it’s vietnam all over again…

so i’m here. i was greeted at the airport by the local pickup crew (three dudes in a circa 1982 right hand drive suzuki van) and driven to my hotel for the night. i’ll start by saying that driving here, like in vietnam, is pretty loco. one might even say it’s insane. sure there aren’t any stop signs or street lights, and everyone is driving where ever they feel like driving. but at least in vietnam, they drive on the right side of the road, giving you at least some comfort when the cars and motobikes driving head on with you turn at the last minute – they turn the way you are expecting them to. here, they veer left, which goes against my 14 years of firmly embedded motoring instincts and only adds to the length of time i was saying oh shit, oh shit in my head. i’ve been to london where they drive right side, and while it takes a bit of adjustment, you get used to it. this place, on the other hand, makes piccadilly circus feel like scott and 3rd at midnight on a TUE. i did learn one rule of the road from one of the guys in the van during the 15 minute transport – “every man for himself” he said with a smile in broken english. oh, and i’ll never complain about another pothole again – i think i could have jumped in some of those we hit along the way and been lost for days.

the main guy that picked me up couldn’t have been nicer though, and he explained there were six other volunteers that started their orientation today. i knew i’d miss the first day by attending that photo workshop, but it’s a two day orientation so i figured i could play catch-up on day two. he also said they waited on the orientation dinner until tomorrow night so i didn’t miss it – thought that was pretty nice.

it’s closing in on 10pm, i’m pretty knackered out from traveling for the past two days, and i have no pictures to share since i got here after dark. i’ll see what tomorrow brings..