The meaning of'The Middle Path'

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It's early evening, mosquitos are swarming now that the sun has slipped below the horizon, and It will be dark soon. I'm poolside for the first time since I arrived, typing, drinking cold beer, wanting to get drunk and wishing tomorrow to be over already.

Much of the day was spent in preparation for tomorrow's court appearance, beginning with the hand written police report naming the errant contractor and the sum of money to be repaid. To this was attached a copy of three bank transfer reciepts (two hours coaxing the 64 kbs connection to download three files, which then wouldn't print), and finally a few photos of the unfinished house! Apart from the last task to have the farm tennents ratify the land use agreement, I hope my work here in Banlung is done.

So hopeful in fact that I've planned to leave on an adventure before full sunrise on Tuesday morning. When asked my opinion on visiting Mondulkiri, another remote province in the NE section of Cambodia (directly south of Ratanakiri), I urged the young couple from Oregon to make the trip. I fell in love with it two years ago but have never been back! How best to get there was the next question. The journey from Banlung necessitates back tracking to Stung Treng, returning south towards Phnom Penh until the turn off to Sen Monorom (three sides of a square). My personal favourite is to travel cross-country by motorbike, directly south from Banlung into often unmarked, unsettled territory., and will be the adventure now as it was then.

Sophat found two willing (if not eager) motorbike drivers for a slightly different route through what was once a Khmer Rouge stronghold now sparsely inhabited by tribal groups. After court tomorrow, Sophat will return to Stung Treng to borrow a 125cc bike for us to use for the two days it will take, if all goes well, and four if it doesn't!.

We'll be traveling deep into Cambodia again and I can't think of a better ending to this trip. It's life in Los Angeles that feels foriegn to me, almost a vestigial memory of a place that may or may not exist, but has no relevance here and I'll need an adjustment period when I return. It's unlikely I'll be eager to jump back into my former life. The more immersed in the culture I''ve had to become, the longer it takes to float back up to the surface, so If I seem withdrawn for a while, just give me time. I will bounce back.

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