It wasn’t easy leaving Koh Lanta. It’s a nice life there. Traveling with someone who’s on a more limited timeline than mine kind of emphasizes one of the dilemmas about travel- whether to move quickly and see a lot of things/places, or to just take time to be somewhere and experience it more deeply. Although I think both Brian and I could’ve just hung out in Koh Lanta for a few more weeks, we headed to Siem Reap to see Angkor. The featured image is of some local kids getting wedding pictures getting taken at one of the temples.
There are a few things that stand out to me after seeing Angkor, (other than the obvious grandeur, uniqueness, and scale of the temple ruins.)
One impression is the impermanence of human stuff, especially relative to the persistence of nature. The scenes of jungle vegetation and landscape consuming temple walls is pretty strange and spectacular.
The other impression is the impermanence of the excitement of novelty. It’s pretty surprising how fast we can go from being excited to see new cool stuff, to being bored with it… and subsequently to compulsively seeking the next new entertaining shiny-thing.
(I’m going to go on a giant self-important diatribe now. Scroll down for pics and stuff from Siem Reap.)
For example, it’s surprising to me how fast a person (including me) can get “templed out” at Angkor. It didn’t take long for me to just sort of get accustomed to, and bored with the temples. The scary thing is what happens after I get “bored.”
It doesn’t take long for me, (or anyone I think,) to reach for the smart phone or tablet. I wonder, on average these days, how long it takes for someone to sit somewhere in silence, before the cell phone comes out…
It’s not wrong to be perpetually connected, but there’s a trade-off or a cost… and maybe the thing that’s getting traded in is valuable.
I suspect there’s something dangerous about the innovations that allow for instant gratification of the appetite for distraction, novelty, and (superficial) human interaction or connection. (I need to get a rickety old cane to shake at people when I talk about this stuff.)
I’m pretty sure there’s some literature out there about it; I suspect that the reward circuits in a our brains are getting hijacked and rewired to seek constant stimulation and the illusion of connection. It creates a kind of addiction to new interesting shit or the next relational high, and leads to compulsive behaviors seeking that kind of reward, (…and simultaneously to hold back the impending boredom/emptiness/loneliness that seems to be there when the wifi disappears.)
I’m definitely an addict too- it’s hard to quit the constant stream of information and connection.
The thing that scares me is how many real experiences in the present, and real, deep interactions with people, (or even just peaceful moments in your own head,) get traded in for the next article or post online or whatever. It’s not wrong or bad per se, these are all potentially very good things. But, maybe in our compulsive pursuit of novelty, excitement, or validation, we’re losing something else. I’m not sure I can articulate what that “something” is exactly, but it’s the kind of “something” that only happens in silence and solitude.
(Another thing that scares me, is I suspect the continuous escalating pursuit of that next “high” might end up in a bad place- but that’s a diatribe for another time.)
Ugh. There’s a part of me that doesn’t really want to post this cause it feels… like i’m just stating the obvious and being self important, but whatever. i guess that’s what blogging is all about anyway. Sometimes this whole blogging thing just feels like a ridiculous, narcissistic pile of bullshit. ohwell.
OK, so a few things about Siem Reap.
The temples were awesome, but they can be pretty crowded and full of tourists. We did sunrise at Angkor Wat, (which required us to be up at like 4:30 AM.) It’s truly beautiful, and unlike anything else. Unfortunately, I felt like any sense of the majestic or serene is just completely shit on by the hordes of uncivilized, (mostly mainland Chinese,) tourists. Thankfully, I had earplugs in my pocket left-over from the flight the day before. I feel like that’s actually a pretty great travel tip- keep earplugs around not only for sleeping and flights, but also for blocking out the constant grinding rabble of tourists and people trying to sell you stuff. I know wearing earplugs in public probably makes me look like an asshole but I’m completely ok with that.
The other thing- we had some pretty great food experiences. We did a Vespa tour of the local food scene, which was pretty epic. A few notable things:
- chili roasted bugs, (Crickets, grubs, etc.)
- chili and salted green mango- and some other fruits,
- stir fried red ants with veggies and pork, (the ants are sour- i’m pretty sure due to their production formic acid,)
- sombai infused with things like: anise/coffee, banana/cinnamon, coconut/pineapple, galangal/tamarind, ginger/red chili, green tea/orange, lemon/lemongrass, and mango/green chili-
- …and pretty much anything grilled out in the night markets on the street. …Pics below.
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