sometimes i wonder if thai-style is very similar to vlad-style. i ended up almost missing my flight and only got to the plane within minutes of take off. sheez, no matter how much time i have, i always cut things close.
i arrive in cambodia and we have to wait in these super long lines to get our visas. what, they dont take baht for the visa fee? only US dollars? damn! luckily i was able to trade some baht for dollars to this random lady in line. phew. i get to the front of the line and once again there are problems. they need a passport sized photo to give me a visa. damn! i tell them i dont have one. then the guy looks at me and says “gimme money!”. eh? i guess you can get around the “rules” if you pay 2$. nice. finally way later i am free from the airport.
i get a room at a random guest house and go to grab some dinner. turns out cambodian food is pretty good. i get this dish that comes in this HUGE coconut that tastes like it’s a curry that’s halfway between indian and thai. also, my meal comes w/ these chips that you dip into this special paste. fucking delicious!!
so my first impression of cambodia is definitely a good one. people here seem super friendly… maybe even friendlier than people in thailand? also everyone drives on the right side of the road which is cool (i hope to rent a scooter here). of course as usual, when walking down the street alone, people drive up to you with all sorts of propositions: “me take you to young lady?”, “you want young lady massage?”, and even “i sell you grass. you want?”. even after you say no, they usually follow you for a bit begging.
i’ve been getting up early quite frequently here, but tomorrow i gotta set a new record. i gotta be up and showered and dressed by 5am! i’m gonna see the sun rise over angkor watt which i here is quite a sight.
as i write this, all of a sudden my pocket is feeling very wet. crap. a bottle of mosquito repelant busted open and now i REALLY SMELL like repellent. this is the second time that i’ve had one of these bottles explode on me. ugh.
-vlad
you <i>have</i> to take sunrise photos!! please!! 🙂 sunrises and sunsets are two of the best things in the whole world!
i totally did! but they didnt come out that great on my little digital camera… at least i dont think they did, maybe they’ll look better on the computer.
-v
sometimes we just cannot capture beauty from behind the lense. but at least you got to see it. and if your memory is anything like mine, i’m sure you will have a mental picture for years to come 🙂