Bangkok, again
The major companies represented here from foreign origins are American, with the exception of Vespa Scooters (Italian), all automobiles (Japanese), and beer (Heinekin from Holland and Carlsberg from where?). seven elevens are all over the damn place...mcdonalds, burger king, and KFC have all made a name for themselves...and all media entertainment is strictly from home. Today, Jon and I went to the cinema and watched the Matrix sequel for a lot less money then it would have cost back home. And we had the option of drinking beer as we did so...even if we felt like bringing it in from some other location.
Why do Americans feel that it is weird to travel to foreign contries? The common excuses are school, work, and money. These are all merely excuses, and quite rediculous when you consider them in any serious sense. School is retarded, as is work. Money is stupid, and the rest of the world sees this, why can't we? The American Government gladly loaned me the 3 grand or so it took to take this month abroad (which could have been much longer for a fraction of this cost as the plane tickets are BY FAR the only real expense) although, they thought it was for school. It did go to a highly educational expense...I have/will have learned more this month than any semester at an authorized institution at a fraction of the cost.
This is the end of Thailand for Jon and I. Tomorrow, at 11 am, we board a plane to Siem Reap, Cambodia. It is my only regret that we have only a week to spend in Cambodia. I think that the temples of Angkor will be more of a three day venture, and we are considering taking a speed boat down a river to the capitol, Phenom Phen. Time permitting, I think this is an excellent idea; it will take approx. seven hours.
There's nothing like the feeling one gets from the anticipation; of boarding a plane in the morning from one distant land to another, with no real plans of any sort...no lodging or domestic travel. Anything is really possible. I only wish I had learned how to ride a motorcycle before departing, because, in most places, motor-bikes are easily available for rent at a few dollars a day. I can think of nothing more fun then touring one of the seven wonders of the ancient world on the back of some rusty-ass motor with wheels and a gas tank. Even breaking down in the wilderness (everything I've read on travel in Cambodia warns against traveling the un-beaten path for fear of land mines left over from the many years of tourment that the country had endured) would yeild an excitement unparelleled by anything in the west.
For right now, i'm back on Khao San road in Bangkok, where the beer flows like wine.
Why do Americans feel that it is weird to travel to foreign contries? The common excuses are school, work, and money. These are all merely excuses, and quite rediculous when you consider them in any serious sense. School is retarded, as is work. Money is stupid, and the rest of the world sees this, why can't we? The American Government gladly loaned me the 3 grand or so it took to take this month abroad (which could have been much longer for a fraction of this cost as the plane tickets are BY FAR the only real expense) although, they thought it was for school. It did go to a highly educational expense...I have/will have learned more this month than any semester at an authorized institution at a fraction of the cost.
This is the end of Thailand for Jon and I. Tomorrow, at 11 am, we board a plane to Siem Reap, Cambodia. It is my only regret that we have only a week to spend in Cambodia. I think that the temples of Angkor will be more of a three day venture, and we are considering taking a speed boat down a river to the capitol, Phenom Phen. Time permitting, I think this is an excellent idea; it will take approx. seven hours.
There's nothing like the feeling one gets from the anticipation; of boarding a plane in the morning from one distant land to another, with no real plans of any sort...no lodging or domestic travel. Anything is really possible. I only wish I had learned how to ride a motorcycle before departing, because, in most places, motor-bikes are easily available for rent at a few dollars a day. I can think of nothing more fun then touring one of the seven wonders of the ancient world on the back of some rusty-ass motor with wheels and a gas tank. Even breaking down in the wilderness (everything I've read on travel in Cambodia warns against traveling the un-beaten path for fear of land mines left over from the many years of tourment that the country had endured) would yeild an excitement unparelleled by anything in the west.
For right now, i'm back on Khao San road in Bangkok, where the beer flows like wine.