Southeast Asia — Rogue Wanderers

Cambodia, Blocked from Thailand (with the truck), Malaysia, Indonesia

Hey there to our faithful readers! A word upfront that this blog is a strange one, basically a mash up of experiences in Southeast Asia that we managed to have while dealing with logistical roadblocks. Those last weeks on the road for this leg were tough for us. We had been driving for six months from India, through Nepal, and China to Southeast Asia. We hate to sound like we are complaining because we know we are living an extraordinary life. But sometimes it takes a toll. Despite the welcoming people and cultural sites, we struggled with the heat and humidity. We were tired and reaching our saturation point for new experiences. The driving had been difficult and intense with rugged roads and crazy drivers. All this to say that this blog does not do justice to the countries we visited, but we still feel the need to recount how we spent our time. (At the very least so that we can remember in our dotage.)

Another factor influencing our time in the region was the growing realization that it was not going to be feasible to drive our truck through Thailand. As we approached the country, the Thai government was tightening up regulations for foreign overlanders. For over five years there had been a law forbidding overlanders to drive a foreign “camper truck or van” over the border. But overlanders had been successfully talking their way across remote land borders with a combination of charm and persistence. It was just our luck that as we neared Thailand the government was cracking down.

At the time of writing this, the regulations stated that foreign vehicles must obtain a Foreign Vehicle Permit (FVP) through a licensed travel agency. If you could have your vehicle classified as a car (no toilet, kitchen etc) this was a relatively cheap and quick process - two weeks and $200-$300. However, if based on a picture of your vehicle the agency decided you were a “camper truck” you were either declined, stating it was illegal, or offered a “special permit” process for a cost of $1600 and a 4-6 week timeline. We did not have the time to wait as we were meeting shipping buddies in Kuala Lumpur to share a container to send our vehicles to South America.

We had not intended to go to Cambodia as we had been there on a family trip years prior. But as we made multiple attempts to get into Thailand from borders in Laos and were declined, (up until a week before we tried, travelers with campers were still being allowed to cross), we heard from other travelers that getting into Thailand from Cambodia could be easier.

All this meant that we entered Cambodia with a single focus of trying to figure out how we were going to get our vehicle into Thailand.

Cambodia

Having already seen the tourism highlights of Cambodia, we initially just headed south and tried a couple of borders into Thailand but were told by customs officials we were not allowed (or needed an FVP, they seemed a little unclear on the rules as well).

As the FVP process was too long for us at this point, we headed to Cambodia’s major port town, Port Sihanoukville to see if we could find a shipper to take the truck to Kuala Lumpur, or if necessary all the way to South America (sorry shipping buddies but we had to look at all options).

The first week was a bust, we sat down and emailed dozens of shippers. We received no responses (it turned out there were three national holidays that week, Buddha’s Birthday, the Cambodian King’s Birthday and National Ploughing Day so we chalked it up to that). But starting the next week, still, crickets.

*Dawn stress eating Chupa Chups, her favorite candy in the hotel room in Port Sihanoukville*

*Not by any stretch a lovely city, we still found some places to walk*

*But it was REALLY hot for us. Dawn- red sweaty and miserable after being outside for an hour*

We were missing our truck life, holed up in a cheap hotel using the Wifi and complaining about how unappealing the city was - full of uniform high rise apartment and office buildings, sprinkled with Chinese built enormous casinos and Russian brothels. We even tried showing up at a couple of shipper’s offices and they promised to follow up but still, crickets.

After a week we realized that since everything we could do was online we did not have to stay in the port town, so headed out to nearby Kampot to explore. It was a charming city on a huge river surrounded by agriculture.

*Riverside walk in Kampot - an appealing pleasant city with a thriving riverfront filled with restaurants catering to local and foreign tourists*

*Exploring the countryside around Kampot*

*Hindu cave temple built in the 7th century dedicated to the god Shiva*

We were slowly working our way out of our funk, finding places and people to enjoy despite increasing worry about how we were going to get our truck around Thailand.

What we were finding was that although there was a huge port, Cambodian businesses were not set up for individual shippers, most agencies only wanted to work with large companies. We found our way to some freight forwarders who acted as intermediaries who promised to help. Things were looking up as we were in active communication with 5-6 companies. But we were still seeing people go silent and stop responding once they felt our situation was too complicated to be worth the time. We received one quote to ship our truck to Malaysia which was the same cost as shipping to South America - which would have doubled our overall shipping costs so not an option. We were never able to get a quote to go from Cambodia to South America - the route either being too uncommon or too complicated or both.

