limited tourism I did get consisted largely of wandering outside my respective five-star hotels; checking out the shopping mall culture in each, wandering the streets to observe the shops and jeepneys, or taking taxis to Jakarta’s “major” tourist monument, a tower with a flame on top.

What struck me about each locale, and which I expect to continue on this trip, is the “ordered chaos” and how each city operates at a pace which would swamp New York, let alone my adopted DC or native Boston. Traffic is choking; a two-lane road is at least four, and overcrowded buses, taxis, and pedestrians cut in and out without regard for their lives. From what I’ve heard of Bangkok and Saigon, that’s pretty much the norm there too.

Still, there’s an ordered chaos in all of that; the city moves at its breakneck pace because it knows no other way. Slowing it down would deter the vibrancy; somehow, order would diminish the charm. I expect the same on this trip, and look forward to witnessing, discussing, and experiencing it with my GATE-mates.

One last bit on the GATE-mates: having traveled to about 33 countries (42 if you go by the Travelers’ Century Club list) both with friends and alone, I can absolutely verify that location matters little unless you have the right people to experience that location with. Give me the clichéd halls of Rome or Paris with my best friend than the more exotic wilds of New Zealand – or Southeast Asia – alone. And as to my GATE-mates, I couldn’t ask for a better, more diverse group of companions to be going with. Compared to some other (unnamed) trips, our group has friends but not cliques, acquaintances but not BFFs. I look forward to ducking in and out of the chaos of Saigon or exploring (comparatively) rural Hoi An with all of them, turning unchartered territory into laughs, baffled questions, and memories.