Wai Forever

[Kep, 1/5/25]

My first two mornings in Kep, I was the first customer at Beachside Tacos. Despite its name, it features mostly Cambodian dishes. My fish amok was good enough, though served in porcelain and not banana leaves! Imitation, corruption and degradation are everywhere. Whole families would surge in to sprawl on reed mats at tables 18 inches from the ground. There are ten hammocks, with more available. Homeless Americans should carry this lightweight instant bed. It sure beats pieces of cardboard.

Among the feasting crowd, I noticed a silent white man. It’s a safe bet he was paying for his entire party. It’s only fair for white billionaires to cough up chump change. Marrying an Oriental, he gained her entire clan. Jack won’t ever be alone again. All those years as a custodian or garbageman in Tasmania or Kansas have earned Jack this end of life reward in a tropical paradise. Munching pineapple fried rice and sipping endless Angkor Beer, Jack spaced out. He’s ready to land on the moon or Mars. Nothing anyone said around him made any sense. His Cambodian might just be worse than mine.