thank you in different languages: not with correct spelling but pronunciation: )

cantonese: doh je
thailand: kapunka
cambodia: ah khun

bangkok was rad.


no i didn't see a ping pong show....

but the guys on the street, every three or four of them make this popping sound with their mouth, followed by "PING PONG..." even to chicks! my friend rachel told me she saw one of the girls do a dart show, where i guess they throw a balloon up and well, you get the rest. i didn't wanna pay them my money, they seemed way sleezy and i guess it just seemed more appealing leaving it to movies and shit where stupid westerners go to thailand.







the beaches of thailand are beautiful. koh samui, koh chaing and koh larn are all amazing. the city of bangkok is huge and sprawling, and it's hard to explore everything and not get stuck on koh soan road, you may know it from that little leonardo dicaprio movie which popularized thailand.... well don't go there, go to one of the islands and experience real thailand sans hoards of pretentious backpackers. there's a stark contrast between the attitudes and sights of thai islands and bangkok. it almost bummed me out.









hong kong was wild, the city is all built on a hill and it reminds me of home in san francisco. they even have an escalator that rivals the subway as the preferred method of getting around- it goes throughout the city and up to the midlands in the hills, just a giant escalator that stops at various platforms where you can get off and explore. and nighttime people crowd around in the streets drinking and dancing and singing. everything is extremely expensive, comparable with new york- a pack of cigarettes was nine dollars, and i'm used to paying .75 cents in cambodia. you can see the difference though, with the lack of development but frugality (is that a word? ) of cambodia, then hong kong's developed yet affluent population with sky needles that climb into the clouds...

thank you in different languages: not with correct spelling but pronunciation: )

cantonese: doh je
thailand: kapunka
cambodia: ah khun

bangkok was rad.


no i didn't see a ping pong show....

but the guys on the street, every three or four of them make this popping sound with their mouth, followed by "PING PONG..." even to chicks! my friend rachel told me she saw one of the girls do a dart show, where i guess they throw a balloon up and well, you get the rest. i didn't wanna pay them my money, they seemed way sleezy and i guess it just seemed more appealing leaving it to movies and shit where stupid westerners go to thailand.







the beaches of thailand are beautiful. koh samui, koh chaing and koh larn are all amazing. the city of bangkok is huge and sprawling, and it's hard to explore everything and not get stuck on koh soan road, you may know it from that little leonardo dicaprio movie which popularized thailand.... well don't go there, go to one of the islands and experience real thailand sans hoards of pretentious backpackers. there's a stark contrast between the attitudes and sights of thai islands and bangkok. it almost bummed me out.









hong kong was wild, the city is all built on a hill and it reminds me of home in san francisco. they even have an escalator that rivals the subway as the preferred method of getting around- it goes throughout the city and up to the midlands in the hills, just a giant escalator that stops at various platforms where you can get off and explore. and nighttime people crowd around in the streets drinking and dancing and singing. everything is extremely expensive, comparable with new york- a pack of cigarettes was nine dollars, and i'm used to paying .75 cents in cambodia. you can see the difference though, with the lack of development but frugality (is that a word? ) of cambodia, then hong kong's developed yet affluent population with sky needles that climb into the clouds to the point where you can't see them anymore. it's a surreal place. that and walking into the park from the city. i guess that's also comparable to new york how central park just seems so out of place. i love all my new cantonese friends, and we shot some fun stuff there too.













i didn't think i'd say so, but landing back in cambodia was a relief with some minor travel bullshit setbacks as to be expected, i'm coming to realize. all i can say for now is that i'm okay with not getting on an airplane for at least another month. in the past month and a half or so i've been to korea, cambodia, hong kong (i hesitate to say china... you can see it from the bay but, it's a different world i hear) and thailand. it's nice to jump around, but getting back to my little apartment here in phnom penh was a relief.

next week i'll look for jobs teaching. i've been volunteering at the orphanage, which i plan to continue, but i need to also get a *paying* gig. the tattoos are a tiny bit of an issue, i've got to get real sharp to make an impression when i go for interviews and what not. i did however get a little gig at this cool bar by central market, they've revamped the whole upstairs into being this cute little lounge with a huge wrap around balcony that looks over the city. they want me to teach the barstaff english, and i've created a cocktail menu.. including a Khmer Thai .. ( in cambodia they don't speak cambodian, it's khmer, pronounced ka-mai.. get it?) and a Phnom Bomb, which is a spin off an irish car bomb, only with kahlua instead of baileys, cambodian whiskey and ABC stout beer. pretty snazzy huh? the place is also a dim sum house, the best dim sum i've had and trust me, back home with my chinese half of my family we'd frequent a ton of great little places in san francisco and the south bay... and i'm pretty picky when it comes to dim sum!

little comforts from home lately have been a big help. i went to the market with specific things in mind, and i came home with a few of them. namely kraft mac and cheese in a box, flaming hot cheetos (3.00 for a little teeny tiny bag, and they say "export" on them!) and blue kool-aid squeezy juices i used to drink as a kid. i almost opted for gatorade but the small bottles are about two dollars. unfortunately they don't have boxed wine, that i could find anyway, but i've discovered shoju, which they sell in little bottles for a 1.40. i refrigerate them and drink them with a straw so i've maintained my white trash nature.

anyway phnom penh is home for now, with the exception of a few things lined up that will require flights here and there, but nothing in the next month which is absolutely fine with me. the thought of another security checkpoint sends chills up my spine. the rain is still going, and going, and going, and i love it more than ever. you can tell when it's gonna rain, there's a smell to the air and it's not pra hok- fish paste- yuck- and clouds gather up above the city, and afterwards the air is so much cleaner. there's constant construction, seeing as how its a developing country and all, and with that comes constant dust in the air. it's nice after it rains, so i appreciate it for more reasons than 1. the power usually goes out, interrupting my 80s music video kicks- they always play george michael on the k-pop station- which is fine cause the lightning makes for a better show anyway.

until next time, love you all very much!