Missing

My tan is fading and the French manicure Na gave me has peeled off, the 20 or so mosquito bites that traveled with me back to Canada have disappeared, and my red pedicure with white flowers has been removed and replaced with OPI Black Cherry Chutney nailpolish. But if I close my eyes I can still feel the hot sand burning my feet as I run to the ocean water. I can still hear the Thai women asking me if I would like a "massaaaage", I can still smell the stench of garbage simmering in the hot southern Thai sun, and the bitter sour taste of a young green mango still lingers on my tongue. I try not to think about it too much because it makes me quite sad. There is so much about traveling and Asia that I miss. I miss the people, I miss the food, I miss the beach and the sun. I miss feeling foreign, whatever that means. I miss being stared at and I miss being asked if I need a tuk-tuk. I miss the hot sun and the way it dried my hair in minutes and warmed my skin after a quick dip in the ocean or a cold shower. I miss Thai massages. I miss having to carry around toilet paper and using squatter toilets. I miss taking night trains and waking up in a new city. I miss the Bangkok train station, especially the 15 Baht fried chicken and 12 Baht garlic and pepper shrimp sweet buns. God, the fried chicken was so good. I miss Fanta! I miss the bananas! Sweet Jesus, Thai bananas are amazing. They are always fresh and light and sweet. I miss the fruit shakes and Roti and the banana pancakes at Adam Bungalow. I miss bartering even though I was really, really bad at it. I miss Stella and Nine at the Green Tulip Guesthouse who helped me so much when I first arrived in Chiang Mai and always let me know how much I should be paying the taxi drivers, but I could never get them down to the local price. I miss everyone at Pong Massage, especially Na and Kia. I miss the children in Cambodia and our tuk-tuk driver with such a genuine smile. I miss the cats and dogs and monkeys and even the 5 legged cockroach who lived in my bathroom. I miss being woken up at 7:30 in the morning by a rooster. I miss smiling to random people...and getting smiles back. I miss being footloose and fancy free. Basically, I miss everything.