*Pepper plants at a spice farm outside of Kampot*

*Yummy squid -seafood was varied and excellent in the area*

*Hairdresser Mony, a beautiful and kind soul*

Our saving grace was meeting up with some fellow travelers - Australians John and Lynda who had similarly been denied at several borders. They were trying to get their Man camper truck home. We had first ran into them in a campground in Kathmandu, shared stories over beers and enjoyed the camaraderie of fellow overlanders. Then, in a happy coincidence we ran into them near the southern tip of Cambodia at the border with Thailand which we had both thought we could pass, but were denied. Lynda had found an agent who agreed to transport their truck on a flatbed to Bangkok where they would ship to Australia. Dawn immediately started following up with Lynda’s contacts who were new to us. Lynda had also had the same experience of being ghosted at the point helping us wasn’t deemed worth the financial return.

So with some sense of renewed hope after a dry spell of non responsive emails, we continued some easy side trips in Cambodia.

*Buddhist temples at Preah Monivong Bokor National Park*

*Andy having fun on a hike in the lava formations at Preah Monivong Bokor National Park*

*Celebratory hamburger after we get promising news from a freight forwarder about trucking*

With several people actively communicating with us about transporting the truck and with hope that it could be resolved in a week or so, we decided to wait it out in Phnom Penh.

*Bassac street - full of trendy bars and restaurants*

We spent a fascinating afternoon touring the Royal Palace, luckily we hired a guide to give us historical context. We learned about the life and role of the current king who was appointed in 2004. Luckily it is not an inherited role as he is a bachelor (devoted to his Buddhist faith) with no children. His successor will be appointed by the Royal Council as he was.

*The gardens and ornate architecture were spectacular*

*The palace is still the official residence of the king*

Today the king holds a largely ceremonial role but is still a great source of national pride and unity. The current king was locked in the Royal Palace with his family during the terrorizing reign of Pol Pot.

*Building of the complex started in 1866*

*Beautiful lotus flower in the palace gardens*

*While Dawn loved the traditional noodles for breakfast Andy is ready for some pancakes and bacon*

*Gorgeous Buddhist temple we ran into on our wanderings*

*Walk along the riverfront in Phnom Penh*

In the end we really enjoyed Pnomh Penh with its unique blend of modern and traditional Cambodian aesthetics. Our visit a decade ago was colored by a couple of youth on a motorbike swiping our son’s phone out of his hand as they rode past. But this time around, we explored more deeply and kept our eye out for would be thieves. After having spent time in many much more rural places, the modernity and relative calm of the big city felt easy. This time around we did not dive into the history of the tragedies perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge, we had paid a deeply disturbing visit to the Killing Fields in the past and it is not something to be missed but also an experience we did not feel like repeating. This time we were surface level tourists.

And then - success! One of the freight forwarders we had been in contact with (a person suggestion by fellow overlanders John and Lynda) said she could pick up our truck at the Cambodian/Thailand border in a few days and would transport it across Thailand to Malaysia for us in a three days. It was expensive - $1400, but less than an FVP and without the wait. So we left the city and headed for the Koh Kong border where we would meet her.

*Dumping rain at our hotel near the border*

After many complicated conversations on the Cambodian side where officials told us we would not be let into Thailand with our truck, we finally were able to walk across and find our shipping contact who explained what was happening to the officials and loaded our truck.

Here we go! The truck was sealed by Thai customs to ensure it would not be offloaded. We said goodbye to it and hopped in the car with Ms. King (who had arranged for the transport), who drove us to Trat in Thailand where we would take a bus to Bangkok and fly to Malaysia to meet the truck.

Not since negotiating to enter Nigeria with the truck had we encountered such a long and complex delay. We were relieved and delighted to get beyond the status of endlessly waiting for a return email or Whatsapp message to get us on our way.

As a follow up note to others on this route, at the time of writing land borders between Thailand and Cambodia are closed due to military skirmishes and conflict between the two countries. This means that currently, if you have a camper truck the only option is to enter from Laos and plan well in advance and apply for an FVP through an agency that can do the special permit for upwards of $1500. There are also reports that the Thai government is committed to increasing the restrictions and adding a layer of requiring people to hire a guide, but we cannot confirm this.

Malaysia

Malaysia was another country we had visited in the past - although it was almost thirty years aga. At that time we were focused on getting out to the islands for jungle hikes, scuba diving and beach time with our then 3 and 5 year old sons. This time we decided to spend some time on the mainland learning the history and culture. We jumped in the truck, bought groceries, filled up with gas and water and headed to Georgetown.

