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hello,how's everybody?me-i'm up and down. down because i'm trying to decide whatto do with my life when i get back home, and up because i am so lucky andhave so many choices and because life is good.life is good in thailand - we are back here now - what a breeze comparedto other places we've been to! here the roads are flat (relatively) andpaved, the food is good, the people nice, the weather nice, you can buyanything you need, i can speak enough thai to get by, and the countrysideis beautiful.my bike is in good shape again, and my knees stopped hurting(i think that the bumpy roads did it to me in china and cambodia). we visited ankor wat. nice place, swing by when you have a chance (sorry,i'm just being snotty)! i really liked it a lot more than i expected. weonly spent one day there, but you could easily spend a week. there'shistory and architecture, hindu mythology and buddhist temples, amazingtrees growing on ruins, and surprisingly not many tourists at all so youcan actually enjoy things in semi-privacy. after ankor wat, we were in the cambodian countryside, squat toilet andbucket shower again,and dust everywhere. the road that runs east west incambodia is mostly dirt - you've never seen dust like this. everytime acar or a truck passes it's a mini sand-storm. the locals ride theirmopedsand bikes with elaborate head-dress on - their whole head is wrappedaround in a huge scarf,only the eyes left uncovered, but then they usuallywear sunglasses. it looks funny at first, but ride acouple of km,and youunderstand the need for such dress. the other day we were on a truck,on our way to some town. the truck wasstopped waiting for more people to load.there were vendors of everything(drinks, food, etc), all around trying to convince us that we needed whatthey were selling for the ride. then one of them noticed my hairy legs(bucket water, what can i say,i haven't exactly been shaving everyday),and this became a huge attraction, more people were called over tolook at my legs. each one would get a disgusted look on their face as theytook a peak. it's not like i could do anything about it, and i was sodirty anyway,i just enjoyed being openly made fun of and laughed at theirexpressions. some people here are very puzzled as to why we're travelling by bike. theonly locals travelling by bike here are the ones who can't afford anyothermeans of transportation. i think that it seems very odd to them thatsomeone would actually choose to bike,especially westerners who aregenerally percieved as being really well off and able to afford everything(with good reason in most cases, i think).just finished reading '7 years in tibet'. really good book, well written,entertaining and also very instructive. i definitely recommend it.sorry, i have to cut this short, got to run, but i'll write again soon. stay good,raluca |
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