Since early September (and Northern Ontario), I’ve been having flashbacks of our trip. My brain gives me full colour pictures of places we have been and the associated emotions I was feeling while at that place – usually places where we did not take pictures. It can take me weeks and several conversations with Scott to figure out exactly where the memory comes from. These aren’t reminiscences, as it isn’t a conscious act, rather it is an unconscious activity of my brain. Once I figure out the where of the place and fully remember it, my brain moves on with a new flashback. In some ways, it is a gift my brain is giving me.
My latest flashback is of a hot place. We ride over a bridge into a town, passing some kind of museum (or world heritage site). We choose not to stop and visit since we feel pressure to ride before it gets too hot. The museum or site is somehow related to death or war, which adds to my lack of desire to see it. Scott comments that he feels some obligation towards visiting, but we press on anyway. It is late morning and we pass a market that has been set up in a parking lot. We pull over and park against the steps of a corner store at the back of the market. I’m hot so my priority is to find myself a cold drink. Ice is hard to find – this tells me we were relatively new to the country and had not yet figured out how to safely buy ice. I buy a Coke in a glass bottle – another sign: glass bottles mean we must have been in Thailand, and a coke means I couldn’t identify a sports drink in the cooler. It tastes awful (as Coke always does to me), but the coolness is refreshing. We walk through the market and buy some fruit and vegetables – garlic, onions, oranges. We may purchase something else, but I don’t remember it. My flashbacks are clearly not 100% total recall.
I asked Scott about this one, and he has no recollection of it. I’ve search through all our pictures and journal entries of Thailand and Malaysia and I still have no clue where or when this flashback took place. I think I may be stuck with it for a while!
Hi there! What an experience you are having. You have greatly expanded your travels since we met along Highway 11 off Icefields Parkway in July (We were the couple on the tandem). You are having unforgettable experiences and I am amazed at how much you are writing and posting while “on the road.”
Besides biking, we love to dance. We created the website http://www.sactownsalsa.com when we returned from our trip to Canda. Check it out when you have a chance.
Safe Travels.
Lisa