Tomorrow I fly to India, to begin the next neurotic (and undoubtedly memorable) stage of this trip. In the two months that I've travelled Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, I have...
-accidentally "discovered" the most beautiful temples I've ever seen (Ayuthaya)
-been offered at least a dozen jobs
-shared more meals with local strangers than I can recall
-learned how to tell a woman that she is beautiful in Thai (they're ALL gorgeous!)
-named a constellation after a remote mountain village in northern Thailand
-eaten a raw duck egg that I plucked out of a small stream behind a villager's farm in Laos
-come to really enjoy a round of thwart-the-scam-artist-with-humor
-been warned not to get too friendly with a hill-tribe villager, in case her husband comes around
-met a 10-month old girl who has the cutest Yoda ears I've seen since...well, since Yoda
-been invited into the homes of two honest tuk-tuk drivers
-bartered unsuccesfully for two hours for a ride, then settled on another driver for a higher fare
-been invited to live and work with a Thai family
-cuddled with a drunken dutchman, to stave off hypothermia
-played futbol with local kids on a sandy island in the middle of a river
-accidentally left behind my favorite beanie, a jacket, ear plugs, two shirts, and a hat at various guesthouses
-broken a no-puke streak that was nearly two decades long
-swam with water buffalos in the Mekong river
-made plans to go ice fishing with a Finn
-been outsmarted by a little girl at tic-tac-toe
-taken exactly one hot shower
-met a poor, uneducated Cambodian boy who could name the capital of every country Sam and I threw at him
-eaten foods so spicy it pains my tongue even now just thinking about it
-seen mammals unidentifiable even to me, on sale for food
-driven a tuk-tuk through a coconut farm
-been woken up by the call of wild gibbons in Khao Yai National Park
-etc., etc.
I never thought I'd say this, but I love this part of the world. I'm really going to miss Thailand in particular. Many thanks to those who made the last two months what they were.
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