A myriad of people. Several oceans and seas. More homes in 3 months than most people have had in a life time. Spicy and bland food. Departed and refound friends. Harassment and true friendliness.
The second trip of a lifetime was as varied and full on, as the first one was. The impressions I was made to take in, the difficult choices, the choices I didn't have, the choices I made, the problems that arose and that I overcame... All were in the same spirit and all made the same strong, everlasting memories as 5 years ago.
But this time I was prepared! Not for the cultural or ethnic differences. Not for the challenge of the Asian transport system. Not for the scams and the unexpected helping hand. No... That you cannot be prepared for - and shouldn't be. That you just need a bit of common sense to deal with.
No, what I was prepared for this time, that 5 years ago hit me harder than anything I had ever experienced, was the "second culture shock"!
Forget jetlag, travel sickness, temperature differences, and the fact that there is only so much you can do, to convey your experiences with your friends at home. It is the experience that the place you have called home for years, all of a sudden is this strange new country; with these strange people you have as friends, with these strange underground ticket prices, that remind you so much of London, but is it? Things you took for granted to know about this place, you have somehow forgotten. Prices have changed as if over night and your friends talk about people you have never heard of from unknown tv shows. And where is the bloody Night Market? Oh, yeah... There isn't one, is there...?
Welcome home doesn't ring true for a while yet I can feel. Home is what you make it. And my room seems just as strange to me as a dodgy guesthouse in Bangkok right now. Welcome to a new experience, is more like it.
Right on!!!!