A fascinating city, you can see the influences of its colonization and diversification on every street corner. Founded as a port by the British in the late 1700’s, it became an economic center with immigrant populations from India and China moving in over the centuries, seeking wealth and opportunity. Colonial buildings sit side by side with elaborate Chinese temples and houses. It is also a city which embraces and supports art in all of its form - with vibrant street art, murals and galleries everywhere you look. Dawn was in heaven.

*Wealthy Chinese merchant homes are scattered throughout the old town*

*Temple with statues of Chinese deities*

*The streets are busy - filled with excellent cafes and shops*

*In the fabric district we managed to capture this mural with its subject who worked at a sewing maching nearby*

*Even when the buildings were more run down they were beautiful in their own unique way. Andy is not as fascinated as Dawn by the murals.*

Next, feeling that we had been city focused for too long we headed for the cool mountain climate of the Cameron Highlands and some hiking. Unfortunately we accidentally hit a weekend during high season and encountered a two hour traffic jam of cars snaking up a two lane narrow windy road. Once we made it, the cool breezes were a relief but the hiking almost took us out - wow, some surprisingly rough trails for an area known for its beautiful walks.

*Heading out on the trail for valley views of the tea plantations*

*Dawn taking a breath before tackling the next rooty cliff*

*But once we reached the top it was worth it!*

*Although the downward trail was perhaps even more rugged - and overgrown*

*Arriving at the vast expanse of tea plantations*

Despite the tough traffic and hike, we were glad to have experienced the Cameron Highlands as a break before we drove into Kuala Lumpur.

*Amazingly we found safe, secure parking in downtown Kuala Lumpur in sight of the towers- $4 a day. This parking lot became a home base as we did some side excursions to nearby countries and islands.*

*Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur. The tallest buildings in the world until Dubai beat them out with the Burj Khalifa.*

Our last place to visit in Malaysia was Malacca. Another old seaport with tons of history it reminded us a lot of George Town with British colonial buildings side by side with Chinese temples. But for us Malacca did not have quite the same charm as George Town. Despite the interesting architecture, overall it felt more touristy. (Ok we know we are tourists but that doesn’t mean we like being surrounded by other tourists)

We booked into a beautiful bed and breakfast downtown to make it easier to explore (and free on our credit card points, thank you Chase Sapphire, no we do not get points for the endorsement but the card had served us well - we rarely pay for a big city hotel).

*Colorfully painted port side buildings*

Now it was time for Andy to get a haircut. It was an excellent cut but Dawn was struggling to maintain a straight face as Andy kindly put up with having copious amounts of product put in his hair - he has never been and probably never will be again so stylishly coiffed.

*The tuk tuks were decorated beyond anything we had ever seen before*

That was it for Malaysia this time around for us - our truck was there longer than we were since we found safe long term parking and took the opportunity to fly out of Kuala Lumpur to nearby Thailand and Indonesia. The country felt more developed than it was during our previous visit but we did not get out to remote islands this time. It was an easy place to be but we were missing our standard travel format of living in the truck. The combination of the heat and focusing on big cities and islands made this largely impractible.

Thailand

Since we were unable to bring our camper into Thailand but were so close, we decided to fly into Bangkok from Malaysia to hit a few highlights. We had never been to Thailand and had heard only positive things about visiting. It felt odd to be donning backpacks and getting on a plane without our home on wheels but it was the only way for us to see any of the country.

*Andy is really happy that we are finally hitting mango season*

We landed in Bangkok and set ourselves up for some day trips to points of interest. Our first outing was the “Death Railway” site. We visited the informative museum and learned about how the 415 km railway was built under Japanese direction during WWII. They used forced labor from Allied prisoners of war and local Asian workers under such brutal conditions over 100,000 worked died in little over a year.

*Looking out over the valley where the Japanese prisoners of war and local Thai people were forced to work endlessly clearing rocks and jungle to build a railroad to supply the Japanese war effort.*

We walked through “Hell Fire Canyon” where the railway was being built. The name came from the fact that prisoners were forced to work by torchlight at night. Maybe we were overthinking it but the canyon felt sad and unsettling

*Section of the railway built by the prisoners which is still operational*

After visiting Hell Fire Pass, we boarded the train and road it over the bridge over the river Kwai which was also built by the prisoners. (We had prepared ourself by watching the 1957 movie the day before, definitely old school movie but it still provided interesting context).

*Walking back over the bridge over the Kwai river*

*Graveyard where prisoners who worked on the railway are now buried*

*Nighttime in Bangkok - a lively city that never sleeps*

We may have been carrying backpacks but we mostly think we are too old for hostels so secured a small hotel room with a great view. Quite a change from truck life, but we appreciated the toilet, shower and especially A/C..

