life on the road

I feel like I'm living Jack Kerouac's Life On The Road.... the famous bit that goes: because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes, "Awww!"

In 10 days I've been from Poipet to Siem Reap to Kampong Cham and back to Siem Reap. From Siem Reap I went to Phnom Penh, Poipet and did the return trip to Phnom Penh again. I've borrowed an old guesthouse bicycle and a near-new moto to get around. I've shared taxis and local buses. People have said: You must enjoy traveling. Not really. But I did spend eight hours on the road just to see Malis and Duc for an hour and a half on their wedding day. And I've been twice to Phnom Penh because LB's patient had a major operation and wanted me to be there.

My time on the road wasn't hard or miserable. There were some early morning starts when I planned the day over a large iced latte at Caltex. There were snacks on the road; sour mango with salt and chili, crickets, ice cream. Simple meals like the time we sat on LB's kitchen floor eating chicken and rice. It was an adventure. I ran eight floors up on the treadmill in Phnom Penh and watched a gecko negotiate a path across the outside of the window with ease. I saw small miracles... not quite water into wine... but local beer mixed with so much ice that one can of larger turns into three and a very small amount of alcohol lasts the whole night.

Coming home for a few days I tried to respond to the call of the broken washing machine and the broken internet. I paid bills, swept the floor, took the garbage out. The fabulous roman candle burned right out and I spent a couple of days grumpy with a fever and a cough. Sunday night I got up again, went for a run and packed my bags for another 1-day road trip. Not just for the sake of it but because someone asked and I was able to say yes. I guess that's where the madness of life on this road actually means something; being willing to let other people's needs interrupt... especially when those people are sick, poor, scared.