Observations

Sunglasses - Very few Thais wear sunglasses. The long-term health effects aside, I find this odd given how brightly the sun shines all the time. This morning I was out walking with my shades on and one of the touts (who are everywhere and seem to have a much better sense at figuring out I am a foreigner) approached me and said "Hey man. What's up? You from USA, not Asia I can tell. Welcome to Thailand." Yes I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts but it seems to have been the shades that was my giveaway.

Being Asian in Asia - It's a little weird. Most Thais will try talking to me in Thai and I have no choice but to give a dumb smile in return. Obviously I have no idea what they are saying so I just smile and nod until I startle them by speaking in English. Being a little more discreet does provide the benefit of sparing me a little bit of harassment, though the vendors and touts are much better at picking up on the fact that I'm a foreigner, and they tend to start speaking to me in English right away. Especially the shady men at night who keep trying to show me porn and invite me to hang out with the ladies. No thanks!

Shorts - Despite the heat, the majority of men here wear pants, and usually jeans at that. I don't understand why this is the case, given that right now it's about 90 degrees and extremely humid (heat index is over 100).

Enough men wear shorts though that I feel like I can get away with wearing mine. It does make me a bit more conspicuous though (see above). Oh well.

Mosquitoes - The drawback of wearing shorts is that my legs are exposed and the mosquitoes seem to find them tasty. I have applied DEET with some frequency, but clearly not enough. Hydrocortisone anti-itch cream is my new best friend.

While urban areas in Southeast Asia are malaria-free (supposedly), Dengue Fever remains a risk, especially in cities. Obviously the actual risk is extremely low, but I find it oddly comforting to have something to be anxious about.

Writing - In the absence of travel companions, I find writing to be therapeutic. I am keeping a travel journal for myself in addition to this blog and it is nice to be able to express my thoughts on paper.

Shopping - I went to the mall today to get a daybag. The malls here are insane. There are actually like seven malls all next to each other connected by skybridges. These aren't like mini-malls or anything either - each one has at least five or more floors, food courts, and restaurants inside along with lots and lots of vendors.

Anyway the bag is actually more like a murse. Please don't laugh. It is to be used for the duration of my trip only and suits my purposes quite well. It cost me 200 baht ($5.50) and as I tried to haggle and the lady was having none of it I started to feel a little ridiculous, seeing as how this very useful bag was cheaper than the crappy food I used to eat for lunch in the cafeteria at work.

Money - Given the paramaters I've established for myself, I've been spending a little too much money so far. I'm chalking this up to purchasing travel essentials right now (murse, extra clothes, etc) and plan to rein in the expenses going forward.

Liquidity is important. My bank took a little longer than I had planned to process one of my deposits this morning and I freaked out a bit that I was going to run out of cash but by noon today the issue had been resolved.

Food - I had made a comment earlier about getting thinner on this trip but if I continue eating at the rate I am now, that may not happen. I had a Thai donut today at the mall, which is like an American donut except I had to use a fork to eat it (that's what everyone else was doing and I didn't want to seem like a barbarian, shoving the donut in my mouth).

Time - In the absence of any obligations whatsoever and operating without any structure, my perspective on time has changed quite a bit. I pay much less attention to the clock and am guided more by the natural rhythm of daylight and nightfall. It's all natural, man.

Jet Lag - My body is still a little out of sync but I think I'm adjusting.

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Tomorrow morning I plan on waking up early to catch a bus to Cambodia. I've read lots about this journey and it seems like it has the potential to be a little dicey. I'll let you know how it goes.