Although not typically big city people, Bangkok grew on us. It had a liveliness and grit that made it interesting. Although a highly modern city, it still had fascinating historical sites. The food was some of our favorite in the world and public transportation was safe, easy and inexpensive to use. We were not there long but we enjoyed our time in the city center.

*Visit to the Grand Palace complex in Bangkok. Built in 1782 by King Rama I*

*In additional to royal and administrative buildings, the complex included the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.*

*The architecture was some of the most impressive we have ever seen*

*The Emerald Buddha has a long history, first appearing in the 15th century in Chiang Rai and moved to this site in Bangkok in 1784 when King Rama built the temple for it.*

*The detail with the stonework, carving and tile was exquisite. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed inside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha but it was beautiful to see.*

*150 feet long reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, largest in Thailand, representing Buddha at the final moment before he enters nirvana*

*Makes our truck load with our camper seem small*

Our final excursion from Bangkok was to take a tour out to the famous floating and train markets. We have mixed feelings about the outing. Although we were fascinated by the idea of the markets and got a sense of how they worked historically, they no longer felt authentic to us. We came away feeling like the original concept had been re-packaged and re-worked for a tourist experience.

*Floating market stalls built along canals with historic homes. Stalls now mostly sell souvenirs for tourists.*

*Some of the vendors are still selling everyday needs like produce*

*But most of the boats on the canal are filled with tourists*

*We still had a fun experience seeing it and getting photo bombed by our boat driver*

It was a very similar experience at the site of the traditional train market. Famous images and video (which we could not capture ourselves) show the market before and after the train coming through, with umbrellas protecting the vendors quickly folded off of the tracks when the train pulls through then popped back up afterwards. It was fascinating to see, but once again the vendors were mostly selling souvenirs for tourists and all the potential customers of the market we saw were fellow tourists.

*Vendors set up right along the train tracks*

*Everyone tucks in as the train comes through*

*Acknowledging the craziness of the moment*

*Then all of the awnings popped back up after the train passes*

Our last stop in Thailand was a quick roundtrip flight to Chiang Mai to see the ancient Buddhist wats or temples. It was on this trip that we started to realize that we were too travel weary to really appreciate what we were seeing. When after a day of touring extraordinary temples we could not muster up enough energy to enter the last one we knew it was really time to stop and go home. But this is not to detract from what we were seeing which was so beautiful. It is more a comment on our state of mind.

We were also reminded of how comparatively easy it is to travel in our truck compared to using public transportation and hotels. We always have our stuff with us, we always have clean drinking water, food, snacks and a place to sleep. The few times we miscalculated traveling with our backpacks by train, pulling into a rural station at night and having to walk country roads in the dark to get to our destination really brought this home.

*School children sorting through mangos to be given away at a temple. They gave us a bag and we tried to pay but they refused.*

*Refreshing mango and passion fruit smoothie break*

Adding gold leaf to the Buddha representing the day of your birth. Dawn is was born on a Monday so this is the “stop the fighting” Buddha - very appropriate. Andy was born on the day of the reclining Buddha - no comment but he does love a power nap..

*So much unique and interesting architecture*

*Hike in the hills above Chiang Mai - temple being taken over by the jungle*

In the end we were glad to have gotten a taste of Thailand. The tourism infrastructure is more developed than other Southeast Asian countries - which means it is also more expensive. But the people are welcoming, the food some of the best on the planet and the culture is varied and interesting. In the end, we got over being annoyed that we could not get in with our truck and relaxed into some memorable experiences.

Indonesia

Since we still had some time before our shipping date out of Malaysia, we decided to re-visit another favorite place from our decades earlier prior trip to Southeast Asia. This time around Indonesia called to us for the ability to see orangutans and Komodo dragons in the wild, and superlative scuba diving. Our first excursion was to Bukit Lawang in northern Sumatra where it is possible to hike in the national park with a guide and potentially see orangutans.

We arranged our trip through Sumatra Thomas Monkey House. They arranged for us to be picked up at the airport, brought to their guest house in Bukit Lawang where we spent the night, then for a guide to take us on an overnight trip in the national park, returning to spend the night in the guest house, then back to the airport they next day. All food was included as were guide and park fees. Brian, the owner of the business had grown up in the local jungle then moved to the village to attend school. He was an excellent and knowledgeable host and his guides were superb. His guest house was beautifully made out of local materials and he had personally added his artistry. The whole experience was the best $350 we ever spent.

