It has come to our attention that vicious lies have recently been spread in dubious Internet publications about the masters of the world, the royal Vietnamese. Thus it is time to rectify this injustice. Here is the bare truth about this amazing country: Vietnamese are always right!
It is a demon that numbs our senses, and its power is impossible to overthrow until you throw up. It is on the five continents and the seven seas. Alcohol is the universal language; this has now been confirmed by dermatologists. In South East Asia it doesn’t just make the hearts of the locals beat slower: Be it on Ko Panghan in Thailand, in Nha Trang, Vietnam, or Vang Vieng in Laos – entire tourist party hells live off continuous irrigation by overpriced bars. But stop! It doesn’t have to be like that! Already in the past sagesex has proven that South East Asia offers festive inebriation in price ranges below any budget – at least for those with a tough stomach. Which means looking for a compromise: Good and affordable is what counts! After half a year of experience in this part of the world sagesex is ready to present the ultimate guide to almost free intoxication in South East Asia: The top three in affordable and enjoyable alcoholica.
Dali is a small town in Yunnan, China. Actually, it is three towns: When we arrived at the Dali bus station in the evening we consulted the Lonely Planet
Cambodia should be a gourmet’s paradise: It’s situated between Vietnam and Thailand, two representatives of internationally renowned super cuisines. Our cooking class with Smokin’ Pot in Battambang kept us wanting more as well. Wonderful curries, not as spicy as in Thailand nor as subtle as Vietnam, but very smooth and delicious. The national specialty “Volcano/Fire Mountain”, for which you fry carpaccio marinated in peanut sauce on a kind of turned-over pasta strainer over an open gas light, truly delighted us as well.
People. They are here and there and everywhere. No one can escape. No one stops them. Except in Cambodia, the most rural country of all. Admittedly there are people settling everywhere in the whole country, but that does not mean much here. The only place that is “crowded” wit people is Phnom Penh; With 1.5 million inhabitants it is Cambodia’s capital and only urban center of the country. Elsewhere the country is populated thinly but steadily. Towns with less than 10000 habitants are provincial capitals and some people live 100 kilometres away from such towns.
So villages are en vogue in Cambodia! At least for the urban ones among the farmers. Namely most Cambodians live from and with agriculture and often in colonies that can barely be described as villages. The church and the pub are the centers of their lifes. That is to say, the pagoda or a restaurant, night market or just a stall selling drinks and one or another disgustingness. This is where the male villageship spends their free days and hours.
So life is simple for most Khmer people. Also it is dependent on natural regulations like dawn and dusk, wet, dry, seed and harvest time. Life mainly takes place outside, people sleep in their huts. In many parts of the country you can travel for hundreds of kilometres without seeing one single building built of stone or one tarred street. Who needs that stuff if he has everything necessary in his bamboo hut and on his field. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s almost cliché that traveling educates you, is good for your soul, has the power to change people for the good and so on … but why is that so? Finding out has been one of the motivations behind the Sagesex World Tour 2010. Here are the first experiences on the spiritual and emotional effects of vagabonding:
Purifying Food: Crass Stuff in Bags
is inseparable from purification in Thailand. Spices are not being used sparingly, which is especially true for chili. The Thai kitchen is said to be one of the spiciest for a reason. You sweat, you gasp, you struggle with your plate until it’s finally empty, being glad to have defeated it. Not that you had any choice: Most dishes are also more than delicious. it seems to be all about the balance. If I use 15 cloves of garlic for a dish with 500g of rice, I also have to take 15 chile peppers and 5 bunches of thai basil so the extremes even out. I gain an intense yet balanced taste.
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Joe turns off the tarred main road. The little road through the jungle is not even half as wide anymore. Soon it becomes a dirt track, now some road holes appear, now some ditches in the middle of the track and now its getting steeper. Joe, by the way, is our 125cc Honda Dream, that has helped us drench the ground of Koh Pangan with our sweat and blood every day until today. We are on our way to Had Yuan, which according to a friend of ours (thank you Cathi!) is supposed to be the most beautiful beach in Thailand. Read the rest of this entry »
1. A true classic: Mistakenly approach a lady boy (when you’re actually into girls)
2. Your flip-flops die an early death and you wonder if that’s a rat rushing over your feet while you steal WiFi in a dark Bangkok alley (talk about reader service!) – but luckily it’s just a cockroach!
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