Author: Erin Siegferth

I still can’t believe I actually got to visit Southeast Asia—it’s been my dream for a long time. I’m even more astonished at how different I feel now that I’m home. In some ways, it’s been difficult. It’s not easy to return to your normal routine after almost a month of exploring and learning and moving! I keep myself busy, but few experiences are new. This is partially a complaint, but mostly, I’m grateful that this trip sparked such a craving for new experiences. I used to hide behind the safety of the known, but now I feel brave and capable enough to let myself live.

Traveling, especially somewhere so far and different from home, means pushing boundaries and trying new things. I’ve done so many strange and wonderful things that I couldn’t—and wouldn’t—have done in the US, and with relative success. As a result, my self-efficacy skyrocketed, which greatly impacts my life at home. I now understand that I can handle most tasks and situations—and more importantly, if I do make a mistake, it probably won’t end my reputation, career, or life. I feel pretty confident that if I want to do something, I can do it. It’s the stuff of motivational kid’s shows, but it took a pretty big adventure for the idea to resonate with me.

I find myself saying ‘yes’ to more things, approaching intimidating situations with a sunny outlook, and making fewer to-do lists with time restrictions. These are all gifts from a culture across the world, and I am so grateful.

The lessons I learned can’t be tested, only felt. In the eyes of many, this makes them less relevant, but I disagree. We go to school with a guarantee of learning hard, tangible skills, but are often left on our own to develop soft skills and a sense of personal and cultural awareness—that’s what makes experiences like this one so important.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”

-Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad

 

Our time at Inle Lake was exciting from the very start, as we meandered through the
mountains and stopped briefly at a family-owned paper making shop. They demonstrated how to make paper from tree bark, and decorated it with local flowers. Then, they showed us how the paper is used as the fabric for handmade umbrellas. It was astonishing how quickly one man can create an umbrella from nothing but wood and paper. They also made journals bound with bamboo, fans, and lanterns. Then, we were dropped off at the pier, where we carefully stepped into longboats and sat back for a windy ride to our resort.

Where the river was narrow, the water was brown and murky. Shops and homes lined the riverbank, and people bathed, collected fishnets, and played in the water. As the river widened into a lake, the water became blue and reflective, spotted with waterlilies and floating birds. Longboat fishermen delicately balanced on the tips of their boats, working calmly.

I couldn’t believe the beauty of our resort when we arrived. The whole complex is on stilts directly on the water. Each bungalow has a porch overlooking the lake, as well as windows that let in the view of the lake each morning—an unbelievable sight to wake up to.

Our first night, we walked a long way for dinner, and then relaxed on our own. In such a calm, quiet place, it only seemed appropriate to just sit and be still. The next day, we hired two boats to show us around the lake. Since Myanmar is so newly open to tourism, the boat drivers took us to places that were meant for tourists. The desire to preserve their rich culture from the new influx of tourists is understandable, and there seemed to be a silent agreement among the locals to do just that.

We saw a silk-weaving shop, where they showed us each step of the process and told us how certain designs, textures and shapes are created. Lotus silk is the most valuable fabric, because it is made from the strands inside the stem of a lotus flower. The strands are rolled into a thread, which is then dyed and woven. One scarf takes over 1,200 flowers to create. This form of weaving is unique to Inle Lake, and I was honored to be able to watch the process. Here is a video of a woman extracting and rolling the lotus fiber strands. It’s not my video, but it’s from the same shop.

We also got to see the creation of handmade, pure silver jewelry. They showed us how the metal is melted down, then rolled into logs which are shaved down to wire strands. A man was working meticulously on a silver chain. He hand linked and soldered each tiny link together. I was incredibly impressed, and actually ended up buying some earrings from the store—they’re my favorite purchase from Southeast Asia. The woman who sold them to me was so caring and maternal—she helped me put the earrings on and everything—which gives them even more value.

That evening, we rode back to the resort alongside a stunning sunset. We could see that it was raining up ahead, but it missed us, and instead we witnessed an absurdly picturesque rainbow above the mountains.

Bagan is an archeological zone in the Mandalay region of Myamar, bursting with history and culture, due greatly in part to its thousands of stupas, pagodas and temples in Old Bagan. Our first day, we hired horse-and-buggies to transport us from place to place. This is a more traditional mode of transportation, although motorbikes are becoming rapidly more popular. We visited quite a few pagodas and temples, but the most memorable one was probably the first. We climbed, bent over, up a tiny staircase to the top level of the pagoda. The view was so breathtaking, we sat silently in reverie for what felt like an hour. There were stupas dotting the earth all the way out to the horizon, and surely beyond. Photos couldn’t quite capture the sight, but I did try. I wanted to remember the view, and the feeling it gave me.

We also stopped in to a lovely family-owned lacquer shop, ‘The Golden Cuckoo’, where the owner took us through each step in the process of making a lacquer product. It is an extremely detailed, lengthy process. First, bamboo strips are coiled or woven into the desired shape. Then, layers of lacquer are applied and then sanded. The men in the shop then design the patterns, and the women fill in the more intricate details. Colors are carved and applied one at a time until the piece is finished. Each step takes about 2 weeks to dry completely, which means that some pieces can take eight months, or more! The result is an extremely durable, lightweight work of art.

