I have been ready to leave NYC for almost a month now but became absolutely lethargic on methadone. When I am in Asia I maintain on prescribed morphine (in Mindanao) or Dihydrocodeinone, Promethazine and Diazepam, all OTC in Cambodia. Of course a liberal amount of #4 is consumed. It is far cheaper than the aforementioned medicine. In Asia I complain about not having methadone. Morphine is almost always a locally produced IR syringe/oral tablet. IR of course produce valleys and peaks that are difficult to accomodate after consuming methadone for so long. With a 36 hour halflife and the internal resevoir created by regularly dosing above 70mg (I take 220 daily) methadone affords a calmer and thereby more productive lifestyle for me.
The flipside is that when I am on methadone for any considerable length of time I begin yearning for morphine...or #4. The grass is always greener as they say.
Since my last extended stay in Phnom Penh almost 6 years ago I have visited the city 3 times. With each successive visit I have been shocked at the nation's rapid progress. Sadly, that progress resulted in Beong Keouk Lake and the so called "backpacker ghetto" that sprung up around parts of the lakeshore having been destroyed. As I noted in my old blog it was an eventuality that had been bandied about since 2004. I for one thought it would never happen as the lakeshore and its hedonism was a top draw of the tourist trade and so I thought the nation's dictator- Hun Sen- would be wise enough to leave it as is. $88 million US from a Chinese conglomerate changed his mind.
The backpacking scene has partially relocated to the riverside, the "river" being the Mekong which flows out of Vietnam's delta into Cambodia, then separates Laos, Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) before ending up in a spectacular canyon on the Chinese and Tibetan border. Street 172 around Street 19 is now where it is most lively.
In an hour I have to take my tired old ar*e onto the subway. Being in the South Bronx it will probably take me almost 2 hours on two trains to get to a busstop where I will then wait for a city bus. That bus will then take me to my terminal at JFK. I bought a one way ticket which is what I almost always do now that it is simple to forge proof of onward passage.
Honestly speaking I have only ever been caught out there a single time. In 2009 Rizza and I were flying from Bangkok to Manila on one of the world's worst airlines, Cebu Pacific. I had become so jaded that I no longer forged proof of onward passage. We get to the ticket counter to check in 40 minutes before our flight left. A gay Filipino clerk asked for the aforementioned proof. "Uhhh, my wife is a Filipina and since we are married I have balikbayan status (meaning I do not need onward passage to enter)." The clerk told me I needed it for me or I couldnt board.
We quickly walked through the terminal and in a stroke of luck we found a cybercafe. It took me about 10 minutes to forge what I needed and we were let through. So I have since made sure to make a simple forgery before flying.
I am amazed at how cheap tickets are now! $613.00 can get you from NYC to Phnom Penh! The problem though is that is a bundeled deal, take Delta to Detroit of all places, then switch to Korean Air for a long haul to Seoul, then wait 7 hours for a 5 hour flight to Cambodia. No thanks. When you have two airlines with a 40 minute layover between both (in this case in Detroit) you are almost guaranteed a missed flight. Miss that flight and you usually will be shi*e out of luck since it was a bargain basement bundling. You get what you pay for.
Anyway, my flight is supposed to have WiFi. If so I will bore you some more while barreling through the night sky above North America.
The flipside is that when I am on methadone for any considerable length of time I begin yearning for morphine...or #4. The grass is always greener as they say.
Since my last extended stay in Phnom Penh almost 6 years ago I have visited the city 3 times. With each successive visit I have been shocked at the nation's rapid progress. Sadly, that progress resulted in Beong Keouk Lake and the so called "backpacker ghetto" that sprung up around parts of the lakeshore having been destroyed. As I noted in my old blog it was an eventuality that had been bandied about since 2004. I for one thought it would never happen as the lakeshore and its hedonism was a top draw of the tourist trade and so I thought the nation's dictator- Hun Sen- would be wise enough to leave it as is. $88 million US from a Chinese conglomerate changed his mind.
The backpacking scene has partially relocated to the riverside, the "river" being the Mekong which flows out of Vietnam's delta into Cambodia, then separates Laos, Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) before ending up in a spectacular canyon on the Chinese and Tibetan border. Street 172 around Street 19 is now where it is most lively.
In an hour I have to take my tired old ar*e onto the subway. Being in the South Bronx it will probably take me almost 2 hours on two trains to get to a busstop where I will then wait for a city bus. That bus will then take me to my terminal at JFK. I bought a one way ticket which is what I almost always do now that it is simple to forge proof of onward passage.
Honestly speaking I have only ever been caught out there a single time. In 2009 Rizza and I were flying from Bangkok to Manila on one of the world's worst airlines, Cebu Pacific. I had become so jaded that I no longer forged proof of onward passage. We get to the ticket counter to check in 40 minutes before our flight left. A gay Filipino clerk asked for the aforementioned proof. "Uhhh, my wife is a Filipina and since we are married I have balikbayan status (meaning I do not need onward passage to enter)." The clerk told me I needed it for me or I couldnt board.
We quickly walked through the terminal and in a stroke of luck we found a cybercafe. It took me about 10 minutes to forge what I needed and we were let through. So I have since made sure to make a simple forgery before flying.
I am amazed at how cheap tickets are now! $613.00 can get you from NYC to Phnom Penh! The problem though is that is a bundeled deal, take Delta to Detroit of all places, then switch to Korean Air for a long haul to Seoul, then wait 7 hours for a 5 hour flight to Cambodia. No thanks. When you have two airlines with a 40 minute layover between both (in this case in Detroit) you are almost guaranteed a missed flight. Miss that flight and you usually will be shi*e out of luck since it was a bargain basement bundling. You get what you pay for.
Anyway, my flight is supposed to have WiFi. If so I will bore you some more while barreling through the night sky above North America.