Back in Thailand February 18
An aversion to writing lately.
Two days back in Thailand now. It’s interesting that a place which once represented the exotic, the unknown, the adventerous, has come to symbolize luxury, comfort, and the first world for me. Thailand is 7-11, real gas stations, paved roads, and safe food. It’s airconditioned coaches and cheap email and good fruit. It’s people that speak english.
It’s nice to come back to a country I’ve already been to. So many times going to a new country feelslike starting all over again, learning a new language, new customs, new food, and new ways of living your life, and everything that entails. As exciting as it is discovering a new place, it’s discouraging as well, leaving the previous country just as you were starting to have figured it out, realizing you have to relearn everything anew.
But it’s also surprising how much you forget about the country you left in such a short time. Even now, Cambodia is fading fast in my memory, and I feel compelled to record all the little things I took for granted and never wrote about.
I had to stop today to fix 2 broken spokes. Must have broken them in Cambodia, and just now noticed how warped my rear wheel was. I found a shop where a guy with one food did an expert job replacing them and retruing the wheel. He even had a real truing stand. Fancy that.