Live To Tell The Tale

Home Sweet Home

Dazed — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:34:18 +0000

Got back home yesterday morning and was totally wiped. But there’s not much time for jetlag, I still have to write cards, wrap presents, our tree isn’t up yet, plus I’m actually at work right now (scooping ice cream – thank you Nassau Inn wifi).

It’s good to be home, I’m loving the hot water and refrigerator and my own car, but it’s weird, like reverse culture shock. Everything’s exactly as I remember it, and that’s the scary part; I expected everything to be so foreign, so new, as if seeing it all from a different perspective, but it’s not. I reached for my boots knowing exactly where I left them, my cat still comes and sleeps on my bed at night, I automatically jiggle the key in the lock on the front door… Being in Bangkok a few days ago is like a dream. Everything is exactly the same, and now I’m just picking up where I left off.

And of course to make things more confusing, I realize I need grasp that while I was away on the other side of the world, time went on as usual, with or without me. Thanksgiving, birthdays, the first snow, finals, everything went on like it always has. Now I’m back and suddenly there’re Christmas parties and course selection and doctor’s appointments I made in September to deal with, I had totally different priorities just days ago. It’s like I’m trying to fit together two lives, it’s all very surreal.

Ugh

Dazed — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:41:32 +0000

I’m in Dubai again, about to board my 13-odd hour flight home. I can’t believe I’ll be home in just a few hours! Supposedly there’s snow on the ground, which might be a problem considering I’m in jeans and a tank top and the only sweater I have is my thin Patagonia pullover. I guess I’ll be doing some quick re-acclimitization.

Back in Bangkok

Dazed — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:32:02 +0000

I’m back in Bangkok again, the last time this trip. Sihanoukville was a lot of fun, very laid back. I think the highlight was when two friends and I spent the night on an uninhabited island, a big difference from the tourist packed beaches in Thailand. What struck me the most though was the kids that would come around trying to sell you bracelets or fruit. They were usually about 10 or 11 and were pretty persistent, you couldn’t get them to leave. We’d be in the middle of dinner and they’d come beg us to buy their stuff, insisting that we were terrible people if we didnt buy their $2 bracelets (which is insanely expensive by Cambodian standards, btw). They’d claim to be able to go to school the next day if we bought one, or that their mother could go see a doctor, or that they would be able to celebrate Christmas (never mind that Cambodia is a buddhist country). Their English was amazing, though. You could hold real conversations with these kids, about their family and friends and favorite movies and TV shows. What’s funny is they all seemed to have something of an American accent, likely the result of all those movies and TV. It’s hard to accept the fact that this is their way of life, that selling bracelets and begging is more important for them than going to school, whether they’e actually doing it for the money or not, but somehow you just have to realize that their families have different priorities.

This’ll actually be the first full night I’m spending in Bangkok since I arrived in October, it seems like forever ago that I first got here. In retrospect, I realize I was soo scared those first few days; I got off the bus on Khao San and suddenly felt completely lost. I didn’t eat anything except for yogurt drinks from 7-11 the first two days because I didn’t trust anyone – I was convinced everything would make me sick because it was probably washed in tap water/was infested with maggots/wasn’t thoroughly cooked… It was pretty bad. Now, I feel like a changed person, I actually feel like I know what I’m doing. I’m a master at haggling with tuk-tuk drivers, I eat pretty much anything (I had a sandwich this morning that I’m pretty sure was a mix of sauerkraut, beef, tofu, cucumbers and fish sauce on a baguette, let’s just say it was an experience), and I’ve stopped worrying about the little things – I’ve learned to prioritize. Right now I need to get some Christmas shopping done (so excited for Chatuchak market tomorrow, the world’s biggest market), then I want to see the palace temple. And I have to go and find myself some dinner, I was thinking some pad tai from the lady with the food cart around the corner, I’m sure it’ll be delicious…

Sihanoukville

Dazed — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:45:37 +0000

Bamboo Island

Back on the beach again, this time in Cambodia. It’s not quite the paradise of Phi Phi, but the sand is soft and the water’s warm. It’s kind of a different scene though, what with kids trying to sell me bracelets left and right.

