a thunderstorm is coming

Still in Sihanoukville. My company are three Russian hichhickers, a boy from Moscow and a couple from Kharkof Ukraine. I am enjoying talking in Russian with them, I’ve even learned new words.

On Tuesday we went zorbing, which basically means you go inside a giant inflated ball and get pushed down a hill. The thrill is similar to a roller coaster.

I’m staying at Utopia guest-house. One of their dogs had puppies a month ago. There are 11 of them and they are so very cute and naughty! They also have a cat who likes to relax in the dormitory. Tonight she climbed onto my bed, with a dead mouse in her mouth, and I very sleepily urged her off and onto another bed, where she could enjoy her meal besides someone else’s feet.

I love the beach. The water is blue and warm, although it would be even nicer if there was less litter and fewer Cambodians trying to sell you fruit, massages, waxing…

A friend of mine getting a beach massage.

A very pretty sky at sundown. That white round spot in the center is the moon.

i want to study

Tomorrow morning i’m off to Sihanoukville (and maybe Kep and Kampot) but i’m leaving some of my stuff in Phnom Penh at a friend’s house which makes moving on less drastic. I’ll probably be back in PP in a week to gather my things before i go to Ratanakiri or back to Thailand. I’d really like to visit Ratanakiri but it’s far and i don’t know if i have enough energy and enthusiasm to overcome the challenges of visiting a place so rural. I’ve traveled with minimal contact with foreigners before but i’ve been “sheltered” for the past 4 months living in PP… so i am not ready for such hardcore backpacking yet.

The other day i attended a lecture on Apsara dancing (traditional Khmer dancing) at Monument bookstore (the only bookstore i’ve been to in PP that sells real – not photocopy – books). It was a very limited lecture but it made me miss the lectures of my college days. I would like to be a student again..

One of the regrets i have is starting university when i was 17. I should have gone traveling. I wasn’t ready for uni and hardly paid any attention during my first 3 years. If i was just starting uni now, i’d be more critical and enthusiastic, i’d have read more, and would have formed better professional relationships with my professors, instead of wondering like a zombie for 3 years. (Year 4 was much better because thats when i overcame my mental asphyxia)