Right now I am in Eastern Europe and am enjoying it far more than I thought I would. I love that I can get good pizza in almost every place we visit, that there are leafy parks and avenues to stroll down, that there are old towns overflowing with history.
But for me, there is something missing. It just isn’t Asia.
I have talked in the past about how I have a love/hate relationship with backpacking in Asia and how it intrigues me. I have taken holidays to Vietnam and Sri Lanka, stayed in both hostels and hotels in Hong Kong and have dreamt about visiting China and Japan for almost as long as I can remember. For years, the culture and diversity of Asia has intrigued me and for the most part has been the only place in the world that I have wanted to concentrate my travels on.
But circumstances change, and we left Asia to come to Europe and dogsit for some friends in the summer. Don’t get me wrong, as long as I’m travelling, I am enjoying myself. But I haven’t yet found an area of the world that gets me as excited as Asia, and quite frankly I can’t wait to go back.
Here are just some of the things I’m missing about Asia and our extended time in Malaysia:
How everyone smiles at you and will attempt to help, especially when you are struggling
The food. I miss laksa, spicy curries, dim sum, pork buns and tandoori chicken roti.
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The crazy themes of food outlets, resturants and shopping malls.
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The love of karaoke. I may only have done it once so far on this trip, but the fact that it is no longer available on every corner kind of makes me want to do it even more.
Most of all, I miss the cheap prices. Food, clothes and sunglasses are all a fraction of a cost of those here (even in the relatively cheaper Eastern Europe) and it makes you sometimes cringe to have to dig deep and spend.
I guess, as the saying goes “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone”.
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