Education
I had been wondering what they learn at school in many Asian countries. Most people are very bad at calculating and they use calculators for the easiest calculations. Also writing is often slow (partly due to the difficult script) and with mistakes. People can read maps in Indonesia and Singapore, but the rest of Asia is shit. In Mongolia they have an alternative and that is navigating on stars and the sun.
Unfortunately most of them do not know a lot about the history of other continents. However, the same happens in Europe, since I didn’t know a lot about Asian history. So shameless of me.
If I consider the curiousity of an Asian then it is very striking what the level of knowledge is. They really want to know more about your country; as much as we do. Often the language barrier exists.
Disappointing is how far nature guides are detached from nature. It is not uncommon to have guides that are afraid of spiders and snakes or even monkeys. I think it has all to do with superstition. So, when I saw snakes I took the pictures while my guide ran away… 🙂
The best places
It is hard to make just a top 5 list of countries, since every country has something to offer; from nature to culture to food. Cities are not covered because these are generally shitholes. But there are definitely some memorable places I visited during the 12 months. And there are so many more that can keep you busy for another two years.
- Mongolia
- Russia
- Brunei
- Myanmar
- Laos
- Phu Quoc Island (Vietnam)
- Nusa Penidas (Indonesia)
- Gili Islands (Indonesia)
- Don Det (Laos)
- Ko Tau (Thailand)
- Ulu Temburong NP: The last remaining of pristin virgin rain forest in Brunei which can be seen from world’s tallest canopy walk
- Bagan: Freaking stunning temple complex in Myanmar
- Khustain NP: Very big national Park in the Gobi desert of Mongolia
- Lake Baikal: This deep and vast lake in Russia is like a blue pearl in the landscape
- Great Wall: China’s largest structure which failed to keep out the Mongolians
- Tibet: A must go to absorb some volatile politics and the place to learn more about Buddhism
- Si Phon Don: Nature’s world record of “how many islands can you form in a river”
- Halong Bay: Huge limestone rock formations sticking out of the sea in Vietnam’s most visited place
- Stolby NP: strange rock formations in Russia’s tundra forest
- Gunung Bromo: Fantastic volcano in Indonesia