• Sending weeks with people, becoming great friends, then never hearing from them again after you go your separate ways.

• Having to share a bed with a backpack and its scattered contents.

• Frequent packing, and always wondering if I will get everything to fit.

• Twelve-hour bus rides.

• Constantly having to figure out where I’m going next, how I’m going to get there, and where I’m going to sleep.

• Always having to deal with aggressive touts and salesmen.

• Not having any role in society.

These are a few of the reasons I grow weary of traveling. Don’t get me wrong, there are still many places I want to go: China, Mongolia, Russia, Europe. And some day I’d like to go overland from Cape Town to Cairo.

But I love what I’ve seen of Bangkok so far. Once you get beyond the awful Khao San Road, where everyone wants to sell you something, Bangkok is a big, exciting, bustling, vibrant city. It has all the modern comforts of home, but beneath the modern veneer of air-conditioned shopping malls and movie theaters, it is foreign, mysterious, and exciting. I want to spend some time here, and have some ideas. I can study meditation and Thai cooking for awhile. If I still like it, I can study for a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification, then get a job. If that works out, I could try for something more lucrative. I have several vague ideas, which I won’t go into yet.

But first, Cambodia. I have to fly somewhere for my $200 VAT refund, so I spent $200 on plane tickets. Yeah, that may not make much sense, but I do kind of want to go, and even though it was expensive, I found a good travel agent who got me a good price on a series of tickets. First to Siem Reap, then to Phnom Penh, then back to Bangkok. This way I can be a posh traveler, and avoid long bus and boat rides. Even so, I’m only sort of excited at the prospect of seeing Angkor Wat. When you’re not excited about seeing one of the world’s greatest feats or architecture, you know you need a break from traveling.