4:00
Tired...but my head is too active...... jerking off twice thinking of Phap (and Pong Li ;-)
I set the alarm, but I can't sleep again..... instead I watch the daily ritual of the people living across the street..... it's calming....because every day it's the same.... I wish for some calm routine in my life instead of the constant running around.....
6:30
Time to get my act together.... what bit me in my hand and left arm? .....better not be scabies !!!!
Talk to Eda.....she's a bit down...but can handle it....
8:00
Showered..... ....almost ready to hit the road but I have more than one hour.....
8:38...... getting closer.....
I leave at 9:00
talk to an interesting Spaniard at the bus stop...... his summary....people in the West are brain-washed to CONSUME and be afraid....
the bus has problems with the retractable step.....it gets fixed by tying it in retracted position with metal wire .....
10:00 at the airport
check-in ....too many stupid people......immigration security .....too many stupid people.....
10:45
I'm sitting in the usual bar with a glass of white wine.....
And I just got my new Vietnamese visa ;-)
And Phap emailed......he didn't sleep well either because I wasn't next to him....
11:00
I see the Cambodia Angkor Air propeller beast land on the tarmac in front of me .....that means we should not be late.....but it also means we won't be boarding in 20 minutes.....
11:10
I've booked Ha Trinh hotel for in 10 days.....
12:00 Talk to an older Canadian at the gate.....and he says "people in the West are brain-washed"..... 2nd time in one day......
The usual flight...fill out the forms...I don't even bother changing SIM cards.....bus transfer to the terminal.....fast immigration (I know it's better to pee AFTER immigration than before, so I don't lose my spot as 1st in the queue ;-)
a nice TukTuk driver
I tip him and he gives me that nice smile "Good luck to you"
14:00
I'm in my room....503
14:05
The room phone rings..... I forgot my blue backpack at the reception.....she's sending a boy up to deliver it..... Thank God I still have a 1-dollar note in my wallet.....
15:15
I've been to the bank machine for US$ 600 and it's nice to finally drink some Cinsault again ;-) Even though opening the genuine Cambodian probiotic yogurt was difficult and it splattered everywhere.... It' shouldn't be that difficult to design an easy to open plastic container ....
15:30
The TV doesn't have Netflix...but it has Al Jazeera....and there is a special of the US military's contribution to global warming...... a thought that had occurred to me repeatedly.....
I feel BLOATED
nap
17:00
sink laundry etc
17:45
I'm starving.....I go up to the pool...... 2 gayish looking guys but NO PONG LI...
Damned....I've even worn the Turkish beige t-shirt .....
His replacement is wearing very nice pants.....
The Caesar salad is getting smaller and smaller...... maybe I should revisit Ohana for the $4 Salad Nicoise.. tomorrow....
18:15
Swimming feels good....even though the water is bloody warm......
19:30
TIRED......but then I did OK today....FIRST time I went swimming on the same day as arriving here....
8:00
I'm back from SMILE market.....I got the last glass of Morello sour cherries and another yogurt and two packs of cookies....... I'm happy.....
Another email to Phap "I'm going to hug my pillow and think of you; sleep well Love"
21:00
Phap now has my second Canadian Zalo.....
Toan replies "Come back home more easy"
sleep
5:30
ouch.... Cinsault for breakfast...thinking that 100km on a scooter in one day is too much....maybe cancel...
6:00
The rising sun hits my balcony.....
6:45
Talk to Andrea for quite a while...... her brothers......her ex husband.... but at least she's learning....no more bullshit....
7:45
I call Eda..... FUN....but then the hotel Wifi is getting weak.....
8:15
OK.....Ohana breakfast is calling.... but it's a disappointment....I'm happy paying $10 for my tiny appetite.....but they no longer have the chicken sausages...... SAD.... Maybe I should have breakfast at Le Botum tomorrow <grin>
9:15
Chantal answers the phone.... issues with her brother ....but she's doing a great job trying to be an organic farmer....
10:15
Alberta and BC close to Fort St. John are ablaze......the air in Calgary is unbreathable.....and it's ONLY MAY.... shit....I was right again ..... the West Coast and BC are becoming uninhabitable....
nap
11:30
Wow.....
Patty replied....she drove through burned-down northern BC just yesterday.....
12:00
Time to do some walking in the heat and buy more Vin Gris..... at the Other Store, I hope....
YES....they have it for 22000 KHR (US$ 5.30) per bottle...
..INSANE buying the French stuff at SMILE for DOUBLE the price....while I'm there (do NOT go shopping when hungry) I buy bread and French olive tartinade, cheese, and salami.... Mon Dieu
13:15
I just learned another lesson....I paid $22 for 4 bottles of wine....and $20 for bread, salami, cheese, tartinade...
..OMFG ....their booze is CHEAP.....but their groceries are INSANELY expensive...... another lesson learned.....
13:30
I've cancelled the Homestay....two reasons....the pictures were misleading....and 100km travel in one day is too much..... I feel sorry for Mao.....but I shouldn't be exhausting myself to bring 25 Euros to a Homestay owner in the very South.....
More of that salami... OMFG.....yes, it was almost US$9.....but every bite is worth it....it is SO GOOD....
14:00
I call Joanna in the Flips...... so much laughing....she has such a great sense of humour....I miss her....and KEN IS COMING......
15:00
Time to get my ass in motion....no calisthenics yet, no shower for 2 days..... and more salami and tartinade.. ;;-)
15:15
I send a lovey email to Phap....long time no hear from him :-(
15:45
gym and Pad Thai.....
16:15
A second gym round.....getting tired again....should I swim?....YES, I should....but it's hard to kick myself into motion......
I feel better (but tired) after swimming very few laps.....but it would be such a waste..... yesterday and today I am the only person I noticed in the pool.....
16:45
Time to pay the bill....it's not that I dislike sitting here in my swim trunks.....but the music is to teenagey ;-)
17:00
Phap replied......OF COURSE to the WRONG Zalo.....I redirect him to the normal one....I hope he gets it...
Pouring rain and crashing thunder claps..... love it.....
17:45
..... good thing I'm leaving tomorrow..... otherwise I'd just be wasting days.....
too much wine and I send too many emails
too much Netflix....
21:30
a sleep well from Phap
sleep
5:30
email from Joanna/Paris
a message from the Monkey
He got 93% in his English exam ......
A message from Joanna/Seattle.... she's sitting in a plane next to a large man with bad body odor.....for 14.5 hours.... I guess I'll be able to Signal her soon when she's out of the UAE censorship range ....
7:30
Call Eda....but she's busy with Randy BS....
8:00
Oh oh....the airport will be busy today.... the SEA Games ended last night.... both athletes and fans will be flying home today.....
9:00
Eda calls back...... FUN
9:30
I'm LOVING my in-room breakfast of black-olive paste, a bit of cheese, and the Pyrenees salami
But I also realize I'll have to get ready soon.....
I've started watching "Working. What we do all day" with Obama..... Tears are welling up after 5 minutes when a hotel cleaning lady says that after she bids Good Morning to some hotel guests they completely ignore her......
10:00
I call Julian.....FUN talking but the bad hotel Wifi disconnects us....and I have to get ready anyway
11:00
Showered....and I've applied the Foot Fungus cream.....used about half.....let's see how that works.....
11:20
Time to start speeding up.....
11:45
12:15
As expected....the airport is BUSY
So I get to the airport.....lots of time to spare.....even with that HUGE lineup at the economy check-in line for Vietnamese airlines..... that would take about 30 minutes of standing......as usual, there is another counter for WEB-check-in....only 2 people there
