Headed Home

I can't believe it--I'm going home! I am in the airport in Seoul, South Korea right now almost done with my 13 hour layover, then headed back to LA to meet up with Nikki for a night, then I'll be back in ABQ on July 3! I thought this would be an appropriate time for some observations...

SIGNS YOU'RE A SE ASIA BACKPACKING VETERAN

*Ordering green curry for breakfast and piling on the chili powder no longer seems so strange

*Over 150 Baht ($3.50) for a hotel room? Ridiculous!

*You talk about diarrhea as casually and nearly as frequently as most people talk about the weather

*It's not Laos, it's Lao

*You know what it's like to have an amazingly intense friendship with someone for days or even hours, then part ways knowing you'll probably never see each other again

*...and then run into each other 3 weeks later, on the other side of the country

*You have stories that end with, "And the last thing I remember was ordering another bucket."

*You eat at least 2 mango shakes a day

*You have pages of email addresses you will never use, and a select few that you will

*Throwing yourself into speeding traffic and hoping for the best is really THE only way to cross a street

*You have had a few close calls with a tuk-tuk

*The calls of said tuk-tuk drivers have become just background noise for you ("Tuk tuk? Where you go?")

*You know at least 3 people with braids or dreds done on the islands or Koh San Road

*You can spot a ladyboy from a mile away

*You actually broke down and bought a pair of those ridiculous fisherman pants (feel free to make fun when I wear them, I deserve it)

*You bought out the stands on Koh San before leaving Bangkok!

SE Asia...gotta love it!!