beating the peak heat in this small internet cafe right around the corner from the guesthouse. next to me is a small boy with beautiful dark eyes enthusiastically playing a video game where Bush is streetfighting Kim Jong Il. i am falling in love every day with this out-of-the-way neighborhood and i find myself already adopting a local rhythm in my daily routine. Usually up at 7 am and i can so see the looks of astonishment from those friends that know my love of sleeping in. my little street is already bustling with commerce. freshly squeezed thai orange juice is my morning drink of choice. how something so delicious gets squeezed from these unappealing mottled green/orange globes is another lesson in never judging from appearances.
last night i stumbled upon a stall where a single elderly Thai woman was masterfully cooking pad thai. best i have ever had. only 25 baht with front row seats to street traffic. picking the right hawker is an art i am only now just cultivating - always examine the ingredients, especially how they are being kept and then spend a minute or two watching the cook at work. i tend to shy away from the places where my fellow tourists congregate because i want the unfamiliar.
every night I pick up my requisite daily bottle of water from the 7 Eleven and fall asleep to the growl of tuk-tuk motors and the constant breeze of the fan in my itty-bitty bamboo bedroom.
