Vietnam "bad" mood

Monday February 4, 2008
I am a slacker and an indecisive mofo. That I already know, but seriously do I need to try on five pairs of shorts, twice each pair, only to decide I don't want them? Ahhh! Things have to be perfect or else I lament my decision for days. And then they didn't have my size in the baby blue "Crocs" so I opted not to buy those either. So I am relegated to wearing my degrading "birkenstocks" or my stinky flip flops until I find another bargain down the road.

I need to post a journal blog. To do that I think I need to sit roadside, pondering the meaning of life, with a big beer and a snack. But I'd like to take a day off from beer so it'll have to wait. I think maybe I need a prostitute instead and a couple viagra pills.

Tuesday February 5, 2008
6pm on a Tuesday. I am way sugared out yet I keep eating it. Pastries, sweet coffee, candies at the market, sweetened dried sweet potato and on and on and on. My face is about to explode into one big greasy pimple and my teeth are drowning in a pool of sugary saliva. Enough fuck face - eat some fruit and maybe a sweetened beverage and go savory from now on...

There is so much hustle & bustle around here, mostly bustle, that it gets to me after a while. The noise in general is just way too much all the time. I wake up at 6am to horns blaring, roosters or people yelling. It is definitely a different world. I can't handle the constant chatter of various travel companions either. Enough!

I am so impatient, but I don't know how to control that. I am also so weary at the moment and feel gross after having consumed so much sugar. I just want some peace & quiet, but that is NOT going to happen, not today or the next day or for the rest of the month.

Wednesday February 6, 2008
There are a lot of cute Vietnamese girls. And nice people in general. So far, I dig Vietnam. My problem likes with my traveling companion. He talks way to much and is basically a douche bag. I have had breaking points today and I am surprised I did not completely snap. Just a fucking tool. I really hope we can part ways soon or at least add someone else to the mix to act as a buffer...

...I don't know how to tell this guy to fuck off. Fortunately tomorrow we are meeting late in the day, if at all because if I meet anyone else worthy of companionship, I will quickly change teams.

Tomorrow I just feel like reading and Interneting and having some quiet time. This guy has really done my head in and I want to tell him to Shut. The. Fuck. Up!

Thursday February 7, 2008
Oh my fucking God I want to scream and bash the fucking wall. My legs are tired from walking all over this shit hole of a place and I know I am exaggerating my hatred and overall annoyance because it always builds up to an uncontrollable rage and then I almost explode. Or cry. Ahh!

...This place screams of cheese balls. This guy lounging near me is one of them. All greased up and sprawled on his chair. I will ignore - it is the best for me and my judgmental ways. I am in the shade fortunately, have some books to read and a lot of time to kill.

...Almost 10:30pm and I am getting sleepy. I think I will be leaving tomorrow. There are hot springs in town, but I don't think they sound worthy of another evening here. And I have opted to not take another boat trip. I will forgo the snorkeling for now. Clown boy, Lukas, is also leaving tomorrow, which is great news. Fortunately he is headed elsewhere. Freedom. Free at last.

Sunday February 10, 2008
Almost 4pm. Enough time spent on the computer with Internet Explorer continually crashing in the middle of an upload and with the VN dude to my left continually turning around and yelling in my ear. It would be hard I think to be the lone foreigner in a place like this after a while. For the most part, people are very nice, but it just takes one person to lose the self-confidence and be brought down. For me anyway. Must be like being a celebrity to some degree - would get tiring.

Almost 11pm. Yeah, I just want to sleep and wake up and get out of Dodge. I've had enough of Barbara and the over-fed Canadian who rambles on about nothing. I really feel like a big whiner all the time - I wonder if I'm just too old for all this?

Thursday February 14, 2008
Nearly 5pm now and the beeping continues. It truly is neverending. I could let it get to me, well I do, but there is nothing I can do about it, but accept it as a fact of life here in Asia. Crazy to put that to writing. I am in Asia. It is a small world. You can go and see anyplace in the world.

Today has been a shit day. I can't stand these guys trying to sell me tours. I know they are just doing their job, but it is truly fucking annoying. I am getting better at walking on, but I think I need to learn the art of ignoring people. They are relentless. So friendly, so curious and you know there is this underlying hope to befriend you and take your money. I will not part with mine that easy. It is difficult to be rude to these people because they are generally so nice, but there are some persistent assholes.

Sunday February 17, 2008
Oh my goodness it is fucking cold here in this part of Vietnam. We are sleeping on the boat tonight and I'm guessing it must be 50 degrees in our room and colder outside. My feet feel colder than everything. It's crazy compared to all else I have experienced on this trip, but it will make me really appreciate the warmth of the south when I return.

Friday February 22, 2008
8:25pm and we are squeaking down the tracks. It felt good to urinate on them as well a few minutes ago. Fuck you train! Take that! We have a 4 person cabin by ourselves, which is nice, but no free waters like last time and I refuse to pay 10,000 vnd for a small water. I'd rather be angry. I'm actually not angry just a bit dry in the mouth and only slightly annoyed that we are in the ghetto train compartment that doesn't have the fake wood paneling and "Tiffany" lamp and free waters. But we don't have any people occupying the upper bunks, which I suppose is preferable.

...Sapa was great. I may return one day. Now we venture back to Hanoi for more motos, more bia hoi and more, "Oh my God, I hate the noise, leave me alone, don't run me over, get me the fuck out of here right now!" Actually I'm just bitter - I want my girl, my love and I want to spoon.

Thursday February 28, 2008
Fucking A, what a day. A shit day overall really. This Mekong tour has really been a bust except for the homestay last night. Way too much traveling in buses and boats and a way too annoying tour guide.

Today we saw a rice paper making "factory", supposedly we saw a rice vermicelli factory, we went by the floating markets, saw 2 people pissing in the Mekong, numerous people throwing trash into the Mekong and many many many boats emitting a ton of exhaust and noise onto the Mekong. We also unfortunately saw a crocodile farm, which also happened to have some bears, a cobra, some fish and some birds and then we climbed Sam Mountain, which amounted to climbing some steps to a temple. The hotel in Chau Doc is ok and the town seems ok too, but we won't get to see much of it cause we are leaving at 6am. To where I don't have a fucking clue.