(no subject)
After Laos, Bangkok seemed like the biggest metropolis on earth. There are, literally, more ATMs in Bangkok central station than there are in the whole of Laos.
And after Bangkok, England seems very peaceful and slow. Bah. I am still jetlagged and sulky about being back at work already. Looking back on it now, it seems so incredibly remote. I've never been to a country with no rail lines before, with no branches of McDonald's. I miss the beer, and I miss the way I felt like Dr Evil every time I got money out. (Give me...one MILLION kip! Ah-hahahaha!) I miss all the orange monks wandering around. Most of all I miss misunderstanding menus, never knowing if I've said "rice" or "knee" (it's a tone thing), and having this general sense of opacity between me and the rest of the world. Which sounds weird, but which I find very pleasant.
Oh well, at least there's the photos.
My girlfriend. How did I manage that?
An opium poppy. You can see the lines where it's been cut to extract the seeds.
The Mekong.
Some grenades I saw hanging in a tree in Phonsavan. There's so much old ordnance still lying around, it's terrifying.
Me. Lunch.
Graffiti in Vientiane. Haven't worked out exactly what the sign says yet. It seems to be something about a water supply.
And after Bangkok, England seems very peaceful and slow. Bah. I am still jetlagged and sulky about being back at work already. Looking back on it now, it seems so incredibly remote. I've never been to a country with no rail lines before, with no branches of McDonald's. I miss the beer, and I miss the way I felt like Dr Evil every time I got money out. (Give me...one MILLION kip! Ah-hahahaha!) I miss all the orange monks wandering around. Most of all I miss misunderstanding menus, never knowing if I've said "rice" or "knee" (it's a tone thing), and having this general sense of opacity between me and the rest of the world. Which sounds weird, but which I find very pleasant.
Oh well, at least there's the photos.
My girlfriend. How did I manage that?
An opium poppy. You can see the lines where it's been cut to extract the seeds.
The Mekong.
Some grenades I saw hanging in a tree in Phonsavan. There's so much old ordnance still lying around, it's terrifying.
Me. Lunch.
Graffiti in Vientiane. Haven't worked out exactly what the sign says yet. It seems to be something about a water supply.