What is our life without travel? Incomplete. And what makes our travels complete? Moments and experiences – good and bad. Over the past three years since 2017 (a year robbed by the pandemic), we have traveled together to some of the most beautiful places in Southeast Asia. On each of our trips, we saw a different world. While exploring diverse places, people, cultures, cuisines and landscapes, we had some memorable experiences. Experiences that have stayed with us and are now a part of us. Right now the gloom of this pandemic, reminiscing about all those moments from our travels gets us through. Today, when we sit and talk about some of our best travel experiences, there are many which we fondly remember. With the world slowly recovering, we hope to revisit these moments and create tons of new memorable ones.
Local and night markets in Koh Samui, Thailand
An entire month in Koh Samui is probably the longest we have stayed together anywhere outside of India. This island is among the most beautiful islands in Thailand and is quite special to both of us. From the leisurely mornings at our rented house to the serene sunsets at the beach, there are a lot of moments we fondly remember. However, we had the most fun exploring the local wet markets and the night markets. Getting our food and groceries from the wet markets was quite a humbling experience for us. Besides being able to go easy on our pockets, it was quite insightful to be a part of the local community by supporting independent local farmers and vendors. While the wet markets were about authentic unfiltered Thai community life, the night markets were all about some fun, food, music and shopping. The night markets in Koh Samui are held at different parts of the island on every day of the week. Almost every evening of our month-long stay on this island, we visited the night markets repeatedly. Sometimes we would just go strolling around in the markets to soak up the colourful and lively vibes. To say that night markets in Koh Samui are a culture in themselves would be an understatement.
Snorkeling together in Gili Islands, Indonesia
During my solo traveling days,I had taken to snorkeling in a big way. I felt like I was born to explore the underwater world. For Ruzin though it was going to be a completely new and sort of daring experience. She is not that fond of being in the water just like I am scared of being in the air. Moreover, I knew that the sea gets a bit rough sometimes in the Lombok strait, so for her it would be like taking a giant leap of faith she had in me. On the snorkeling trip from Gili Trawangan, she skipped the first couple of spots and I did not insist on her too much. After all, it was she who had to let go of her fears and jump in. And she did, at the last spot of the trip. She did let go of everything and jumped into those pristine waters. I was there of course, holding her and calming her down. I wouldn’t let go of her hand all the time we were in the water. As I navigated across the waters, holding her palm with one hand and swimming with another, I could hear her muffled vocal expressions of “Wow” at the sight of all the colourful fish and coral reefs. I knew she was loving every bit of it. I knew she was feeling how it felt for me the first time I was surrounded by the beautiful marine life. That was the moment when I knew that she was seeing my world now. She was now a permanent companion in this journey of mine. Till today, this moment is the most special experience we had as a traveling couple.
Lunar New Year (Tet) in Dalat, Vietnam
Witnessing a local festival in that country can be among the best travel experiences for any travel lover. In fact, it is one of the most enriching experiences while traveling. By luck and sheer coincidence, we arrived in Vietnam during the festival of Tet or Lunar New Year. The Lunar New Year is celebrated during the month of January-February across southeast asian countries. In Vietnam, Tet as it is called there, the celebrations are grand. Ho Chi Minh City was buzzing on the couple of days we were there with lanterns and flowers adorning the whole city. However, it was in Dalat where we experienced the festivities at their best. The host family at our hostel cooked dinner for all the guests on the first night we reached Dalat. So there we were, an unusual traveling couple from the extreme ends of India, sitting with a Vietnamese family and ten other travelers from different parts of the world at the dinner table, as part of local festivities. The next couple of days we explored Dalat, which had kind of a European town feel to it. We drove to the outskirts to check out a waterfall. We greeted locals with Chuc Mung Nam Moi – Happy New Year in Vietnamese. We feasted on some amazing Banh Mi and Vietnamese coffee. We witnessed dazzling fireworks at midnight and we even went to a Vietnamese concert. By the time we were on the bus to Danang, we knew we had some of our happiest experiences in Dalat during the Tet celebrations.
Exploring Munduk in North Bali
When we were planning for our Bali trip, Munduk was not on our list. We hadn’t heard of this place before. At the time of our trip planning, my best friend Hanna was already traveling in Bali with her sister and father. It was after her recommendation, we decided to include Munduk to our Bali plans. Little did we know then, that we would find a sort of mini Shangri-La, the fictional place described in the novel Lost Horizon by James Hilton. Munduk is almost everything that Shangri-La would be – mystical, serene and tranquil. There was a certain harmony we felt as soon as we were in the mountains of Munduk. Life is as slow as anybody could imagine, but there is purity all around. Purity in the cool light mountain air filled with the aroma of fresh coffee and spices and the lush greenery of the rice fields in the valleys. Purity in the ingredients of the food we had. Purity in the way of life of the local people in the villages. For two and a half days, we rode on our two-wheeler, sometimes in heavy rain, through the misty mountains and remote villages, all the while exploring waterfalls, viewpoints, twin lakes and the Pura Ulun Danu Beratan temple. It was truly serenity at its best in Munduk. This is one place we will definitely go back to and possibly stay even longer.
Best Thai food at Koh Lanta
If anybody were to ask both of us “What is your favourite cuisine?”. I would say “ Indonesian and Thai” and Ruzin too would say “Thai”. I have been in awe of Thai cuisine ever since I started traveling to Thailand. Over several trips to this country I had acquired an undying love for Thai food. When we both went to Thailand in 2018 together, it was Ruzin’s first trip to this country and she had heard me rave about the Thai cuisine. We wanted to have the best Thai food at some authentic low key Thai restaurant on that trip. Bangkok was good for sure with the food, but it was in Koh Lanta where our taste buds were beyond satisfied. We found a small eatery run by a very sweet Thai family and they cooked up probably the best Thai food we have ever had. We stuck to the classics such as Papaya salad, red curry and steamed fish, and the flavours in each and every dish still linger even today. It was one of those occasions when a particular dining experience became the biggest highlight of our trip. Whenever we think of Thai food, our minds go back to those two evenings in Koh Lanta. And whenever we speak of Koh Lanta, the food we had in that restaurant is the first thing that rings a bell.
Evenings at Hoi An
When we reached Hoi An from Danang, we were on the last leg of our Vietnam trip. We had six days left before we were about to head back to India. During those six days, something quite amazing happened. It seemed as if we were transported back in time to a bygone era as we explored the ancient heritage town of Hoi An. There was a unique aura to this place. There were stories in each and every wall of the old town heritage houses and we could feel them. The place was vibrant but quite unlike that of the usual cities. There was a quaint celebratory mood to the evenings in Hoi An. The entire old town complex was lit with colourful lanterns every evening at the stroke of sunset. There were local artisans showcasing their crafts and handiwork. The night market lane was buzzing with handicrafts, artworks and street food vendors. But nothing would beat our endless walks through the lanes within the old town even after our feet could take no more. The evenings here were nothing short of magical. No wonder we stayed on for more than we had planned. It truly felt a walk back in time at Hoi An.
These travel experiences are all from pre-pandemic days. Please travel responsibly.
Nice blog Tamshuk. Never knew your hidden talent. Keep doing.