One year ago yesterday I saw torture, shopping, and Britney Spears.

I forgot to write "one year ago today" yesterday.

One year ago yesterday I woke up after sleeping 16 hours and walked out into Lazy Fish Guesthouse's lakeside common area, which is the closest facsimile to heaven I have ever experienced.



A beautiful cool breeze. Comfortable chairs. Baguettes, jam, and sweet coffee for a buck fifty. And that's before sunset is even close.

I made my way into the streets. People told me you can't get around Cambodia without riding on the backs of motorcycles, so I swallowed my fear, jumped on one (very careful not to put my leg near the exhaust pipe), and headed for Tuol Sleng Prison. Not a happy place.







I spent the rest of the afternoon at Tsar Tuol Tom Pong AKA the Russian Market. You could spend a week there. They have everything. Everything!





Finally, there was Britney.

Continued....

One year ago today I got some sleep.

One year ago today I left my hotel in Bangkok at 5 AM for my flight to Phnom Penh. I still had my winter gear with me (the journey had started in New Hampshire) but had no intention of carrying that all over Cambodia - it would have taken up 2/3 of my backpack. The woman at the hotel almost refused to let me store my coat there on the grounds that it wasn't a locked bag and therefore wasn't secure. She wasn't swayed by my argument that no one in Bangkok would dream of stealing a winter coat - you might as well light yourself on fire.

I got really scared at the prospect of wandering around Banglamphu at 5 AM looking for a place that would let me store my coat, but then she mentioned that I could rent a locker big enough for my coat and buy a padlock from her. Uh, okay. So what were we arguing about? I was off.



Ever see the South Park where they fly on City Airlines? That's pretty much what Air Asia is. Dirt cheap flights where the pilots steer like they're on bombing runs. Even the taxiing felt aggressive.

In Phnom Penh I found my way to Boeng Kak lake and checked in at Lazy Fish Guesthouse. I had slept for about 5 hours in the last three days and I was freaking out about some personal issues back in the west, so I wasn't in a good mood and my first written estimation of Phnom Penh was "kind of a shithole".

Around 2 PM I went to bed. And proceeded to sleep for 16 hours.

Things got better from that point.

Continued....

One year ago I did not exchange money.

One year ago today I landed in Japan for a layover. Japan is its own place.



I did not exchange money with this machine.

Continued....

Insomnia; One year ago today I stayed up all night.

I can't sleep. I don't know why.

One year ago at this time, I was awake too. My bus from Boston dropped me in Chinatown just after midnight, and I didn't have to be at JFK airport until 6 AM. I figured that made it pointless to go stay with anyone, so I resolved to spend the six hours wandering the city. But having just woken up, it was seriously cold outside.

When I ended up the J train to the airport, I had no idea I was riding through what would be my home six months later.



I was checked in and through security before sunrise, which I watched from my gate.

Continued....