Thailand = tourists.
That's our overall feeling.
Here's how it worked: we took the most painful bus ride in history out of Cambodia. The roads were full of potholes, and at one point our driver had to get out and set up some sort of contraption to get us out of a major rut. On the other side of the road, a truck was unpacking all of the bags of rice it was transporting, hoping the lighter weight would help it get out where it was stuck just spinning its wheels. Our bus and their truck sat in the mud for at least 20 minutes, but we made it through in the end. The whole ride was quite an adventure.
The girls on the Cambodian bus all rode for six hours holding their breasts. The road was so bumpy, we couldn't possibly do the ride any other way. It created an odd sort of comraderie... six hours of not even being able to hold a conversation through the jarring and rattling of the bus. When we finally spilled out of the bus, we all sat around on wooden benches, just staring into space and allowing our intestines to reorganize themselves.
Then we crossed the border into Thailand. Suddenly, the roads were paved, and we were being given an entire double-decker bus for ten people. The excitement of the new bus was pathetic, in retrospect. After such a harrowing bus ride out of Cambodia, we were like kids on a playground, checking out the bus with exclamations of, "Oh! And the seat reclines!" and "Oh look! The windows are clean!"
This made me initially love Thailand, but after being here for a few days, I've decided I prefer the road less travelled. Cambodia wasn't trampled by tourists, and I didn't feel as if I were just a part of the greedy, poorly-dressed western masse that had come to invade the country. Thailand, however, feels like grounds for one big hedonistic party. I've seen so many drunken tourists (three of them at 8 this morning), bellies hanging out, girls in bikini tops on the street, and men with their Thai princesses for the evening that it makes me wince.
Still, though, I'm glad we did our trek in the order we did. Coming back to Thailand is going to help ease the transition back into the West. We still have a few days left, and we're going to use them on the beach like everyone else. The Thai are friendly and things are easy-peasy here: everyone speaks English and transportation is affordable, comfortable, and timely. It's still pleasant and a nice way to wrap up one helluva vacation. I just don't foresee myself coming back to Thailand after having seen the other parts of southeast Asia.
We're off to an island for a few more days, where we are pretty much guaranteed to see lots of bloated pink bellies. By next weekend, we'll be back in Bangkok, where we'll head for the weekend market before spending our final day (Monday) just wrapping up odds and ends - and maybe getting a facial or something so that we don't feel so scuzzy for the flight home.
Both Kara and I are trying to find something else to wear on the flight; I don't want to submit the person I am next to on the plane to the terrific and terrible smell of my five-week vacation. My clothes are all rank and I can't wait to throw out every piece of stained and ripped clothing I have brought along. Nothing has escaped the dirt of Cambodia, and most things have stretched and become so disgusting that I hestitate to wear them even here, where disastrous fashion is the norm. I dream of the day I get to go home, take a shower, maybe put on heels, and wear some new, clean article of clothing. The crazy thing is that that day is now only a week away.
Massage.
At least have one, if not two or three, before getting on the plane.
Your adventures have, so far, been a great read!
Thanks.