in this installment, james finds almost free internet, in cambodia

Well, I'm in Cambodia ... safe and sound, relatively speaking.

Matthew will be here in a few hours and I'm a bit worried he'll find me, the guest house we agreed to meet at has changed its name from Green Park to Green House ... my driver seemed to know the name had chaged recently, so let's hope Matt's driver does as well.

My driver also wanted 20/day to drive me to the temples, regardless of me telling him over and over that we couldn't fit two of his on his bike, and that MY friends had gotten a car for $7/day, and he balked. Dammit, I hope prices havn't risen that much in a year. I doubt it.

The country is beautiful ... absolutely stunning. The energy is unlike anything I've ever experienced ... I hopped on the back of a Moped right out of the airport and we jetted down the main highway during rush hour ... mororbikes EVERYWHERE.

I

MEAN

EVERYWHERE.

It impossible to describe, really. No helmet, no jeans, just bare legs and bare head clinging to a mike that weighs less than me, swerving around buses, pedestrians, bicycles, and a hot Cambodian girl in high heels driving a Vespa.

Awesome.

I can already tell this will be a challenge for me. I hate, hate, hate bartering and sleazy dealing with money. To the very core of me I've never understood why anything, even poverty, needs to lead to shady dealing. Easy for me to say? Maybe ... my family's been on pretty hard times ... not third world hard times, but pretty damn hard. And I hear so many stories about poor folks across the world that are generous. The church I staid with in Mexico was incredibly poor, but they were kind and trustworthy.

Ugh. I hate it.

One woman begged me for money and I refused, so she followed me down the street, demanding her toddler scream and shout and beg to make me feel bad. They followed me for a block and I could have socked her in the mouth. What kind of mother does that to her child? Ever. Ever. And at the same time, my heart broke to hear that from a child, even a child that was obviously well fed.

*sight*

Well, off to wait for Matthew. And a geckoo just climbed down the wall to stare at me, so I think it's time to go!