Glad i'm not a thai boy for hire
Trip Start
May 18, 2008
1
5
18
Trip End
Jun 16, 2008
Chiang Mai,
Thailand
Friday, May 23, 2008
wednesday: arrival in chiang mai
search for hostel. settle on no frills one under $10, loud gecko noises - eek! check out the local "wats" (temples). craving hamburger. realize that our trajectory - not going to vietnam after cambodia really not well thought out based on geography. slight panic. purchase next few days' transportation (to BKK, pukhet & cambodia) from nice travel agent.
thursday
woke up & decided to skip japan to spend more time in se asia region. glorious day on trek - new friends and young for-hire thai boy with weird gross old man. reminds me of the thesis of various papers in college: the performance of identities as raced, gendered, sexualized and classed - deeply enmeshed in capitalist and colonial/neocolonial relations. as much as i joke that i personally have benefited from the asian fetish, this takes creepy to the next level!
trek included hiking, waterfall, bamboo rafting, elephant ride (tragic), and hill tribes (sparse).
realization: travel agent not so nice when return bus is a piece of s&*#, unable to muster up any inclines faster than 1mph and lacking a center of gravity. clutched st christopher medal and prayed to see the sun rise.
friday
we make it in one piece. swedish backpackers tell us our direct bus tix to cambodia are a scam. oh right - there's an entry in lonely planet...bus either takes super long or they take you on an even bumpier road through a different border crossing so you stay at their guesthouse of choice. i make executive decision that life and limb not worth $24 - we'll have to find our own way into cambodia. adventure!
