The Times Advocate, 2008-07-09, Page 10Crossroads
10
Times -Advocate
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Backpack takes Zurich resident across Asia
By Pat Bolen
TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF
ZURICH — "Any wrong
turns are a learning lesson,"
says Jaclyn Rader of Zurich,
who spent several months
travelling through
Southeast Asia, both
alone and as part of a
tour group.
"You keep posting pictures to
Facebook and they know
you're Ok."
Malaysia was another high
point for Rader, who said she
stopped on an island of 200
people for four days. "It felt
like you belonged." She
got her scuba diving
license with four
dives.
"The best was the
whole trip," says
Rader. "I can't pick one
country or thing."
Rader experienced several
culture shocks on her trip,
including seeing cooked dog
in Vietnam and live pigs
strapped to the back of a
moped.
"I'm very cheap now, I
know how far money can
go," says Rader who car-
ried one pair of pants and
three tank tops on her trip. "If
something rips, you just sew
it."
While she had few exotic ani-
mal encounters, Rader said
she was in a room once, "and
saw a spider so big you could
hear it walking," as well as
being on a bus that had to
swerve to miss a python cross-
ing a road.
After arriving back home,
Rader said the first thing she
ate was a baked potato, which
aren't available in Asia.
She says she is also enjoying
the small things we take for
granted in Canada such as
shower curtains, clean beds
"and a toilet that isn't a hole in
the floor."
Travelling through the coun-
tries was easy, says Rader.
"It felt good to be on my own.
I could do anything I
wanted. You have to
learn to enjoy your time
alone...it doesn't get any more
alone than this."
While she says she would like
to travel in Canada, the cost
here makes it more difficult.
After trying real Vietnamese
food, Rader says she is almost
at home in a restaurant here,
"but it doesn't compare to
there."
After
finishing university in
December, Rader left Canada
Feb. 26 and spent three
months visiting Vietnam,
Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia, Laos and Singapore.
Rader said the trip was
something she had thought
about for eight years and
decided on Asia instead of
Europe because Asia was
more of a challenge.
She spent 48 days of her trip
with a tour group and had a
month at the end to herself.
Rader spent 16 days in
Indonesia, which she said was
amazing, with each of its thou-
sands of islands having its own
language and culture.
One of the reasons Rader
went to Cambodia was to see
the `Killing Fields' of the coun-
try that saw millions of
Cambodians executed by the
Khmer Rouge.
Rader said she visited a
prison that had been a school
and is now a museum. "You
can see scratches on the walls
and blood on the ceiling...it's
heartbreaking and eye open-
ing." She adds the Khmer
Rouge took pictures of all their
victims. "It's a part of
Cambodia...they wanted to cre-
ate the perfect society."
Keeping in touch with her
family was easy, says Rader.
Travelling light — Jaclyn Rader of Zurich recently returned from spending several months backpacking
across Asia.Above, Rader is pictured at an elephant sanctuary in Malaysia with her German friend Julia while
below she is shown visiting a traditional village in Lombok, Indonesia.Below left, Rader is in the Cameron
Highlands, Malaysia with tea plantations in the background. (photos/submitted)