Old Travel Notes
I was doing laundry and cleaning my room this afternoon.
That was when I found my old photo albums. (Not found like, "Here you are photo albums. I've been looking for you for years." No. They are just on my top shelf. I can see them every day.) And yes, Kodak film was awesome. So, from Kodak film photos -- already ditching my broom at this point -- I moved to the digital ones on my computer.
1) There are photos from my walk alone at night in Vietnam with only a map and a make-believe sense of direction, looking for this particular shopping street. The journey to the said street and asking for directions were equally challenging. I headed back to the hotel via a different but just as confusing route.
On the way back, on a very quiet street, a motorcyclist stopped and gestured that he'd give me a lift. Great. In the middle of dark, nowhere.
If I remember it correctly, this guy was pretty old and looked harmless. I can believe that he just wanted to help. Don't scream "DH! Don't be naive!" at me yet. Haha, of course I didn't go "High five, dude! Thank you. You're awesome!" with him. I waved 'no and thanks' and kept walking to a bus stop, which was pretty smart because the bus stop was kind of deserted and dark too, and pretended that I was waiting for a bus until I was sure he had left.
My questions are 1) Does Vietnam have this rent-a-motorcycle thing like I heard they have in Indonesia? My friend says they do (or maybe she thinks they do, I forget which one, but with a driver?) 2) This motorcyclist knew that I was a tourist, right? And he just wanted to help? I wore a normal travelling outfit, a pair of selipar and a backpack. I really don't know what happened here.
2) Many years ago, I took a train to Singapore alone -- it happened to be my first trip to the country, and I had the whole train waiting for me maybe for at least 10 minutes. I was among the last ones in the immigration line, then took my time touching up my makeup etc in the washroom because I thought the Woodlands Checkpoint was the final train stop ie that we were already in the city centre. I had an immigration staff waiting for me outside the washroom, leading the way out. I was "How nice. Thank you very much." Ohh... she was escorting me back to the train. Once I was in the city centre, I bought a map.
3) I sneaked some of what they told us was durian Sabah (tarap?) into our hotel room. We weren't allowed to do that because of the strong smell, so we put it in the fridge, thinking that would conceal the odour. The next morning, the whole floor smelled like the fruit.
4) I had some gastronomic adventures three countries away from here that I've been trying to erase from my memory, so far to no avail.
5) Then there were the good months exploring the smallest state Down Under. I was so into this trip that when That Branding Case Study happened, I didn't realize the massive impact it had on the world until I got back to KL.
6) That trip to Thailand, from the drag queens galore to the visit to an old temple, was part too awkward to discuss and part interesting. (I was lucky, however, that the people who entertained me had been nothing but kind and generous and hospitable. And learning about other people's culture and history is always very eye-opening too.)
Close albums.
That was when I found my old photo albums. (Not found like, "Here you are photo albums. I've been looking for you for years." No. They are just on my top shelf. I can see them every day.) And yes, Kodak film was awesome. So, from Kodak film photos -- already ditching my broom at this point -- I moved to the digital ones on my computer.
1) There are photos from my walk alone at night in Vietnam with only a map and a make-believe sense of direction, looking for this particular shopping street. The journey to the said street and asking for directions were equally challenging. I headed back to the hotel via a different but just as confusing route.
On the way back, on a very quiet street, a motorcyclist stopped and gestured that he'd give me a lift. Great. In the middle of dark, nowhere.
If I remember it correctly, this guy was pretty old and looked harmless. I can believe that he just wanted to help. Don't scream "DH! Don't be naive!" at me yet. Haha, of course I didn't go "High five, dude! Thank you. You're awesome!" with him. I waved 'no and thanks' and kept walking to a bus stop, which was pretty smart because the bus stop was kind of deserted and dark too, and pretended that I was waiting for a bus until I was sure he had left.
My questions are 1) Does Vietnam have this rent-a-motorcycle thing like I heard they have in Indonesia? My friend says they do (or maybe she thinks they do, I forget which one, but with a driver?) 2) This motorcyclist knew that I was a tourist, right? And he just wanted to help? I wore a normal travelling outfit, a pair of selipar and a backpack. I really don't know what happened here.
2) Many years ago, I took a train to Singapore alone -- it happened to be my first trip to the country, and I had the whole train waiting for me maybe for at least 10 minutes. I was among the last ones in the immigration line, then took my time touching up my makeup etc in the washroom because I thought the Woodlands Checkpoint was the final train stop ie that we were already in the city centre. I had an immigration staff waiting for me outside the washroom, leading the way out. I was "How nice. Thank you very much." Ohh... she was escorting me back to the train. Once I was in the city centre, I bought a map.
3) I sneaked some of what they told us was durian Sabah (tarap?) into our hotel room. We weren't allowed to do that because of the strong smell, so we put it in the fridge, thinking that would conceal the odour. The next morning, the whole floor smelled like the fruit.
4) I had some gastronomic adventures three countries away from here that I've been trying to erase from my memory, so far to no avail.
5) Then there were the good months exploring the smallest state Down Under. I was so into this trip that when That Branding Case Study happened, I didn't realize the massive impact it had on the world until I got back to KL.
6) That trip to Thailand, from the drag queens galore to the visit to an old temple, was part too awkward to discuss and part interesting. (I was lucky, however, that the people who entertained me had been nothing but kind and generous and hospitable. And learning about other people's culture and history is always very eye-opening too.)
Close albums.
_____
Update:
The albums are gone.
The collection of my awkward moments is now wrapped in plastic sheets and kept in a magazine holder.
The albums are gone.
The collection of my awkward moments is now wrapped in plastic sheets and kept in a magazine holder.
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