(Thanks to Jacob for the picture!)

Phnom Penh

Dazed — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:33:11 +0000

Lakeside

At breakfast right now in my hostel. I’m eating eggs with a baguette (as fresh as one could ever expect in Paris), fruit salad (papaya, bananas, apples, and pineapple), and iced coffee.

So far I like Phnom Penh (not to jinx it). It has character. While Bangkok is racing to claim a spot among Asia’s powerful cities, Phnom Penh just wants to be taken seriously as a city. My guesthouse is in the middle of the city on something of a lake (it is a lake, technically, but it looks more like a puddle with garbage floating all over). Two guys just paddled by on a dugout boat that looks like it’s been around since before the Vietnam war. They’re letting out fishing nets. I didn’t realize anything could survive in this water. I waved to them and they smiled and waved back. In the background there’re some shacks. And then behind those there’re a bunch of huge buildings under construction, hotels or offices maybe. And beyond that there’s nothing – no mountains or hills, just horizon. That’s Phnom Penh, as straightforward as it gets.

On the schedule today is the S-21 museum, where the Khmer Rouge imprisoned Cambodians before killing them, and then of course the killing fields. We’ll see how I feel after that.

(Picture borrowed from salsamanian.wordpress.com)

Siem Reap

Dazed — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:35:51 +0000

Stealing wireless from the bar next door. I’m at the night market in Siem Reap right now getting a $3 pedicure while I wait for the stalls to open. I’ve been covering up the rainbow colors from full moon with orange polish, but it never worked too well.
I always pictured Siem Reap as something like a city of rubble, like the pictures of war-torn places you see on CNN, but it’s not, not at all. It’s definitely a developing country, children selling stuff in the streets, landmine victims, trash in every corner… But it’s just that: developing. There’s some modernity, like this wifi I’m using, or the cellphones you see everybody has. You’ll see stuff like a cute boutique with a nice window display, except that one of the mannequinns is missing a leg, which is ok because at least they have a mannequin. Cambodia holds itself to a different standard; it doesn’t even bother to compare itself to Western countries because it’s just not there yet (Though they rely on the Western world pretty heavily, they like to use US dollars instead of their own Riel, assumably because the dollar is considered more stable. When I go to the ATM I get US dollars, it’s weird).

Maybe It’s Karma

Dazed — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:29:24 +0000

Does spending time in Buddhist countries mean I’m subject to the principles of their beliefs? I don’t know what I did, but it must have been pretty awful because as much as I want to love Cambodia, bad stuff keeps happening. First I got ripped off at the border and payed an extra $30 “service charge” to get my visa. I was so mad after that one, I knew I’d been ripped off the second I walked out (I payed in baht and didn’t think to do the conversion that 2000 is about 60 dollars), I would have gone back and given them hell, but I’d just crossed the border and, well, it didn’t make sense to re-enter Thailand to complain about my own negligence.
And now, my camera’s gone. Of all days today, after Angkor Wat, when it was loaded with not only all my pictures from Phi Phi, but also around 200 incredible pictures of trees growing through temples, and the sun rising/setting over the Cambdian landscape. I would have rather lost both my passports, my wallet and my two credit cards before my camera, I could replace all those, as much of a pain as it would be, but my pictures are gone for good. It hasn’t sunk in yet, I keep thinking I’ll just check my bag again or maybe it’s in my pocket, but I know it’s not there. I must have put my camera down next to my bag instead of in it when I sat down to watch the sunset.
I don’t know what to do, is it worth it to buy a new one? Or should I just hold out and get a disposable for the next week? Is it even worth it to get any camera? And I haven’t told my mom yet, she’s going to absolutely kill me.

