Capitol to over 17,000 islands and 700 different languages.
Presides over 260 million people
Jakarta is a crazy city. The traffic is jaw-dropping to watch. I still haven’t figured out which is the crazier yet. Bangkok for all its cars and mad Tuk Tuk drivers doing wheelies as they take you on a lengthy tour of the city ( making the journey seem longer than it is!)
Ho Chi Minh for its mass of Scooters flying around the streets, where you take your life in your own hands by trying to cross.
Or Jakarta where the mixture of both cars and bikes seems to be in an endless circle around the streets. Where a journey of 30 minutes can take 2 hours at the wrong time of the day.
Now the train system is in place it does help but only marginally.
The city itself allows for some relaxation as some of the bars have a great contrast of music and dance which is very popular in Indonesia.
I was lucky to see a live band whilst there. Who covered a song by a famous Indonesian band called Payung Teduh. And also as I was the only westerner in the bar played a rendition of Oasis “Don’t look back in anger” just for me.
One of the most diverse capital cities in South East Asia.
It has some really prosperous areas and yet some of the worst slums I have seen. ( not travelled to India yet for reference.)
But being a commercial network capital it has a high infrastructure and many large multinational companies have a base in the city giving many career opportunities to people who are willing to travel and work here. I guess this is why it has created some really bad slum areas as many people move there in the hope of improving their lives.
Problems
It suffers from high air pollution level that affects over 95% of the population due to industrial waste and automobiles. At certain times of the day, you can literally sit in your car for hours trying to move.
At least with the likes of Jakarta and Bangkok, the traffic does tend to move and even with a large number of motorbikes and scooters, it is possible to get by.
However, in Manila automobiles tend to be king and they just happily sit on the road along with everyone else.
Or so I thought. This year actually took a turn for the worse, for everyone around the world.
I think we will remember 2020 for a long time and it will go down in history as one of those years the human race had to endure a world catastrophe.
Beginning of the end?
It had started well enough.
I attended my 4th wedding in Cambodia as Mr. Sok one of the chefs at the pepper farm got married in March.
It was a very happy occasion for all and it finished off a complete story of Cambodia, one which I will remember forever.
Pre-Covid Plans
But, having been travelling for over 15 months, and as I was entering my third actual dated year of travel. It felt like a good time to leave to discover new things.
I originally left the UK in Sept 2018 and spent most of 2019 living in Cambodia. Having expected to have been back home by this time I suddenly felt the need to visit and see friends and family.
This year it had meant to be the turn of Vietnam and Laos with maybe a finish in Myanmar, where I would hopefully see more of a beautiful country.
But, before all that, it started with a trip back to the UK in mid-march to surprise mum for her birthday. And what a surprise it turned out to be for both of us.
Because the 23rd of March 2020 will be a day to remember for a long time. I surprised her having been away for 18 months only to be surprised myself by Covid and our lockdown restrictions that left me stuck in the UK indefinitely.
Long Stay
It was to be almost 2 years to the day before I could actually get back onto a plane and fly back to Cambodia where I had left for a two-week holiday.
The Sad part was the loss of several good friends who like many people succumb to Covid-related deaths.
Because we had lockdowns, we had mask-wearing, and a lot of helpful, caring, and compassionate people.
Suddenly away from the pressure and stress of everyday life and have time to help their fellow beings.
However, It came at a price that we now years later, have come to realise.
Inflation, cost of living, and food shortages are all effects of the shutdown of the economy during covid.
It means people’s lives will be affected for decades to come as we deal with the cost of a pandemic. Something that even today has given to speculation is not natural and may have its origins in man-made labs.
I should have left Cambodia in January and actually stayed all year. Visiting Vietnam took until October to finally get there albeit for 3 weeks or so.
I loved Sapa and climbed my mountain.
Fell in love with Hanoi and it will hold a very special place for me forever. I will visit again but I doubt it will have the same impact as my first time.
The first visit to a country that I thought wouldn’t have much appeal… Myanmar. How wrong can one be!
It is a place that offers so much and maybe just maybe a place where I can spend a year there as well… who knows?
The pepper farm @BoTree
What can I say that will fit here on this page. Memories will live forever of many good people that passed by both as volunteers and visitors as well as the farm workers and family. Next year I will leave and although there are many things which could keep me here forever, it takes only one to make you change your mind.
So many people I have met and learned so much from. Good friends who will last a lifetime, a few who will I guess lose touch over time ( but that is life)
A couple of special people added to my life and one who I will remember forever, helping me learn so much about myself.
Let’s hope what they taught me will continue into next year.
.So Kampot has been my home for many a month during 2019.
However, I have mostly lived between Bo Tree Farm 16km away and our Shop in town which is on the busy side of town and I rarely venture across the river to the other side.
So having a friend visit from Yangon meant I had the chance to do something different and book into a place I have wanted to stay at for a few months. Having had many visitors to our farm recommend this place.
Situated in a great location overlooking the river in Kampot but on the other side of the river to the main town.
We sat in the evening as the sunset and watched the boat.
(We were going to go for a ride on) but the temptation to stay put and drink a beer was too great.
Waking up the next morning after a very good nights sleep meant we walked to the riverfront. There we watched the river water moving as we were served fresh coffee and eggs for breakfast.
The accommodation was very basic but enough. A big comfy bed, a fan, and an electric socket to charge your phone.
Separated shower and toilet in truly natural surroundings made for a great bungalow experience.
Well worth a trip to enjoy a truly Cambodian experience. At a cost of $15 for the night for a bungalow well priced in my opinion.
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