Our second day in Bagan was much less structured and guided, because we rented e-bikes for the day. This way, we could freely explore the city and stop whenever we saw something interesting—which was quite often. I happen to have a strong aversion to two-wheeled vehicles of any kind, so I compromised with myself by hopping onto the back of a friend’s bike. It was exhilarating to face my fear, and doing so meant I got to see a whole lot more of Old Bagan than I would have on foot. In fact, it ended up being one of my favorite days on the trip! We got to fully surrender to the laid back, unplanned lifestyle of Southeast Asia, and it meant we got to ‘discover’ each temple and stupa with a fresh mind.

It was a good thing the beginning of our day got us adjusted to that laid back attitude, because the second half of the day was full of bike breakdowns as we each ran out of battery on separate occasions. Serendipitously, each breakdown left us in a spot so beautiful, we didn’t mind waiting for  the bike owners to come rescue us. It added even more sights to our long list for the day, but not a single item on the list felt like an obligation. Everything fell into place and each moment was blissful. It’s pretty special when a bike breakdown (or five) feels peaceful.

Wow! Visiting the Temples of Angkor was like standing in a movie, or going back in time. Our first stop of the day was the iconic Angkor Wat, of course. I was surprised to see that the temple looked just as grand as it did in photos I had seen—in fact, it looked far more impressive in real life. Angkor Wat was less ruinous and crumbly than the temples we saw later in the day, which made it difficult to grasp the ancientness of the structure. It’s hard to imagine people building such a humongous, intricate place, stone by stone.

 
Steep stairways made for a dizzying climb to the upper levels of the temple. We had to climb using our hands and feet as if it were a ladder, not a staircase. The steepness of the stairs represents the pathway to heaven and enlightenment—an architectural reminder that getting there is difficult, and must be earned. There were offerings of flowers and incense scattered throughout the temple to honor and thank the Buddha. Many people stopped to pray on colorful mats in front of the larger Buddha statues. I received a red bracelet from a monk in the temple, who tied it in multiple knots while chanting a blessing of good luck.

Exploring Angkor Wat was tiring, especially on one of the hottest days of our time in Southeast Asia. But, using the need to rehydrate as an opportunity to try something new, we bought coconuts and drank the water. I’m a fan of coconut water here in the US, but nothing compares to the cool sweetness of the stuff straight from the source!

After Angkor Wat, we made our way to the Bayon, a temple known for its hundreds of stone carved faces. Historians still dispute the identity of these faces—all 216 depict the same person. Some believe the faces portray King Jayavarman VII, while others think they are images of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokitesvara or Lokesyara.

The Bayon amazed me even more than Angkor Wat because it somehow felt more ancient. The preservation of the carvings was still remarkable, but the structure itself was more worn down. I also enjoyed that the temple left plenty of space for open air. There were very few walls that closed you off from the outdoors, evoking a freer feeling than I experienced at Angkor Wat.

The final temple we visited was Ta Prohm (yes, the temple from Tomb Raider). Since the decline of Angkor, nature has slowly reclaimed its dominance, weaving giant trees in and out of the man-made structures. This temple had a more guided, linear progression than the Wat or the Bayon.

Rediscovering my photos, I’m in disbelief that my feet really stood in these ancient places. It doesn’t seem real, and yet the imposing structures of stone could not be more firmly tangible, having withstood thousands of years. If reality is measured in time, then the temples we visited are realer than me, or anyone else who wanders through them.

In Phnom Penh, we had a chance to learn about the Cambodian genocide in ways that were all too real and tangible. I learned very little about it in school, and only knew what I had picked up on the internet, so this experience was incredibly eye-opening. First, we visited the Killing Fields, where over a million people were secretly held and killed. We listened to audio tours that gave background information and personal survivor accounts, making the walk through bones and mass graves even more chilling.

Later, we went to the Genocide Museum, where we listened to another audio tour of the S-21 prison, where over 12,000 people were secretly tortured and killed. Only seven survived. The prison was once a high school, which is hauntingly fitting, considering Pol Pot’s goal of eliminating educated people. We saw instruments of torture, and the actual, impossibly small cells in which prisoners were held, as well as photos from the prison and of prisoners.

Visiting these horrific places made the country’s history incredibly vivid, especially since it was so, so recent. It made me view Cambodia from a whole new perspective—every single person’s life was affected by the cruel actions of the Khmer Rouge. Many, or even most, have lost parents, grandparents, siblings, and children.

Our experience in Phnom Penh was given a hopeful twist during our time volunteering at Water of Life. I participated in two events, first an outreach on an island on a river, where we sang songs with children from the village, and then assisting English classes at Water of Life. They offer free English classes to over 300 people! I especially loved this, of course, because I am an English Education major. It gave a greater sense of purpose to my chosen career path, and reminded me of the joy that education can bring. It is too often taken for granted in the US.

