June 15th through June 17th: Cambodia, Thailand, Turkey

View from my balcony of Battambang and its central market

June 15th - Leaving Cambodia: I leave battambang wondering why there are so many beggars in Cambodia. It is definitely a poorer country than most other southeast Asian countries I visited, but is it poorer than Laos? It makes me realize that there are certain definitions of poverty that are less useful. Laos has a very low GNP because they produce very little to sell, but they are self sufficient and though poor, they have very few beggars. India, with its much higher GNP and one of the highest economic growth rates in the world, has more beggars than anywhere I have been. I think that the discrepancy between rich and poor is a significant factor, as well as the social network that supports those in most need. Maybe the number of beggars indicates the degree that the traditional system of support has broken down (old people in Asia traditionally held in the highest respect, and not made to stand on street corners asking for hand outs).

Border Crossing

The trip to bangkok went incredibly smoothly. It was hard to imagine, considering all the potential for problems:
1) 7:30AM hotel pick up to the bus station
2) 7:45 bus to Sisophon, towards the border, arriving at 9:30
3) 10AM bus from Phnon Penh picked us up at Sisophon, arriving at the border at 11:30AM
4) A man met our bus and walked us to passport control
5) Another man met us in "no man's land": that place between the borders, and walked us to the Thai passport control
6) A third man meet us inside Thailand and walked us to a shuttle truck, which took us to the border town
7) Time for lunch (delicous meal of wide rice noodles with squid - why can't everyone cook this good?)
8) We board a mini-van at 1:15PM and arrive at Kaosan Road in bangkok at 5:40PM, only ten minutes later than the estimated arrival time.

6/15 and 6/16 - Bangkok: Even though it is my last day in Southeast Asia, it is difficult being "here." My mind constantly wanders to "there" - the past ten months in Asia and the future trip to Turkey. I love southeast Asia so much, and I have wanted to visit Turkey for a very long time.

I decided to do the activity I did with my students on their last day in Vietnam: think about the most important lesson. What popped up in my head is that the most important lessons are often learned again and again. And if it is a lesson worth learning, and one that I have to learn again and again, than it is important to be generous with myself - all those Robert's are still there, like CD's; they are just not in the "shuffle" right now.

For me it is about staying present. You don't just get there once and then you are always present. I have to remind myself often about the assumptions I am making, the expectations I am having, the redwelling I am doing on past issues, and anticipation I have for future events. I am happiest when I am present to the moment, for this is when I feel most connected. Thinking about the past or the future puts me in a mental state of mind, and I am no longer present to what is right before me.

My squid restaurant

Every time I go to Bangkok I have to find this little restaurant. One of the best meals of my life was at this restaurant 10 years ago. They had squid on ice in front of the restaurant. My friend Sheila and I picked the squid, and asked them to cook it with just Thai basil, garlic and chili. I have been back there in 2002, 2007, 2009 and now 2010. Each time it is a little difficult to find, hidden on a little lane off of Kaosan road. This time I wrote down instructions (This is for you Sheila, who could never find it again): It is called Pannee guest House. You have to go through the little alley way called "Susie Walking Street" at the east end of Kaosan road (the alley way is on the north side of the road). It turns out that if you keep walking past the squid restaurant, you end up on a main intersection with Swensen's Icecream on the corner.

My delicious squid dish

One of the buildings that burned during the violence between the miltary and the "Red Shirts" about a month ago.

Cookie's Grandfather's Duck Restaurant

I first met Cookie and Charlie in Laos, and managed to hook up with them for a last meal in Thailand. We had a wonderful meal of duck, and more duck, made in different ways.

Cookie, her niece, and her grandfather

Cookie and I in the back, Charlie on the right ,with their friend Luke, a Thai chef in England looking for more "authentic" recipes

6/17 Turkey: Just past midnight I flew towards Istanbul, with a five hour lay over in Cairo (I watched a World cup soccer match while waiting, and the advertisement for the upcoming match gave the time it would start in Egypt, and also in Mecca). As I was about to land, I thought about not knowing anything about Istanbul. I don't know how to get from the airport to the city. I don't have a hotel booked. I don't have a guide book. I don't have the foggiest idea where the cheap hotels are, or where the attractive places to stay are. I gave me a little thrill, as well as helped me to find that quiet place where there are no thoughts. It is as if there is no chance for thoughts to roam around because there is absolutely no knowledge and no expectations. It is a sweet, warm place where my heart connects directly to my eys and to my brain and too all my senses, and my sense of self disappears into all that is around me.

Two Images of Turkey

My First Turkish coffee

The Blue Mosque