Hello Cambodia

Dazed — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:36:15 +0000

Border Crossing to Poipet, Cambodia

Ok, I made it, but it was definitely an adventure. The ferry from Phi Phi was fine, maybe a little depressing, but an easy hour and a half trip. However, the next step, the 14 hour bus ride from Krabi to Bangkok, was pure torture. I generally haven’t had a problem with long journeys (there’s nothing that some Dramamine can’t fix), but this one was plain awful! The seats were lumpy and smelled funny, The light wouldn’t go off, somebody stole my blanket, the girl I was sitting next to refused to respond to my attempts at polite conversation and glared everytime my elbow got too close to her seat, I had no leg room, not even in the aisle, my knees ached from being forced into awkward positions… Needless to say I was so excited to get off at Khao San Road, even if it was 5 am and I hadn’t slept all night.
Khao San was dead quiet, unusual considering it’s normally packed with backpackers and vendors. But at 5 am there were just a couple kids still up from the night before and a sketchy old guy with his two Thai lady friends. I made my way down the road, away from Khao San, to the bus stop where I knew I could catch the number 3 bus the Mo Chit bus station like I’d done weeks ago to Baan Dada. It was nice to be on my own again, to be off the backpacker trail. Though that didn’t last long – I realized at the bus station that the bus to Ayana Prathet, the Thai town on the border, was half backpackers. So once again, I was just a falang. That bus ride wasn’t so bad, in 5 hours I’ve almost finished the Augustan Burroughs book “running with scissors” that I picked up on Phi Phi. But the actual border crossing was kind of traumatic.
In all my time in Thailand, the most I’ve ever been conned out of was $5 for a 2km tuk-tuk ride that should have only really cost tops a dollar. It’s probably mostly luck that I haven’t lost anything valuable or had anything stolen. That said, I still felt robbed the moment I realized I paid $60, not $30, for my visa. But there was nothing I could do about it and I did kind of let it happen; I didn’t do the math when they asked for 2000 baht, I was too preoccupied thinking they were ripping me offing arranging my transportation to Siem Reap (which they would have had I not been careful). The poor customs woman had to take my shit, I’m sure I looked just about ready to take somebody’s head off.
I’m checking into my hostel now, they keep warning me to lock my stuff up and keep my windows closed at night. I hope this isn’t typical of Khmer hospitality.

(Picture borrowed from www.crankyyankees.com)

Leaving the Islands

Dazed — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:21:39 +0000

Really quick post as I have to go catch my boat in 20 minutes. I feel fine now, I even did the hike up to the viewpoint this morning. Now, I’m catching a ferry to Krabi, then a 14 hour bus from Krabi to Bangkok, then hopefully I’ll be ok to get right on the bus to the Cambodian border, where I’ll walk over and then get a bus from the border to Siem Reap, altogether about 28 hours. So the next time you’ll hear from me I’ll hopefully have made it to a different country ok.

I’m bummed I kind of missed out on really taking advantage of Phi Phi’s glorious beaches, but at least I have a little bit of a tan (and what I lack I’m sure my dermatologist wouldn’t approve of anyway), and so what if I missed out on the night scene? I saw it all anyway in Koh Phagnan. So, now it’s off to Cambodia…

I Caved

Dazed — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:15:58 +0000

First I was going to do it, then I wasn’t going to do it, then I was… but ultimately I decided it was worth it to just spend the $30 and get a nice room wth air conditioning and my own clean bathroom. I feel a million times better than I did yesterday, but I still think it’s worth it to splurge just to make sure I really do get better. And in the grand scheme of things, this really isn’t a splurge; I have to keep reminding myself that at home $30 is like dinner out with friends – it’s not even half a tank of gas! (or maybe it is by now, it’s nice to not worry about gas prices) I know I’ve spent more than this in one run to the drug store for sudafed and robitussin, so I really don’t need to feel guilty…