I was grateful to have been given the chance to brighten a few days in Phnom Penh, because after learning about the country’s recent history, I wanted to do anything I could to make a small difference. Interacting and helping with children kept our time in Phnom Penh from feeling hopeless and dark—there is still so much joy in the country, and in the world, that always transcends tragedy.

Today was a nice hot day for the Chatuchak weekend market in Bangkok! There were shops everywhere. Entering the inner shops was like entering a labyrinth—everywhere you looked, there were shops and unique items to be purchased! It was almost impossible to stay oriented. It wasn’t easy to find our meeting spot when we were finished!

There were also tasty snacks to be tried. I had the freshest, most delicious mango (served in a plastic bag) and freshly made coconut ice cream, along with some iced chrysanthemum tea. I quickly discovered I should’ve been drinking water constantly, though—it was hot hot hot!

After shopping until we dropped (truly—I went a bit overboard, but who wouldn’t?), we made our way to our Thai cooking class. I was so excited to learn! I’ve never known much about cooking real meals, let alone Thai ones!

I was not let down. We strapped on colorful aprons and knelt on mats around a gorgeous arrangement of ingredients as our teacher explained a little about each meal we’d be making. She was informative, of course, but also really funny!

We made fresh spring rolls, spicy soup, sweet green curry, pad thai, and then they made us mango sticky rice for dessert. It was fantastic, because we were allowed to decide how spicy to make our own meals, and could omit certain ingredients if we didn’t like them. Besides skimping on some of the hot peppers, I decided to include everything so I could have the most authentic meal.

We arrived in Bangkok for the second time after saying goodbye to Elephants World. This time, though, we had some time and energy to explore the city. Our first night, I had my first full spice Thai meal—definitely an unforgettable one! We searched out some authentic street food, and despite choosing the mildest looking noodles, I was shocked when my eyes automatically watered from the heat! We rewarded ourselves with uniquely flavored gelato from the mall after finishing our noodles.

After exploring the mall a little longer, I got my first traditional Thai massage. It was incredible! It’s an ancient tradition and art, and it really makes your entire body feel better. It has been known to improve asthma and headaches, among other ailments. Your entire body is connected, so working out knots and triggering pressure points can affect any and all parts of your body. It felt so refreshing after a long week of working hard with the elephants!

I can’t believe how many connections you can make in just a week! Working hard with the elephants inevitably bonds you to the animals, but also brings you together with the people who show you the way. By the end of the week, it was sad to say goodbye to all the people we met!

Every mahout was welcoming and kind. I never felt like a burden, even though I’m sure I cramped their style on at least a few occasions! There are no language barriers in a splash fight between traveling students, mahouts, and elephants, and the mahouts were sure to start as many as they could!

The most profound connection by far was with our guide for the week, Dee. He has nam jai, water from the heart—a kind heart, in Thai. He taught us that phrase as we floated down the river Kwai, laughing and learning and taking in the beautiful sights. It’s a bonding experience I won’t forget, especially since we were wearing our life jackets like diapers.

Dee and the mahouts threw us a karaoke barbecue party on our last night to celebrate the end of our time at Elephants World. It was a fantastic time! We all came together to sing silly songs and eat freshly grilled pork and veggies. Many of the mahouts performed beautiful pieces of Karen music. Even Dee played one! We had no idea he could play the guitar, so seeing him perform was really special.

I can easily say that I will never forget the people at Elephants World. I am so grateful to have begun our trip here, because it makes our following exploration so much more meaningful. I am so lucky to have met all of them in such an amazing place!

As the week progressed, we began to learn more about each elephant’s personal story. Some had been at Elephants World a long time, but others were very new and still showed signs of overwork or abuse. We learned which elephants were friends, and which ones were feuding. We waited anxiously for one pregnant elephant to give birth—she didn’t, but it was exciting nonetheless! We learned about the adoptive-maternal relationship between the babies and their mother figure.

During each interaction, there is something new to discover about each elephant and their personality. They seem to communicate wordlessly—a skill that I very much admire while in a country where I don’t know the language!

Our day today was dedicated to pulling up pineapple plants for the elephants to eat. We piled into a large banana truck for an unexpectedly high-speed drive to the pineapple farm. Once there, we realized that subtle suggestions we had received about wearing long pants and shirts should have been taken very seriously—the plants were spiky! Those clever elephants beat them against their legs until they’re soft enough to eat. Thankfully, we had gloves, which made pulling up the plants doable. We made plenty of big piles in the field before taking a break for lunch.

Our lunch break was one moment that really highlighted the difference between our American work attitudes and the more laid back, Southeast Asian perspective. After we ate our packed lunches, we all expected to get right back to work. Instead, the mahouts (elephant caretakers) took naps and listened to music. Some of our group members followed suit!

While it was counterintuitive at first, I found that taking a longer, more refreshing break helped me feel more energized an efficient when we did return to pineapple picking. Although I still felt somewhat sick from travel and jetlag, I found the day of hard work to be contemplative and fulfilling. Learning to pace myself was just as valuable as working hard in the field!