A Letter to Friends

I wrote a big email to some friends lately and I'd like to share it with you here. And also from now on I'll keep updating my blog as I'm going to India very soon, I guess there must be a lot to write and I miss my blog sometimes. So here's the letter:

Hi!
It's difficult to make a start as I've got so much to say. It's been long time-- Where have you been? What have you done? Many friends ask me by emails, and I haven't updated my blog for months. Really sorry for my silence, today I'll try to write everything down.

I spent three months in Europe from July 2004 to Oct. 2004, then I went back home; but three weeks after that I picked up my backpack again, and I've been traveling more than four months since that-- two months in China, one month in Laos, one month in Cambodia, and now I'm in Thailand.

This trip is totally unexpected, after three months in Europe, after having lost my backpack in Spain, I was happy to go back home, and it was really nice to see my family and friends again. I thought I'd stay at home at least till the spring then go to South America. But after a week or two, I started to realize that my heart was still restless; though the life at home was very comfortable, I didn't feel like doing anything in my hometown Hangzhou. My daily life was like getting up late, spending most of the time on the internet and reading-- almost the same as my life before I went to Europe except this time I didn't need to go to university anymore. I kinda felt like I was stuck, so three weeks after I joined Guillaume and Linda, two friends I just met for a two weeks trip to Hubei and Chongqing. I'd travelled a lot in China past two years, though I still wanna see the parts of China I haven't seen before, travelling in China isn't that exciting to me. When I started the trip, all I wanted was getting out of Hangzhou for a while and getting an experience of travelling with friends. But two weeks trip turned out to be two months, I went to Sichuan and Yunnan with Guillaume. Very happy to see that part of China, now I feel like I've got to know more and more about this country.

And after Yunnan, I felt pretty good about travelling again, so I carried on to Laos and Cambodia-- two countries I just travelled to last year. Before I always wanted to travel further and travel more, going back to the same places seemed to be boring and wasting time. But this time I did enjoy my second trip to Laos and Cambodia. Going back is a good feeling, I like the sense of familiar when I go back to
the same places, and comparing the differences between this year and the year before is fun. I remember last year Laos was like a paradise to me, it was completely peaceful and simple. But this year I've seen other sides of this country-- there're beggars around (almost didn't see any last year); there're drug dealers and corrupt policemen; there're many vendors who want to rip me off like anywhere else(almost never bargained last year as I thought people are too nice to overcharge me)… I still like Laos very much, but this year the world I see is more real, and I realize it's probably not because Laos is a completely innocent country, but I'm the one who used to be; now I've changed, and the way I looked at things is a different. And also Cambodia. Last time I just spent one week there, and only went to Phnom Penh and Ankor Wat. I felt like Cambodia is pretty touristic and locals are too pushy and aggressive on selling things, so overall I didn't enjoy Cambodia that much. But this year I took my time, and went to see some small towns and countryside. And I realize outside the capital city and famous Ankor Wat, Combodia is not that crowded with tourists at all, and locals are as friendly as laos. I'm glad I went back to Cambodia this time, I enjoy my travel there very much and now I've got a new and positive perspective on this country.

Past seven months I've spent most of the time on the road, three weeks at home is like a break between two trips. Now I've really got used to moving around and travel is like part of my life. Three months in Europe is a great but Europe is very expensive to me. Now travelling in southeast Asia is more affordable, and this trip is more relaxing and laid-back. Though this part of Asia isn't that different from China, I enjoy this trip a lot. This time for me travelling is not just about going to new places, visiting sight attractions and having fun but it's also about having new experiences and meeting people.Before my spoke English wasn't very good, I didn't meet that many travellers when I was travelling. And I wasn't that happy about my life as I'd hardly ever done anything special before, so when I met new people I was always afraid and felt a bit uncomfortable. But this time I'm getting more confident of my English, and I'm trying to tell myself that everyone has something to offer, so I go out and meet people more and luckily I've been meeting some really good people. Also I've been experiencing so many different feelings when travelling. It's not all necessarily good, sometimes I get mad or depressed or frustrated but I'm glad I've experienced which makes me feel alive. And travel also makes me realize that I'm not that brave, I fear many things, and I'm trying to get over them. Like in a complete dark cave in Laos I realized actually I'm a bit afraid of darkness. And I'm kinda afraid of water as I can't swim. Before I thought I'm a happy loner but now I think I don't really enjoy being alone that much, I'd like to meet good friends and spend time with them...

I'll spend two more weeks in Thailand, and what's next?-- India! At this moment I really enjoy travel and India is one of the places I always wanna go, so why not! I just got my India visa and booked my air ticket to Calcutta in Bangkok. I've got six months visa, long enough to explore this huge country. Quite excited about my new plan, though I probably don't have enough money. But I guess after I get to India I can find some volunteer work, so everything's gonna be fine.

OK, that's how I've been past few months, thanks for reading.I'm sorry I don't write that many individual emails when travelling. Thank you for writing to me, thank you for thinking about me. I really appreciate that and I'd love to keep in touch with you all.

love,
leylop