3 weeks in vietnam was 2 weeks too many. i've run out of dong jokes and there was little sightseeing to begin with. as i'm in a rush to squeeze in Laos before i'm to redebut in Bangkok to meet up w/ some California jerks, i decided to flee Vietnam leaving behind me, chilly weather as well as a wake of clogged and desecrated toilets.
squeezed off a few rounds of an AK 47 and i gotta say, i can really get used to firing machine guns especially b/c it gave me an artifially lifted sense of self esteem and power.
(the last shot was fired in memory of leia, the hot dog dachsund of a friend of mine)
i need US dollars - that's all they accept in laos - and in order to get dollars, i had to withdrawal 8 million dong in 50,000 dong notes.
that's a whole lot of dong... if only i had a massively large dong, carrying a little dong would be less cumbersome and my email complaints to my biological mother will be far less frequent.
tomorrow, i board a ferry for an unforgettable adventure in Vietnam.
sure, i'll miss Cambodia and the friendliest locals on earth but rest assured, i'll make fun of anything i possibly can. many laughs will come at the expense of the national currency of Vietnam called the "dong" and sooner or later, my references to my "tour of duty" in 'nam will force the contents of your stomach back up your throat.
pray that i make it out alive.
look, i thought you may be concerned so i'll address the issue here and now:
there's no need to worry... i'm staying over-hydrated with a conscientious daily regiment of diet coke - thank vishnu for its abundant availability. really, at the heart of my overstay in phnom penh, is the fact that diet coke is so readily available whereas for my next destination, i can't make that statement with confidence.
so rest assured, i'm maintaining a daily quota of at minimum, 12 cans of diet coke (which here is called coke light).
not much going on in this part of the world except loads of sitting around and sweating under a constant blazing sun. i've found a guesthouse on a lake in phnom penh able to keep me here despite having very little for entertainment or sightseeing during the day.
guesthouse picture
waking up to leave bangkok was harder than i'd anticipated. i woke up late not once, but 5 days in a row. it's tough to change your sleep schedule when you've been going to bed drunk at 4am every night.
i fear this country as much as i fear nuclear war (and carnies). rumors abound of skyrocketing crime rates and dirt tracks passed off as highways. tomorrow, i find out for myself how bad thailand's poorer neighbor really is. if it costs only about $5/day to get by in thailand, i can't imagine what bargains i'll find in cambodia... dare i dream of prostitutes as low as US$1?
lunch (pad see ewe) - 30 baht
dinner (pad see ewe) - 30 baht
guesthouse - 120 baht
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total: 180 baht (approximately US$ 4.50)
those are for just basic necessities. start adding alcohol and evening "entertainment" and you're pushing at least $7-$10 per day.
6 days straight of pad see ewe, 2-3 times a day equals roughly 15 straight pad see ewe meals. finally the streak came to an end yesterday w/ the adding of thai yellow curry to stomach. i tried my damndest to eat only pad see ewe but i couldn't bear to see another broad noodle last night. today, i begin a new pad see ewe streak. lunch was number one pad see ewe of the new record setting attempt.
delicious:
as of last night, the clock is reset!
ringing in the new year w/ 8 of my only, and therefore, dearest friends in Bangkok. The cast included 2 israelis, 1 belgian, 2 brits, 2 aussies (the only girls), 1 swede.
i maintained my perfect record in keeping the guy:girl ratio at new year's eve parties well under 2:1. sausage anyone?
on a related note, i'm never drinking again. half the night was spent talking to 4 thai girls. i can't remember a thing they said, not as a result of alcohol but because Max (brit) and i were trying to figure out if they were indeed women. all tests were inconclusive and so we never guessed their true sex.
saw the strangest thing while our plane was taxiing after landing at Bangkok international airport:
frankly, i feel like a flying golfball is a bit of a hazard around an airplane's sensitive machinery, not to mention the security risk in having people mill about directly in the middle of a series of runways but hey, if the thai's are comfortable with it, so am i (for now).