It's amazing what you can get used to traveling in Asia... and what you can learn. I've realized that a family's 100cc scooter can hold the same amount of people as a family sedan back home (4-6 people), I've also realized that a Toyota Camry (the taxi of choice here in Cambodia) is actually an eight person vehicle (4 in the back, 2 in the passenger seat,and yes, two more in the driver's seat!). It's probably more like a twelve person vehicle if owned by a family, although I haven't had the pleasure of that experience yet, I've only seen it! Scooters, on the other hand, can also double as pickup trucks (although an umbrella must be carried in the front to keep out the rain). They can carry 20 or so chickens, 2 or 3 full size pigs, a year's supply of rice, etc... you should see what they can carry when a trailer is attached!
I've also realized that while picking your teeth with a toothpick is a disgusting (though absolutely necessary for all) procedure which must be covered up by your free hand, picking your nose is totally acceptable, anytime, anywhere, no covering up necessary! The only person who can 'hawck' a bigger and louder 'luggie' than a man, is his beautiful 25 year old wife or their 7 year old daughter! Any guest house that supplies toilet paper, an en suite toilet/shower, sheets and a towel is a pretty classy joint! Speaking of joints, any restaurant that offers 'happy' food (shakes, omelets, pizza) and doesn't have a sign saying 'no drugs!' clearly posted, has paid off the police, and probably sells pot behind the bar, or may even offer up a joint free of charge if you buy a beer (for about 75 cents!).
Other things I've noticed are that: whoever says that roosters only crow when dawn breaks is a liar! (they start at 3AM and go straight through till 11PM); If your bus driver remembers to honk his horn while passing on a blind corner, up a hill at 90 kilometers per hour, you think to yourself, wow, what a safe and courteous driver! Dogs and cats, chickens and ducks, goats and cows all agree that the middle of the road is the best place to lie down for a mid-afternoon siesta (the cars and trucks do usually seem to avoid them). I no longer think the guy carrying a jar full of bugs is going fishing, but wonder if his bugs taste as good (and if their legs are as crunchy) as the scorpion I had a while back on Khoa San Road. Speaking of Khoa San Road, the frequent bulge in 'girl's' skirts is no longer a surprise (and no!, that is not speaking from a personal experience!). And finally, any bus journey which doesn't end in a break down or with the person beside you vomiting up their lunch, is a blessing for which Buddha should be thanked!
I'm even getting so used to people yelling at me from across the street to buy their books, or scarves, fruit, transport, etc that I'm actually beginning to enjoy their cheekiness... The kids are the best though, besides being a little annoying sometimes, they're often quite funny and damn smart too! Another traveller I met up with told me of one of his favourite street seller encounters... ten year old kid: "mister, you wan buy my poscar?", Traveller: "no, thank you", "you buy my poscar!", "no, thank you, I don't need any post cards!", "look, good poscars, nice pitture of Ankor Wat!", "Ummm, do you know if this is the road to Ta Prohm Temple?" (traveller trying to change the subject) "why you no buy my poscar?", "I already told you (getting angry now) I don't want any postcards!", "what the capital of Madagascar?, you don't know, you buy my poscar!" (pretty good eh?), "What's the capital of Peru, you don't know, you give me the post card for free!", "Lima" said the kid without even a pause, "now, you buy my postcard!". Defeated (and a little awed and amused), he ended up buying a post card...
However, no matter how much you (or at least I) can get used to, six months of rice, noodles and soup eaten to crappy (you'd agree) Chinese or Thai Karaoke music or an old and dubbed Jean Claude Van Dam Kung Fu movie can get extremely monotonous and annoying, who wants fried rice for breakfast... again?! So, when I walked by a Canadian owned cafe the other day playing Sarah McLaughlin music and offering up a full English breakfast for $4.50 (probably the most I've paid for any breakfast my entire time here), I had to have it! It was fantastic (real sausages, buttered toast (not just untoasted white bread), real hash browns), sooo good! I was soon joined by some fellow travelers who together with me in the next twelve hours managed to polish off 3 bottles of french wine, mashed potatoes and gravy, rum and coke (all virtually impossible to find in the other countries I've visited so far) all the while listening to anything we wanted (Sarah Harmer, James Brown, The Clash...) and losing about$3 in a great game of 'Texas holdem' poker, a good way to ease the homesickness.
In the two weeks since then I've satisfied every craving I've had for the last 6 months: cheese (Camembert - I couldn't believe I found that) and crackers, a beautiful steak cooked to perfection, pasta, salads, it may not sound like much to you, but it's been amazing to me, oh so good! I also managed to fit in some local specialities here on the coast of Sihanoukville and Kep in the last couple of days, pepper fried and grilled crab, lobster, fresh fish dishes and some fantastic spring rolls, it's been a couple weeks of culinary joy! Now I'm off to Bangkok to try out some more street stall food, those grubs were looking good last time I was through...
Saturday, June 6, 2009
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