On the boat

At 5 am it was up and out to catch the boat, which turned out to be a big three level vessel crammed with people, boxes, sacks, and chickens. They ushered me to the "tourist corner" of the upper deck, where I deployed my blankets and set up camp on the floor, and met the other two tourists onboard, Bob, from Australia, and Noel, form Holland. For awhile we were a source of entertainment for everyone, especially the group of young, pink-robed nuns across from us, who wouldn't stop staring. Eventually the people seemed to accept us.

For lunch I made the mistake of ordering a fish curry, which proved to be cold, slimy, and disgusting. I was still feeling queasy today, and I don't think this helped. I ended up spending more time than I would have liked squatting in the bathroom. At least there's a big window in there, so you can watch the scenery as it goes by and wave to people.

Meanwhile, a budding romance blossomed between Noal and a girl traveling with her mom and grandmother, none of whom spoke a word of English. Or so we teased him, as they kept giving him food. Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful day. Well, besides the little old lady who kept belching loudly.

sleeping on the hard floor using my backpack for a pillow was pretty rough, and between the people coughing and hacking up phlem all night, the millions of moths that kept flying under my blanket, and the fact that everyone got up at 5 am for some reason, I didn't get much sleep.