Saturday, 20 May 2023

48 hours in Cambodia ...Canada ablaze..... collapsing and flipping out in SaiGon

 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


So for the second time, I sit down on one of the benches, take out my laptop....check in online with Vietnamese airlines (takes about 4 minutes) and walk up to the Web-check-in counter with NO line-up to drop off my luggage.....only quickly glancing back at the cattle in the looong line-up..... and I'm actually glad that they won't learn.....because my line would be longer if they did....

Going through security....maybe the whole Timor Leste team is surrounding me....I'll have to look up where that is later ;-)

In the plane: Talk to some Americans
nod off a lot
Immigration.....the guy in the wheelchair aisle is lazy
152 bus....no 109 in sight
walk
 
16:20
I hear the church bells ringing when I wave at Levi through the glass and he opens the door for me.....again he asks.... "Are you OK?"..... do I look that rough?....but then I realize maybe he's asking "Anh khoe khong?", better translated as 'how are you' or 'are you healthy'
17:45
buy new hand juice (it slipped out of my pocket in the plane) and 3 bottles of wine.....
I still have about 3 trieu....but I will definitely have to visit the bank machine tomorrow....
18:00
Dead tired and exhausted...... but I need to get out.....
Sushi <pic>  300k .....really.... a bit much....it's going to be Bun Cha next time ....
500k for Cialis
yogurt and banana bread at CircleK
return home, flop on the bed and watch Obama......it's about working people.....I can't understand how people still have the energy to WORK.....omg...I am so spoiled.....but then.....looking at the STUFF they BUY is mind-boggling..... they wouldn't have to go to work if they didn't buy all that crap.... 
(Sorry to the small percentage of people who don't by crap and still do have to go to work....I realize you do exist....and it SUCKS)
20:00
Nothing from Phap..... I'm thinking of canceling my trip to the South and to Bien Hoa and just going back home on Saturday.....

20:30
I flip out..... I cancel my booking in Ca Mau....I cancel my booking in Ha Trinh next weekend.... I'm NOT going to hang around the south for a whole fucking week if Phap says that he has NO time this weekend even though his parents and wife are gone.....

I message Phap.....no words, just my visa stamp.... I know it's a stupid thing to do..... but that's all I can think of right now....

sleep
4:00
Horny
4:20
Church bells....I get up to have coffee......still CRANKY and I'm trying to figure out WHY.....
6:00
Eda texts "Are you awake yet?"...... early...and she needs a nap ....that's why she wants to talk early....

6:45
Need nap...... so happy I don't have to do anything today.....
nap
8:15
I message Levi....Please extend my room until Monday....
watch Netflix....still too exhausted to do anything else
9:00
Jessica replied.....

9:15
Message Phap.....TIRED....and he replies right away.... tired too...
9:30
Drop off laundry
The Vien Dong bank machine is out of order.....I get 3 trieu out of the next one
Microwave Dim Sum from CircleK....not a bad breakfast for 28k.....good thing the room has soy sauce....I actually eat all 6 pieces......too hungry to take pictures before.... ;-)
10:30
Levi finally responds....I can have a room but I will have to move on Sunday..... but I will move tomorrow.....
11:00
I book my ticket to Quy Nhon for Monday.....
11:10
I pay Levi for the room and I'll move tomorrow around 13:-14:00...he wants to travel to France, Germany, Holland....
11:15
Sushi and Parkhaus are open, BunCha soon.....but I'm still full from the DimSum....
11:30
I've applied for the new Cambodia visa.....
nap
12:45
Wow..... sleep monster..... now I'm hungry for Bun Cha.....
An older guy with a spastic son in a wheelchair is trying to collect money .... From afar I see that a white guy hesitantly hands over money and the father then follows him and hands it back to him....probably 1000 Dong....Other tourists just ignore the couple..... I'm already sitting in the restaurant and they're in the shade across the street.....but seeing that triggers something..... same as all those years ago when I noticed how Westerners were treating the father pushing his blind violin-playing son around in a wheelchair.... what kind of person would I be if I didn't try to make it right this very moment ?
And I don't hand the money to the father but to the son, after saying em oi!... and the kid is shaking with happiness.... it's not that difficult....

Bun Cha...<pic>
13:30
Back in the room......still worn out....even the magic of Bun Cha 145 could not defeat that exhaustion....must be serious then ;-)

Phap wrote again "How are you?"

14:30
I bite the bullet and tell Phap that I'm going back to Vinh Hoa on Monday.....
14:35
I message My to pick me up at 12:30 at Phu Cat on Monday.

16:00
My will pick me up ;-)

17:00
A Phap email.....he has time Saturday evening and Sunday....
18:00
I ask him to come HERE.....I'll pay for the Grab Car.....

18:30
HUNGRY...... I don't want to risk German food, so I head back to Sushi.....
...but it's not hitting the spot today.....it's too warm in the restaurant...and the rice is not cold enough.....but at least I got my calories ;-)
19:45
No reply from Phap....but I know him.....he will come and we will be HAPPY ;-)

21:00
sleep

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