It's easy to get up early when you really want to see something.
Or do something. Off the coast of Cambodia on an island called Koh Run my alarm chirped it's annoying song. I don't know why I didn't change the tune. I'd been using the same one since hitchhiking in Japan like 4 months earlier and man did I hate it. But, I let it be.
The whole place was dead quiet, except for the dogs. I was staying at a place a stones throw from a squatters village on the beach and they kept a lot of them. And none of them were friendly. They barked, yipped, snapped at everyone. Which isn't a surprise watching how they were treated. On this isolated place far from the mainland, they were, well, I'll let you use your imagination why the islanders kept them. Luckily, only a few of them stirred and gave their opinion about my intrusion. The points didn't really connect for me until I got some lunch at one of the homes.
Other than that it was a lonely place at that hour.
White sand, small waves lapping, everything bathed in this crazy orange red hue. The island in this shot was across the small bay. The clouds caught me by surprise, layered like cake and falling off into the distance. Even more isolated than we, I wondered if there were people living there as well.
To me it was such a novel concept. Staying where I was. A squatter village, a shady owner/manager of a skimpy resort in the middle of nowhere Asia, no access to civilization. But, it came to me as I was watching the sun rise on this alien shore. This was how people lived. Like, I understand that people know it exists, but, brushing elbows with it, shaking hands with it, being a part of it, living it.
Breathtaking.
So many different ways to live
And as people from a 'civilized' world we so quickly paint ourselves into a corner as to how we should live, how we should direct our lives, all based upon a thought process heavily influenced by people who have no connection to us and don't care about us. For us to break those bonds and step out of that corner...it's a moment, for sure.
Take a moment, please. And think, what would it be like to have a completely different life. I don't mean rockstar, glamorous, all shiny and pretty, but something real, something different, something you only see in documentaries. Maybe it will help you get out of a corner you've unwittingly painted yourself into?
Or just enjoy the story and the pics :) Your choice.
Thanks for dropping by and reading! I'd love to hear what you think.
Michael
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