This morning, I woke up and as usual, I checked my phone for emails, news, etc. But when I checked the old ball and chain (facebook), I was pleasantly surprised by an unusual invitation.
I have this friend, and he goes by the screen name of Ernie Goodguy, so I'll refer to him by that name. Ernie made a momentous decision a few years ago, and he picked up his life and relocated to Cambodia. Ex-pat Ernie settled and made a life for himself, including a lovely little family and a good little business. It's been amazing watching his life from afar, and I'll admit I'm frequently jealous. I'm also not blind to the troubles of being an ex-pat, thanks to Ernie (and Gail!), as I've watched his struggle to get documentation so his family can come to Canada, and I suspect if I were to ever venture into the ex-pat community, the lessons I've learned from his experience (and Gail's!) would be my guide.
Anyway, the invitation was this: Ernie turns 50 in March, and in advance of that, he's invited friends and family to come celebrate with him.
First of all, I'm flattered to receive the invitation at all...have I mentioned that I've never actually met Ernie in real life? He and I got to know each other through contact on a website (no, it wasn't a dating site) some years ago, and we've just sort of stayed in touch.
Second, I'm not kidding, I've always wanted to go to Cambodia. I think I've admitted here (or on the other blog), that as a kid, one of my favourite pastimes was to spend hours studying my atlas book, and this place, I'll admit, captured my attention the most when I'd come to the pages of Southeast Asia. There was just something fascinating...it stood out because this atlas was of a time when the country was labelled 'Kampuchea' but had in brackets under the name "Cambodia." Also, it actually included a notation that I didn't understand at the time, but now find so tragic, about the locations of where towns, cities and villages used to be. I was just too young to understand the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime at the time.
But my interest intensified as I got older, and I just know that if I were ever to venture into that part of the world, I would likely not go unless I could ensure that I went to Cambodia in addition to wherever else. Sure, I'll go to Thailand or Vietnam or Malaysia or The Philippines, or wherever, but I'd better be going to Cambodia too.
However, despite the moment of excitement and wishful thinking, the fact is that I'm too broke to go. In a moment of wishful thinking at lunch today, I checked the travel websites for deals, and the best I could get was just under $3000 for two tickets. It would be doable if I really, really cut down on my expenses, to pay for the tickets, but with a laptop on the verge of failure, my debt still weighing me down, and the holiday season coming up, I just can't swing it. Total bummer.
I'd hate to end this entry on an "I wish I was there" note, because that's not in the spirit of this blog, so instead, I will end it with hopes for more opportunities like this in the future.
Keeping hope alive...
...Wish you were here.
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