So, after thinking long and hard about it, I decided against going to Cambodia for the time being. One of them is that I recently misaligned my spine. I've been seeing a doctor/chiropractor here in Bangkok (He's Thai, but went to medical school in America and everything, and speaks perfect English). It's nothing that serious; basically my spine was misaligned so that it was pinching a nerve in my neck, giving me this dull neck pain. Ever since I started seeing him, it's gotten a lot better but he wants me to hang around Bangkok for the next 2-3 weeks so I can get it taken care of. Which is not such a bad idea since the doctors and medical care in Bangkok is some of the best in the world and it's so much cheaper than back in the states (only like $20 per visit).

Plus, I'm kind of worried about the bird flu. I know the bird flu is here in Thailand, but the Thai government is much more organized and prepared to deal with things like that. Also, like I said earlier, Bangkok has some of the best medical care in the world. I don't trust the Cambodian government at all when it comes to the bird flu. If the Thai government just admitted that they had the bird flu when they've known about it for weeks, then it's definitely been in Cambodia. I bet it's been there for far longer.

I had decided against traveling through the jungles to build libraries (another long story) and had decided to teach English to street children in Phnom Penh, the capital city. But I realized that in Asia, it's traditionally the job of the little kids to take care of the chickens and ducks. So far most of the ones who have died of the bird flu have been little kids. And since first year teachers get so sick from little kids...well I decided not to risk it.

So the question is now what? Well I'm not sure. I've been flirting with different ideas, from teaching English here in Bangkok to getting my official English teaching certificate from the Oxford program, to just traveling throughout Thailand. I really want to see the rest of SE Asia but with the bird flu, I don't know. My mom offered to give me money to travel in Australia but I don't know. If I just travel, I'm thinking of going up to northern Thailand, to Chiang Mai (which is to Thailand, what Yellowstone and Glacier National Park are to America) and then from Chiang Mai to western China (maybe Yunnan, Xian and Kunming where there is no bird flu).

But if I go into China, I'd prefer to have someone traveling with me because it would really cut the costs in half. In China, you can only stay at specific places for foreigners and alot of times, the cheapest room is a room with 2 beds, and even if you only want one bed, you have to pay for the whole room. Well, we'll see. Who knows. I could be in Australia next week for all I know.

The other option I have (which I think I would jump at if I got the chance) is to get some type of short-term gig at the Bangkok Post, which is the main English language newspaper in Bangkok. I've been hanging out with this Aussie who is interning at the Bangkok Post and he said they're always looking for native English speakers and writers. The way it works is that the Thai journalists go out and do the research and write the stories, and then come back to the office where the sub-editors (people with good English skills) clean up the stories and edit them. He said he'd talk to his editor today for me, but I know that kind of thing is also very difficult to get.

Who knows. It's crazy. I have absolutely no idea what to do next. Any suggestions?