Trains, busses, and Shrapnel

Sorry I haven't been writing but we have been traveling for what seems like days. But before we left we had one more day at the clinic. I had already promised the Chinese students that I would give them the OR for the day so I stayed out and helped diagnose patients. Again, I am torn between medicine and surgery. We saw all sorts of illnesses and conditions; cleft palates, broken bones, skin conditions, and more. The most memorable for me was this gentleman who came in asking if we could take out a piece of shrapnel from his tricep. I asked him were he got it and he explained that it came from one of the US bombs dropped in 1973. He preceded to explain what had happened and how he'd lost several close friends in the explosion. He was not angry towards me, which surprised me. He explained that they were political bombs and also that he had witnessed the US apologize for “acting foolishly”. We continued with the examination and once we scheduled him for surgery he started asking if we could remove all of the other shrapnel too. He had 15 pieces in total throughout his body! I felt embarrassed and angry towards my country's foreign policies which were compounded by by some of the books I have picked up recently. Don't get me wrong, I understand why we do/did what we do/did but it still sucks. The worst part of this current line of thinking is that there are few if any solutions... I need to get new material to read.

So we began our trek towards Ching Mai via bus. Last night we drove to Siem Reap, it was a long 6 hours on a very bumpy road but we made it and stayed at Siem Reap Guesthouse which is one of our favorites. Though I met a very cute Cambodian girl on the bus and we chatted most of the way and she promised to show me around Phnom Phen when I get back. She emailed me today and asked if I wanted to be her date to a traditional Cambodian wedding too! I am excited to see Cambodia through a local's eyes. This morning we got up early to be picked up to be brought to the bus. We waited 1.5 hours for the bus (#1 stop/wait), then 1 hour later we stopped at restaurant (#2), then we hit the border were it was hot, humid, and filled with confusingly long lines. We made it through reasonably unscathed and waited on the other side to be picked up 2 hours (#3). Finally, they came to pick us up but it was a sh***y van to take us to the “bus”. But instead it took us to another restaurant for an hour (#4). We had now officially been waiting longer than traveling on a bus. Ugh..

On our last bus I met a gorgeous Brazilian woman traveling with her husband and we chatted most of the way to Bangkok, they gave me some great places to visit when I go to Brazil. I think I may try to get down there for the World Cup or Olympics!

As we passed through the streets of Bangkok I was in awe by how much the city has grown in one year. There are skyscrapers popping up all over like flowers during springtime. The infrastructure here is starkly different from that of Cambodia, the streets are cleaner, the prices are higher, and things are organized. We finally exited that cursed “bus” and took an overpriced taxi to the train station. It was busy and we purchased 1^st class tickets on the next overnight train to Ching Mia (on which I am writing to you now). The 1^st class train is nice, we may even get some sleep tonight. I can't wait to be petting tigers, whitewater rafting, and riding elephants again.

Well, our train was 4 hours late arriving into Ching Mai but that was fine because our beds were very comfortable. It wasn't too hot either so we just relaxed and planned our next week! Pictures soon!