*Village of Bukit Lawang in Northern Sumatra*

*An evening wander around the small but charming village*

*Andy is impressed by the size of those leaves*

*Our cabin at Sumatra Thomas Monkey House*

The next morning we woke early and set out with our small group and guide to find orangutans. We each carried a small backpack with overnight supplies and drinking water.

*First sighting - a Thomas Monkey - we had never seen one before*

And then - orangutans! It is hard to describe the magic of seeing these magnificent animals in the wild. They are graceful, huge, powerful and curious. Sometimes it was hard to say who was staring more at who. Our guides were excellent about protecting them and we maintained our space, until an orangutan decided to come closer which was both exciting and unnerving. Mostly we stayed still and watched.

So we took 100’s of photos. Only posting a few here.

*Orangutan acrobatics behind Andy’s head*

*We even saw gibbons! Also which we had never seen before*

*Our jungle accommodations - basic but all we needed. It was hot and wet. We were each provided with a sleeping pad and mosquito net.*

*And the next morning - more orangutans, this one with a baby*

*Our guides made fantastic local food - this was our morning fruit snack*

But the trail was TOUGH! We were at least 30 years older than our fellow travelers. But we made it - phew. The down hillls were tough on Dawn and her knees but one of the guides cheerfully hung back when she was slow.

*A celebratory dinner with our fellow trekkers when we got back to the village*

Our next stop on Sumatra was Lake Toba. The lake itself was almost too big to be interesting to us, but the village we stayed in (Ambarita) was cozy and delightful. We spend a couple of relaxing days learning about the local Batak tribe.

*Traditional Batak house - surprisingly cool inside with its peaked roof*

*Dawn had to purchase a mask from a local carver - the mask is hung outside a house to provide protection*

*Now that is a lot of chicken on a motorcycle*

Our final adventures in Indonesia both involved boats. Which are not Dawn’s favorite thing. She likes to walk and she likes to get away from people. Both are not easy on a boat. Andy has a dream of sailing around the world. Dawn is thinking she will meet him at interesting ports. So this was a bit of a mini test to see how she did with multi day boat trips. (Spoiler alert, her hypothesis that day after day on a boat is not her favorite thing was confirmed).

The first trip was traveling from the island of Lombok to East Nusa Tenggara where the Komodo Islands (and the dragons) are. We signed up for a budget 5 day 4 night boat trip.

*First we took the local ferry out to the Gili islands*

*Our room down in the bowels of the boat*

Views from the boat were spectacular and we had at least one opportunity a day to get off the boat and visit the islands. But the seas were rough and for at least one night everyone (ironically except for Dawn and the crew) was either vomiting overboard or comatose on the upper deck high on nausea medicine. Overall, a mixed experience but worth doing once.

*Our guide taking the picture - they had simple sticks as protection*

*Our happy boat group glad to be at the national park*

*Swimming at shark beach (they were babies), boat hanging in the background*

Dawn survived boat #1, we disembarked in Labuan Bajo and had one night on land before our second ocean voyage - this time on a scuba diving live aboard. We signed up with Scuba Republic for four nights and four days of diving in the Komodo islands.

As soon as we boarded the boat, things were looking up. It had multiple lounging areas, and a nice kitchen with a 24 hour expresso machine for Dawn. The crew and the dive masters were awesome. Dive briefings were thorough and accurate. It was some of the best diving we have ever done. Andy likes to say it was like diving in a billionaires aquarium. The currents were no joke and took some navigation but there were times when we felt like we were flying over the reef underwater. It helped that we had two pick up boats that were quick on the mark in picking us up wherever we surfaced. We saw every kind of sea life including a huge school of hammerhead sharks.

*Dawn’s favorite spot between dives, making use of that expresso machine*

Despite having been divers for over 30 years, we had never done a live aboard before (that thing about Dawn and boats). But there really is no better way to dive the Komodo Islands - it gets you out to remote spots and allows for 3-4 different dive locations a day.

*Dawn doing her giant leap into the water for the first dive of the day*

School of hammerhead sharks swimming by - not the best photo but we were deep underwater hooked on to rocks so the current would not take us away - we floated and watched as the stream of ocean life went by

*Huge manta rays swimming over our heads*

In the end our unplanned, last minute trip to Indonesia served up two of our travel highlights - hiking to see orangutans and scuba diving in the Komodo islands. So even without our home on wheels we can have fun.

Finally we were ready to meet our shipping buddies, Anouk and Hubert at Port Klang to load our vehicles into a container to send them to Chile.

*Double checking to make sure our two vehicles would fit*

Well the last part of Asia had its highs and lows. We are looking forward to exploring a new continent, refreshed and renewed after some time with family in Oregon. Thanks for reading and safe travels everyone.