8th land crossing

"Hey mister, wanna buy some postcards? Ten for a dollar. C'mon mister! You have some already? Have some more? C'mon mister! No money? No money no honey, mister! No money no honey!"

"Hello! Hey! Good-bye! Ko-ni-chi-wa! Hey mister! Wanna guide book? Five dollars! Arigato! Ok ok, four dollars! C'mon mister! I give you good price! Ni hao ma! Auf Wiedersehen!"

"Hey mister. Hey, where you from? Japan? America? Capital of USA: Washington, D.C. Capital of Washington: Olympia. Capital of New York: Syracuse. I know all the capitals, mister! How bout a quarter?"

Warning: Objects may be closer than they appear. The rear-view shows Cambodia. Her drama – tragedy – waits for understanding.  But that's the way it goes with traveling. You touch down but never stay, make connections but then uproot, sympathize but hardly ever empathize.

I crossed into Thailand yesterday – my 8th land crossing! Ready for the fast forward? Ok. Here goes.

10 am. I... gulped down eggs & toast, hopped on a crotch rocket for the Sihanoukville port, processed through the exit guards (where I met a Cambodian officer who stayed in the same refugee camp that my parents were in!), clutched my stomach and prayed to God for 4 hours on a boat ride from hell (passengers retching on a monsoon-jagged sea), dragged myself onto a taxi for the border, skipped across the invisible line (hooray!), boarded a cramped van and bulleted towards the town of Trat, climbed onto a sawngthaew (with a drunk driver, mind you) and sped to the ferry docks, glided on the ferry across to the island of Koh Chang, boarded another sawngthaew that rumbled up the black hills and tumbled down to the west coast, checked-in to a guesthouse and promptly passed out under the mosquito nets to the music of rain. 10 pm.

And it's still raining. All this freakin' day.

Good job, I told myself. Way to plan. Spend the dry season in Hanoi and start traveling when the monsoon season starts. Stellar. It's a sick joke really – all the best beaches and dive sites here and I'm stuck with a plate of stale noodles looking at the puddles on a the muddied streets. I guess you have some days out of your control, when you're traveling. Yes, I'm sure my lamentations is high on the list of 'evils in the world that must be dealt with'.  I assure you, it's right up there with wars and famine.

But then again, Thailand is such a change from Cambodia. Paved roads! With street signs and traffic lights and merged lanes! And clothes found in boutiques instead of next to the fermented fish in an open air market! And how bout that: a 7-eleven, with the conveniences of potato chips, soda and an ATM at my fingertips! There are cars that aren't from the sixties even! It's civilization!

(But then again), upon closer inspection, piles of trash lay on the sides of the paved roads, it's a 7-day and not a 7-eleven (way to go copyright laws!), and sarong-clad women hitch rides on the still used sawngthaews.

I guess I'm still in Asia.

(Seriously though -- Thailand's tourist infrastructure is awesome.. miles ahead of Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia or Cambodia. For $10, you can get a beach bungalow designed from the pages of Home & Living, free DVD rentals, and travel advice like no other.)

Hi there! I was wondering who that was who left a comment on my new blog. Now I'm encouraged to persevere and write more in it. It's so great to hear from you; I'm definitely going to read all about your travels now. hehe. Oh and I'm honored that you have a link to my blog. I can't believe you were reading all of my unsophisticated drivel. Can you change the link to my new blogspot blog? :)

Posted by: Alaina | July 25, 2006 at 12:45 PM

Will do =) Just wanted to make sure that your new blog was on a roll. I have to keep up with Brooklyn!

Posted by: j.fisher | July 26, 2006 at 10:19 PM