Where am I?

I find myself in a metropolis of 10 million people where you can taste the freedom.

I wake up in my what I see as a 5 star hostel. $13/night, 10 bunk beds in the room, this is the lap of luxury. I pay $2/night in other cities. Just a few feet away is a European with his manhood fully displayed as he sleeps. He is spread eagle on his bunk presenting himself for all to see.

That's when I remember where I am. We're not in Kansas anymore. I was living in a rural village on $10/day for the past month and a half. I climb down the ladder of my bunk bed, in the glorious comfort of an A/C that knows the perfect temperature. I've been living in 90 weather at 100% humidity and this is a welcome change.

I step in the shower, with a t-shirt for a towel and find myself under a rain head shower with ample water pressure and the most incredible hot water that I've been missing for almost two months. I am in no rush as I consider what my day will entail. I decide to write for an hour or two before going outside for food, and as I didn't ask for the wifi password, I won't be distracted.

Last night, I met a French-Canadian and we walk the streets for a few hours, grabbing snacks every step of the way, $.30 for a stick of chicken, $1.30 for 12 dumplings, $.60 for coconut water. Every three minutes or so, we are shown a laminated piece of paper with a list of various skills that a performer will do with her lady-parts. Open a bottle, use a razor blade to cut something, shoot a banana, play ping-pong, the list goes on and on. No cover charge, $3 for a beer. I have been to this city four times and always decline on instinct, not because I'm shy, but mostly due to the sales method. One of these days, maybe I'll see what it's all about, but maybe not. I could care less either way.

My favorite thing about the city is the anonymity and freedom. As I sit on the stoop of a closed shop at 12:30 at night, the city is alive. I watch a 60 year old man take a local 18 year old boy into a fancy $200/night hostel and high-five the doorman with his catch. He is buying the boy for the night. We shouldn't consider this to be deviant behavior. The boy is of legal age and is not forced into sex slavery. He probably owns a posh condo off of the main drag. He pays his mortgage and lives like everybody else. This is a concentual transaction and no one is taking advantage of anyone else here. No one judges, no one cares. This is just one of a million similar scenes of couples anywhere in the city. It's good to be home.