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I’m on Ko Phi-Phi Island now, where they filmed the movie, The Beach. The beaches here are the best yet and the water is clear as can be. Last night I went out dancing until almost 6AM with a group of travelers I had met. It was pretty crazy. They sell this Red Bull-like stuff for 55 cents that supposedly has amphetamines in it and it perks you right up. I was drinking these buckets of whiskey and coke and had no idea it was so late and we danced for like 6 hours. I think today is the first real hangover I have had here, despite numerous opportunities, so I consider myself quite fortunate….

The rainy season came a bit early to Asia, but it is like Hawaii where it rains for an hour each day, then is sunny and hot the rest of the time. It rianed real hard earlier today, but that was okay because it gave me an excuse to sleep late (2PM) and stay out of the sun (my sunburned back from yesterday still smarts a bit).

My whole life I have been extremely introverted and although I have many friends I have had lots of social anxiety in unfamiliar situations. It was my fear of such situations that actually prompted me to seek change by venturing away so far and for so long on my own. Since I have been away I’ve been SO…FAR…OUT that I have lost complete sight OF THE BOX for the last 7 weeks!!! My few other introverted friends would be proud of me.

Hola,

I hope all is well back home.

I’m safely back in Thailand (Cambodia was a bit sketchy) and I got back from my 4 day diving trip night before last. I finished my SCUBA certification in the Similan Islands off the West coast of the Thai penninsula. The water was unbelievably clear to about 75-100 feet. We saw all kinds of amazing sea life, including mantas, eels, sea turtles, leopard skin sharks and white tip sharks. I made a night dive (which was surprisingly not clausterphobic and amazingly tranquil) and a deep water dive (~140 ft) soon after completing my qualification, which are both advanced dives. I’m so glad I finally got certified. Diving is killer, but after 4 days of 4-5 dives a day I was ready for some rest.

After 3 days at the temples of Angkhor in Cambodia and 3 days in Phnom Penh I was feeling ready to move on, but had to make one key stop before I left.? Yesterday we (a group of English backpackers and I) went to this Cambodian Commando artillary range where you can shoot all types of ultra destructive and deadly weapons (mostly Chinese, Soviet and American made). I got to fire a full clip of an AK-47, an M-16, both on semi-auto and auto fire, and I threw a hand grenade into a pond which was quite a rush. All for only $38. Only in Cambodia.

I’m in Cambodia now. The ruins at Angkor were intense. They made the builders of the Greek and Roman temples look like chumps. They are unbelievable in their sheer magnitude and intricacy of decoration (especially the stone carvings and bas relief carvings). There best ones were those that had been partially reclaimed by the jungle over the last 500 years - they definitely were right out of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I took tons of pictures.