Of Airports & Single-Serving Friends: An Old College Essay

Before traveling, my first true love was writing. I love words, love the science of putting them together and the art of expressing yourself with them. Inspired by Throwback Thursday (that thing is all over Facebook), I was looking through posts on my old personal blog and found this - a paper I wrote for my Modern Lit class in college. We were tasked to write about any of the poems we had discussed in class, and I chose Yvor Winters' "At The San Francisco Airport", about a father who accompanies his daughter at the airport to see her off as she heads for college. I thought it would be interesting to write the daughter's point of view of the moment. I thought of my dad as I wrote it - he works away from home and I live away from home as well, so we are used to regular hello's and goodbye's. I like to think of goodbye's as see you next time's.

So anyway, I wrote about what I thought would be the girl's thoughts and realizations while on the flight, after bidding her dad goodbye. The coolest thing about this paper is that when I wrote it, I had never ridden a plane in my entire life. It's personally amusing to think that not so long ago, I was a little girl eager to see the world. Now I'm still a little girl, still eager to see the world, but thankfully, I have seen more of it. I hope to see even more of it as I get older.

This post is becoming incredibly cheesy. Read my college paper under the cut, if you dare, and remember that I wrote it in college - I was young and naive. I'd love to hear what you think!

15 Things to Do in Luang Prabang, Laos

My trip to Laos in 2012 had been a very relaxed, come-what-may kind of trip. Jen and I didn't do much planning save for booking accommodations beforehand, and everything else kind of just fell into place almost effortlessly thanks to the many people we met along the way. I think we both didn't want a hectic, intensely scheduled itinerary after all our previous whirlwind trips to other countries. It probably had to do with us maturing as travelers as well. I suppose it happens to a lot of people who travel often - at some point, on your Nth trip, when you're a little less scared and a little more welcoming of the unknown, a little less excited about visiting every suggested destination on the tourist map and a little more interested in trying to live like a local, you realize that a trip doesn't have to be tremendously eventful to be memorable, and allow yourself to experience the magic of a place on the spot, without any expectations or prior research. So I was quite surprised at how long this list turned out, considering we had zero plans. It only goes to show that boredom and travel probably rarely co-exist, especially to those who are happy just to be in a foreign place, regardless of where it is and what there is to do there. For a true traveler, there is always something to explore, something to discover, and something to learn - at the very least, there is always something to do. And if you are by chance planning a trip to Luang Prabang anytime soon, this might help get you started.

Gambling And Then Some: 5 Things To Do In Macau Besides Rolling The Dice

 

Gambling in Macau has become such big business that it is now considered the world's Mecca for gambling and the preferred destination for top gambling getaways after consistently beating Las Vegas in earnings.

And while there's plenty of fun to be had with Lady Luck in Macau's top casinos, there's more to Macau than high stakes and neon lights. Read on for five unique activities to do in Macau in case you ever feel the need to spend your winnings, mourn your losses, or simply take a break from rolling the dice.

The Luang Prabang Local Market In Fine Detail

Whenever I travel, I always get amazed at how some places lend themselves so easily to great photographs. Hoi An, Seoul and virtually any beach in the Philippines are the photogenic places that instantly come to mind from my travels. Though I am by no means a professional,I love taking pretty pictures, the kind that can hold a memory of a moment intact long after that moment and that adventure has passed. I love looking at pictures I took from my travels and being reminded of how it felt to be there, what the weather was like, what I was listening to, who I was with.

Jen and I finding the Luang Prabang local market was by all means a moment of serendipity. Every traveler has one of those - you take a wrong turn in a little alley and find yourself not in the place you were headed for, but in a place you prefer much more anyway. We had just witnessed the alms giving ritual very early in the morning, and were looking for some breakfast and coffee to wake us up. Eventually we found ourselves in a little alley with stalls and stores that sold the most interesting things. Local markets are always vibrant and full of life, which is probably why they make such ideal settings for interesting photographs.

I took so many photos of the Luang Prabang local market but these are perhaps my favorites. They don't capture the entirety of the market, but instead its little details - from writhing live insects, spices with colors as rich as their flavors, to the most delicious deep-fried sausages. 

Travel Playlist: Road Trip Music from Mausi and Phoenix

 

It's Getaway Friday - gateway to the weekend, and the perfect time to take those keys and drive off to the nearest faraway beach! Here are some tracks to get you in a beachin' (and not bitchin') kind of mood from synth-driven Mausi and the legendary Phoenix.