There And Back Again: Reflections on Travel and Trust in Crossing to Cambodia…

Once I had finally made it onto the bus in route to Siem Reap, I came across this line in Goethe’s “Faust,” which felt like an affirmation of the morning’s experience:

A mind once formed is never suited after,

One yet in growth will ever grateful be.

Navigating unfamiliar infrastructure on my way to places I’ve never been and surrounded by people who do not speak the same tongue that I do—travelling has often brought me to the borders of my comfort zone. In trying to get to the Mo Chit bus station where my bus would be departing for Cambodia, I often questioned if I was going the right way. Was that last stop where I was supposed to get off? Did I just blow it?

Such moments require a fine balance between employing common sense, leaning on intuition where definite clarification is not available, and just letting go in trust of the larger current drawing me through the flow of experience—so long as I make my best efforts to help steer the course.

Made it to Mo Chit Bus station – with little time to spare and no idea where to go to catch my bus to Siem Reap. With a snapshot of a ticket written mostly in Thai, I managed to find a person here and there to keep me going in the right direction through a maze of alleyways lined with stands selling various goods. Never more than a smile and a finger pointing off in some very vague direction toward what looked more like an industrial back-alley than a bus station, and where there was no obvious pathway. The assured smiles of the others were affirmation enough.

Made it to the terminal just as my bus was pulling out to leave. Or not…. The driver of the departing bus smilingly pointed me to the adjecent bus, still parked.

A big reason for me taking this trip has been a desire to put myself out of my comfort zone and meet situations where I need to rely upon my own faculties in new ways…

As you course the knife’s edge in between trust and doubt,

Mind your heart lest you forget what this journey is about,

These swelling, hatching edges you have ventured far to test,

A fool cast abroad out upon a fool’s quest.

All is well that ends well.