On the Thai side another bus company employee scooped me up as I departed the Thai Dangerous Drugs Inspection point and tried to make small talk as he walked me to the minivan which like the bus in Poi Pet was a great distance away from the crossing point. Of course his goal was to separate me from a bit of my money. It is funny how brushing by what could have easily been one's execution can place one in a great mood. Technically I did nothing illegal. I was not carrying illicit drugs but Cambodia has no prescription system. That coupled with the fact that the drugs I was carrying were Class As could have resulted in all kinds of nasty scenarios in Thailand.
Happy as can be I offered the buss company employee a tip. Boy was he happy...and then I gave him a fist full of Riel! Cambodian Riel officially exchange at 4,200 per US Dollar so that he got about 80 Cents all told. He made a cheeky half smile and muttered something that I imagine wasnt exactly friendly, abd then we were at the minivan.
I sat in the rear. Next to me was a Cambodian yuppie- so much as one exists, abd beside him was a college-aged German of Chilean descent. Offered the kid an Oxy as I gobbled 14 capsules but he had no idea what Oxycontin was, bless his heart, though more than likely was scared shiteless and decided to simply play dumb. The "yuppie" is a Quality Control bloke for Toys-R-Us and its subsidiaries in 3 regional nations. Always up and about he is tasked with accessing the quality and consistency of regional suppliers. He also has bog dreams at home, already owning a clothing outlet and engaged in land speculation as he hopes to bud a Western-style mall in an outlying mall.
Mall dreams aside he and I did get along well as we were in complete agreement about the state of things under Cambodian Dictator Hun Sen.
The German kid on the other hand had tried to enter Cambodia and had been rebuffed since he has less than 6 months left on his passport. I laughed and told him $20 US would have handled that. He seemed shocked at such bolden corruption but too late for that. We spent a somewhat pleasant 5 hours driving into Bangkok. Arriving in a city that seems more alien to me everytime I experience it the German lad and I then set about trying to make our way to Khan Sao Road for bargain basement accomodations.
7 klicks later aboard a tuk tuk we arrived. He went his way, and I mine, and agreed to possibly meet up later for supper. As it was I decided to sleep in. I went by Chabad House Khan Sao, one of five Jewish facilities in the city run by a Jewish organisation based in NYC. Some bouncer-type Israeli pretending to be security stood outside the entrance and surly asked me what I wanted. I answered that I would like to speak to the rabbi. He asked why and it became one of those mind numbing exchanges where each syllable is teased out a constanant at a time. I lost my patience fairly quickly and asked him if people usually give him a difficult time because I wasnt and just like him I am a Jew. Of course he kept telling me to piss off and keep walking yadda and yadda, yadda.
I then beat him in the head with a Jewish principle that 3-year olds learn by heart: Ahavat Yisrael (Love of Jews, idiomatically speaking). I am his brother and in this case his much elder brother and he needed to learn that real fast. He made a stupid face so an hpur later I got him fired. Chabad scoops up these losers who wash up in forlorn corners of the world whose only selling point is having been born from a Jewish mum. It then tries to help them, as in this case with a "make work" job.
Next I walked around the corner and checked into a dive called "Panee" something or other. Chinese-owned the a/c really did a job on my sinuses. After checking in I phoned the aforementioned rabbi and then met him for supper at his home. Later I slowly walked around Khan Sao and to my disgust it really has become a 42nd Street-type Disney World. I even had an icecream banana split at "Swensens!"
Happy as can be I offered the buss company employee a tip. Boy was he happy...and then I gave him a fist full of Riel! Cambodian Riel officially exchange at 4,200 per US Dollar so that he got about 80 Cents all told. He made a cheeky half smile and muttered something that I imagine wasnt exactly friendly, abd then we were at the minivan.
I sat in the rear. Next to me was a Cambodian yuppie- so much as one exists, abd beside him was a college-aged German of Chilean descent. Offered the kid an Oxy as I gobbled 14 capsules but he had no idea what Oxycontin was, bless his heart, though more than likely was scared shiteless and decided to simply play dumb. The "yuppie" is a Quality Control bloke for Toys-R-Us and its subsidiaries in 3 regional nations. Always up and about he is tasked with accessing the quality and consistency of regional suppliers. He also has bog dreams at home, already owning a clothing outlet and engaged in land speculation as he hopes to bud a Western-style mall in an outlying mall.
Mall dreams aside he and I did get along well as we were in complete agreement about the state of things under Cambodian Dictator Hun Sen.
The German kid on the other hand had tried to enter Cambodia and had been rebuffed since he has less than 6 months left on his passport. I laughed and told him $20 US would have handled that. He seemed shocked at such bolden corruption but too late for that. We spent a somewhat pleasant 5 hours driving into Bangkok. Arriving in a city that seems more alien to me everytime I experience it the German lad and I then set about trying to make our way to Khan Sao Road for bargain basement accomodations.
7 klicks later aboard a tuk tuk we arrived. He went his way, and I mine, and agreed to possibly meet up later for supper. As it was I decided to sleep in. I went by Chabad House Khan Sao, one of five Jewish facilities in the city run by a Jewish organisation based in NYC. Some bouncer-type Israeli pretending to be security stood outside the entrance and surly asked me what I wanted. I answered that I would like to speak to the rabbi. He asked why and it became one of those mind numbing exchanges where each syllable is teased out a constanant at a time. I lost my patience fairly quickly and asked him if people usually give him a difficult time because I wasnt and just like him I am a Jew. Of course he kept telling me to piss off and keep walking yadda and yadda, yadda.
I then beat him in the head with a Jewish principle that 3-year olds learn by heart: Ahavat Yisrael (Love of Jews, idiomatically speaking). I am his brother and in this case his much elder brother and he needed to learn that real fast. He made a stupid face so an hpur later I got him fired. Chabad scoops up these losers who wash up in forlorn corners of the world whose only selling point is having been born from a Jewish mum. It then tries to help them, as in this case with a "make work" job.
Next I walked around the corner and checked into a dive called "Panee" something or other. Chinese-owned the a/c really did a job on my sinuses. After checking in I phoned the aforementioned rabbi and then met him for supper at his home. Later I slowly walked around Khan Sao and to my disgust it really has become a 42nd Street-type Disney World. I even had an icecream banana split at "Swensens!"