the terrifying lows,the dizzying highs, the creamy middles...
Its my last night in Europe and I'm back in Munich- they didn#t have room for me at the hostel so to kill time during the night i have-
Slovakia is weird. More than anywhere else I!ve been, this feels like a former communist state. On the outskirts of town there are lots of crumbling buildings that are grey and ugly and obviously built during the regime. There was hardly anyone on the streets during my walk into town- a tumbleweed would have been appropriate. But in the city centre it is surprisingly modern and chique and trendy. I ate spaghetti at an urban bistro thing that would have fit right in on College Street in Toronto- and I!m typing this at one of the best internet cafes i!ve been in. Tomorrow I§m going to Vienna for coffeehouses and art.
Cesky Krumlov is beautiful and very much where i needed to go- after 3 days in Prague I was ready for something that was a little less urban. Prague was lots of fun but tired me out- I stayed at the 'party hostel' which meant that everyone was really social and went out all of the time but that an early night was 3am. Cesky Krumlov is quiet and small and very picturesque. Its also very touristy but i'm getting over that. There's a river that people swim in and a huge castle with a garden to hang out in. Tomorrow i'm going to Bratislava (mostly i think because the name is cool) and then on to Vienna.
Flying from Bangkok to Munich was a huge hassle- because the flights I had weren't connecting, I had to wait overnight for my Dehli munich flight. Spending an overnight in the Dehli airport is not a good time. Even though I sweet-talked my way into the "nice" departure lounge, it was still not fun. AND the whole flight to munich was spent sitting next to a fat Indian woman who seemed to have no appreciation for the rules of personal space. You have to SHARE the armrest!
The time is whittling away at my last couple hours in Asia. Mostly its been really fun- a good way to spend the summer. There are parts I'm going to be very happy to leave behind- the constant smell of sewage, the endless scams and people trying to take my money, the guilt that goes along with the scams as they probably need my scammed money a whole lot more than I do- the cliched hippies who spend their requisite three months in Asia, don't bathe, wear rags, and carry around a spiritual-esque book all in the name of "finding themselves" or something equally hedonistic- meanwhile being rude to the locals and drinking as much imported beer as they can find. I'm also not going to miss the humidity- and sweating the moment i get up until the moment i sleep.
As it is my last day in Thailand and it is raining and yucky and I am feeling a bit cynical. The problem in coming from a relatively foreigner-free place like Ban Bung into the heart of Asia's backpacker community- Ko Sahn Road- it makes you recognize how cliche the whole backpacking scene is- and yet at the same time its hard to escape the cliche- even when you recognize it. I LIKE eating banana pancakes. I LIKE eating Pad Thai for a ridiculous price in a resturant solely set up for me and other rich kids from the west like me. I just wish there weren't hundreds of other people who liked doing it too.
Today was my one and only day helping to teach english in Thailand. Mostly I sat in the corner and distracted the kids (not on purpose) but I did lead Simon-Says. (We called it Jackie says.) It was a big hit. We'll go swimming later today and then to the "food court" for dinner. Yesterday Nat told me what to get because my Thai is pathetic. I passed over dessert, which was ice, potatoes, corn, and some sort of sweet juice.
I'm here in Bang Bun with Natalie. Its nice not being somewhere touristy- Ko Sahn Road is the ultimate in tourism, and I'm getting a little tired of it. Natalie lives in a nice apartment attached to the school, and she's letting me crash here for a couple days. The school is huge- Nat says there are 2000 students. They all wear uniforms and are very cute- and they all stare at us when we walk by. There is also a huge pool at the school where we swam this afternoon. It was really nice. Tomorrow I'm going into the classroom to watch Nat teach english. I'm flying to Germany on Friday, which is a bit of a relief- I think I'm ready to leave Thailand. Its a beautiful place but I'm very ready to move on.
Last night the 8 of us from the trek went out to a fairly fancy resturant on the riverside- the two Australians were chefs and spent a fortune trying different appetizers and desserts and things.While hard on the budget, its really fun to go out with a couple people who have a lot of money to blow- we feasted like Kings.
