Snaps & Snippets #1
An unfiltered photo diary, so to speak.
I’ll be honest with you: I’m phoning it in. I didn’t like what I had planned for this week, so I decided to break the wall and start a series called Snaps & Snippets. Like every human, I’m fighting the urge to show you the best all the time (and you can get that on my Instagram duh), so every now and then I’ll do a reality check with far from perfect photos and stories. My motivation to write full long stories about my travels is nonexistent as I’m preoccupied on the road - hopefully it comes back to me soon!
When we were in Vietnam, we didn’t really go out at night! In fact, I find myself so reluctant to go out at nighttime while I’ve been in Asia. Almost daily I am outside during the hottest part of the day (usually unintentionally) and find myself wiped out by the late afternoon. For this night, it was pouring rain in Saigon so my dad and I got room service. It felt indulgent, special, and honestly… so delicious. But I am now making an active effort to take it slower during the day to enjoy the cooler temps!
Very rarely do I think about my time at Disney - such a relief. At the moment, I don’t miss my job or working, nor do I feel the heavy emotions I used to deal with. It’s so strange to go from being preoccupied with something endlessly to having it not matter at all. But when I see something like this (cute merch that I would have probably brought back to my coworkers), my heart hurts just a little bit. “At least I won’t have any goodbyes that difficult again,” is what I told myself. And then I spent the week in Siem Reap with the most amazing group of people and it came back as a wave. I get attached so easily :(
Fun fact if you are trying to go to the airport on a Friday from District 1 in HCMC - don’t! I have never seen so many cancellations and delays for Grab ever. At one point the driver just drove past me, but because it was one way street and it would be hard to go around the block, he just cancelled it. It’s been awhile since I had a cry from frustration, and it happened that day. Everything ended up being fine, but yikes a journey!
I had my first hostel shock moment about two seconds into my Siem Reap visit. Since I arrived before check in, they told me to put my backpack under the stairs. I figured it would be a luggage locker or some kind of storage system - I found a literal pile of backpacks under the stairs. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many backpacks in one place, not even on an airport carousel. I was supposed to just leave my things out there in the open??? (I was, and I did, and welcomed the ever rotating site for my entire stay.)
A classic convenience store mirror selfie, and probably a true to form capture. Physically, I am at a low LOL. I’ve got Gatorade because I’ve been feeling under the weather and need to hydrate. My button down is always on me, since I run cold. My hair is probably at its worst - I’ve given up completely on it. I met an Australian girl and a Dutch girl while wearing this outfit and the latter asked the former how she knew I was from the states and the Australian went “her voice…and her hat.” I’m getting used to a limited wardrobe but I find myself missing my cloud cardigan from Peru. And my pink pants. The doc marten ruffle loafers!!! Okay I’ll stop now.
Half of the time watching the sunrise at Angkor Wat consisted of me thinking “is this the most crowded place I’ve ever been?” Okay, of course not. I’ve done too many music festivals, concerts, and that one NOLA Mardi Gras for it to be true. But this ranked pretty high up there, especially for a UNESCO site. I’d actually definitely go back for sunrise, but go to different parts of this temple, or to other parts of the complex. But right on the pond for the reflection photo is a one and done for me. This photo, in fact, was reluctantly taken by the very tall man next to me. I was also SO tired and had a runny nose so by the time 11AM sun hit, I felt like an antisocial zombie. On a positive, it made me less chatty and I spent more time walking the temples alone in a meditative state.
This day at Phnom Kulen National Park was amazingggg and I’ll elaborate on it soon, but it involved two things I don’t love too much: heights and water. For the first photo, my palms were sweating so badly, and I wasn’t even on the little rock island that was I was supposed to go on. To say I don’t like water is a broad generalization - I mostly do not like swimming or getting my hair wet. Even as a kid, my mom took me to Pagsanjan Falls in the Philippines and I didn’t want to ride the raft under the waterfall even though it was the main thing to do there. Luckily, the group I was with went under together while holding hands, and Paola (who is cheering me on in the photo) gave me the extra push to fully dunk in alone!
I went into my solo backpacking trip thinking I’d be… solo. I entered not feeling like my full extrovert self, and didn’t feel the pressure to make friends. Ironically, the opposite happened! But in Siem Reap, I found I needed to carve out just a little bit of me time, which often included walking to a quiet ice cream shop with my Kindle after dinner. I’m in the middle of reading “The Poppy War” by R.F. Huang which is SO good, but probably not something I would have started if I knew there were multiple books or how violent it is. Proof I am constantly being surprised and making choices I didn’t expect to! Also its messaging that humans do awful things is the direct contrast of my current life - humans are so kind and nice and a man on the train got me a blanket because I was cold.
I bought the three day Angkor Archaeological Park Pass assuming I’d only use it for two days since I was on limited time. But on my last day, I found a quick window to squeeze in one last trip to Angkor Wat itself on my own. As I was walking up, I was approached by a man named Phy asking if I wanted professional photos. He said he knew all the best spots, and very rarely am I on the other side of a Nikon so I thought why not? I was SO nervous at the start - I don’t know how to pose, I was dressed in workout clothes for an afternoon bike ride, and I had no idea if I was getting scammed. The photo above is a perfect example of my go to pose, as awkward as it is. I ended up having the BEST time. We only took photos for a half hour at most (and they turned out so wonderful, I’ll share later), and then we spent the rest of the time walking around the temple while Phy shared facts and stories I didn’t hear on my sunrise tour! His sister worked in the souvenir shops so we said hi to her on my way out, and he invited me to have lunch with them. I wish I wasn’t rushing all day so I could have!
Last one, from hour 12 of my 14 hour journey from Siem Reap, Cambodia to Ayutthaya, Thailand. As my dad asked, “Was a flight that expensive?” It wasn’t, but I haven’t done a land border crossing in forever, and how bad could a bus to Grab to train transfer really be? The time actually flew by… because I was asleep for most of it, completely tuckered out from the week before. I also did the journey raw - no music, no TV, nothing to entertain. Not sure why, it just felt right. I did have a brief moment where I questioned my decisions (pictured here), but I’d do it again! I actually wish I could take the bus from here to California… it was THAT comfortable.
Meanwhile IRL…
I’m writing this from Pak Chong, Thailand on the edge of Khao Yai National Park! The hostel has such comfy beds, and it was nice to take an afternoon to write (and watch Severance). It was a 2 hour train to get here and I’m feeling the Mal de Debarquement Syndrome pretty badly, ooof. I came with a friend I met in Manila and another that I just met in the hostel in Ayutthaya! Not that anyone was worried about me being alone - I rarely am :)
Written to: On My Mind (Purple Disco Machine Remix) by Diplo & SIDEPIECE
Category: Schemes