day three in a beachside bungalow in sihanoukville, premier beach destination of cambodia. the rain is just starting to burn away for the first time since our arrival here. first night we got pissed and wandered up and down the beach making friends and finagling free beers here and there. linz repeated her show stopping attempts to liberate the young local working girls through the power of dance and made a good run of it. we are both in danger of our speech succumbing to the charms of british/aussie inflection-not many americans about. yesterday we made like the bed-bound grandparents in willy wonka and left the bungalow only for breakfast, hot tea and dinner. probably we will make our way today to the vietnamese consulate for visas and check out the livelier, inland part of the town. apparently on their first trip here, debbie was aghast at the hippie ex-pat culture here being so in the face of the khmer lifestyle. i am sorry to report that although things are generally more subdued and family friendly, this legacy lives on.
i beat a khmer dude in an arm-wrestling match for free beer (thank you Sly Stallone in over the top) and linz ingratiated herself to a red-in-the-face and fly-harrowed bar owner for an in depth conversation about investment opportunities and life-stories over a spate of free libationals.
my bowels are becoming african, and between them and the bars most of my time is spent on stools one way or another. i know how to say 'whats up', 'you're crazy' and can count to 10 in khmer. very relaxed and i think i could stay here forever if i was writing a novel or something. recovering from a brief and mild cold. never mind my town-bound ambitions, the rain just came back, and hard.
lovin you
dan
8.06.2008
8.03.2008
If Dan can do it, I can do it better
Well, I'm not going to go into detail, because I assume all the words Dan is writing on the screen next to me will give you an idea of what's going on. I'll leave you with a few words of travel wisdom - drink wine when all you've been drinking is beer, wear dresses to boost your confidence, a Uni is not a sexual term or slang for a unicycle it means university, never look at an english person crosswise when they say in't it and most of all hide the lonely planet from those who think its lame, then amaze them with your knowledge and bearings of an area. Miss you all....love Linz
Phnominal Phenmanship
lame title. i know.
this is our second full day here in the capital of Cambodia. Today we are going to do a greatest hits tour- the national museum, the killing fields, and the S21 museum. pretty grim stuff.
we are staying in a part of town called lakeside and our guest house is indeed along the shore of a lake- a lake nearly concealed beneath a trash strewn blanket of voracious lily-pads. very laid back and safe and cozy and meals are good.
the first day here was a blur for me, as i was out till 5"30 the night before in Siem Reap at the 'X-Bar" (sounds a lot seedier than it is) with this 65 year-old-ish disheveled doctor doing aid work and also skipping nearly every consonant in the language, and an ozzy who works at an art center for indo's and throws outback raves. also the quintessencial cheerful/morbid british bartender. anyways the bus left siem reap at 8 the next morning and if not for linz slapping me around and pouring water on my head, and propping me up at the bus stop, i would have been sunk. as it was i barely kept my head above the hangover waters long enough to make it to a double-sized pompazon at the guest house and pass out watching spiderman 3.
yesterday i finished the book i've been reading since the Rainbow Gathering called "Shantaram" .
it is a killer book about this escaped australian convict who makes it to Bombay in the early 80's and tries to make a new life for himself. it cuts close and despite all the gangster/crime intrigue is very literary and an honest if slightly self-aggrandizing meditation on love, home, fate etc. anyways if anyone is interested, you should read it now because they are making a movie of it to be released in 2009. AND who do they get to play the ugly aussie tough guy? fucking johnny depp! so start now, its about 1000 pages but fast.
tuk tuk sir!
(national greeting)
ciao
dan
i leave you with this quote of linz's: "white people love to get their bearings"
this is our second full day here in the capital of Cambodia. Today we are going to do a greatest hits tour- the national museum, the killing fields, and the S21 museum. pretty grim stuff.
we are staying in a part of town called lakeside and our guest house is indeed along the shore of a lake- a lake nearly concealed beneath a trash strewn blanket of voracious lily-pads. very laid back and safe and cozy and meals are good.
the first day here was a blur for me, as i was out till 5"30 the night before in Siem Reap at the 'X-Bar" (sounds a lot seedier than it is) with this 65 year-old-ish disheveled doctor doing aid work and also skipping nearly every consonant in the language, and an ozzy who works at an art center for indo's and throws outback raves. also the quintessencial cheerful/morbid british bartender. anyways the bus left siem reap at 8 the next morning and if not for linz slapping me around and pouring water on my head, and propping me up at the bus stop, i would have been sunk. as it was i barely kept my head above the hangover waters long enough to make it to a double-sized pompazon at the guest house and pass out watching spiderman 3.
yesterday i finished the book i've been reading since the Rainbow Gathering called "Shantaram" .
it is a killer book about this escaped australian convict who makes it to Bombay in the early 80's and tries to make a new life for himself. it cuts close and despite all the gangster/crime intrigue is very literary and an honest if slightly self-aggrandizing meditation on love, home, fate etc. anyways if anyone is interested, you should read it now because they are making a movie of it to be released in 2009. AND who do they get to play the ugly aussie tough guy? fucking johnny depp! so start now, its about 1000 pages but fast.
tuk tuk sir!
(national greeting)
ciao
dan
i leave you with this quote of linz's: "white people love to get their bearings"
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