And then the last tuk-tuk in the early morning. It is four o'clock, even in the never sleeping Phnom Penh calm has returned. The fleeting calm before the next storm. We chug through the empty streets at lightning speed, here and there a fire burns, shadowy figures huddle next to it, people laugh, eat, drink ...

I will miss them all.

 

A closed airport

Also an unusual picture: The airport is still closed. While travelers wait in frustration for the opening of the door, a narrow strip of brightness announces the new day, its imminent appearance looming on the eastern sky.

 

Flight to Bangkok

The flight to Bangkok is short, rivers and lakes shoot the first light of day reflecting to the sky, dark landscapes still lying in the shade glide by.

I feel the melancholy, always the same, always on the last day. Only now, shortly before returning home, there is the paralyzing feeling of loneliness. Isn't that strange? Several weeks on the road as a solo traveller, alone and on my own. Many new friends found and lost again. And never felt lonely. Or sad. Or abandoned. And now this. Maybe the feeling comes from saying goodbye. The knowledge that a fantastic time is coming to an end.

And then Bangkok, hustle and bustle, the pulse rate gets higher. The nearly seven-hour flight to Dubai gives a first impression of the expected hardship, but The Desolation of Smaug makes it reasonably bearable.

In Dubai, the first impression of another hardship that is more difficult to bear. The waiting room is packed with tourists, most of them belonging to my beloved homeland and many of them with drooping corners of the mouth as in the tram at seven in the morning. This grumpiness is more noticeable when not seen during a time, but … let’s forget about that.

 

And that's how my journey ends

I was freezing, sweating, shivering - forget it! I got my ass sore from a hundred hours on the bus, on the train, on the bike, on the speedboat - never mind! I was lied to, cheated, pulled over the table with a cold smile - so what! I have inhaled as much bad air as a chain smoker in a whole year - no problem!

Because I have met wonderful, friendly, smiling, warm people, locals as well as tourists, there have been moments that I will never forget, moments when everything was just right, everything was in balance, moments, how shall I say, that came closest to the state of happiness ...

And that's why the closing word belongs to Arnold Schwarzenegger, the immortal Terminator, and for once his saying, which has gone down in eternity, takes on a completely different meaning: I'LL BE BACK!

 

Bye-Bye young man
Bye-Bye young man

 

P.S. Matching Song:  Red Hot Chili Peppers - Goodbye Angels

Next stop: Burma / Myanmar

 

And do not forget: The Southeast Asia Books

 

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