I recently went to Thailand for two weeks, and seem to have used it as an excuse to fall of the wagon in terms of work, blogging, keeping in touch, etc. Not sure why that is...it's not that I needed a break.
Traveling in a cheap country is a crazy experience. You live this kind of lifestyle well above what you have at home. You are always eating out, taking taxis, paying for entertainment (don't use your imagination...I just mean that almost everything you do costs money). You are treated like an outsider. You are treated like you have dollar signs on your forehead. People notice when you walk by. You feel like an outsider. And then you get used to it.
There is something a little liberating about living like that, at least for me anyway. I also experienced this a little bit in Australia when I was there for a semester in 1999. What it boils down to is that because you don't know anyone, you realize that it doesn't really matter what you do.
Who cares what you look like? No one. Who cares if you make a fool out of yourself? Nobody you know will see you. There are no appearances to maintain. No reputation to live up to.
I probably don't even act differently because of it, but I feel a little different inside. More liberated.
In your home country, you CAN change your behavior to "fit in". But abroad, especially when you are a different skin color entirely, you can't fake it. You'll stick out no matter what you do. For some screwed up reason, it feels so much better to let go...society be damned!
PS - Beautiful pics of my trip can be found here, courtesy of Kip Gerenda
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