That Fuzzy Feeling

While it’s always great to have loads of photos and tales of adventures, or rather, misadventures, I find myself fondly recalling moments outside of the Royal Tomb or a crowded train station. Interestingly, it’s not the touristy sites that I remember the most but the people. Warm, cute encounters with people. Of course,  it’s highly subjective but these are the moments on the road that gave me a fuzzy feeling inside or simply filled me with a sense of wonder or amusement.

1. The Boat Lady

I was out really early in the morning for a photo walk, taking pictures here and there in Hoi An’s picturesque Old Town right near the river. Saw a man still on his pajamas wearing a conical hat and riding a bike in my direction. Click. A woman was getting off a boat and another lady riding a rickshaw. Click Click. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a granny on a small banca navigating her way on the murky water. Towards me. She was looking at me with a wide toothy grin. Instinctively I knew she wanted me to take her photos. And I did. She tried her best to get as close to me as possible and it was frustrating having an 18-55 lens. I wanted to get a closer shot, I wanted to show her the photo. I wanted to get on the boat and talk to her. But my Vietnamese is limited to xin chào.

2. So Kawaii!

 We got off the train in Thanaleng and while filling out the  immigration form, I noticed a group of Japanese teenagers. What  caught my attention were the furry hats clipped on their bags.  These are guys we’re talking about but I’m hardly surprised since  I’m familiar with the kawaii culture. Still amusing though. A few  hours later we saw them again in front of Patuxai tossing a ball  around. No, they’re not having a friendly game of soccer.  They’re trying to capture a series of jump shots with the ball as a  prop for good measure. We hurried at the top of Patuxai since we  knew that’ll be their next photo shoot location and we can’t  afford to lose any more time. Lo and behold as we were about to  go down, we heard them coming up the stairs. Now the space can  hardly accommodate five people and there were like 8 of them.  It’s funny cos they were initially hesitant to strike poses while we  were there but in a span of 2 minutes, they handed me their  phone and asked if I could take their photo, albeit shyly. I found  them so so cute that I’m only happy to oblige. Heck! If I could have joined them in the photo I would have haha. I took the first one. Too dark. I offered to take another one. They gamely posed again and thanked me with a thick Nihongo accent.  And  then we got down, I can almost see them posing wackily the moment we were gone. Vientiane is so small we saw them again once or twice  going around town on rented bicycles.

3. Kids will be kids!

I was in Monk Heaven. Wait, that doesn’t sound right. I mean, I’ve always been fascinated with monks and I can still vividly remember my first enncouter with one of them. It was surreal. So, every time I see a blur of orange in the horizon I would instinctively follow, camera at the ready. So Luang Prabang was heaven for me. However, I didn’t have the guts to ask them if I could take a photo so in my frustration, I turned to kids lol. Kids are the easiest to photograph and it doesn’t take much effort and balls of steel to get them to cooperate. Just look at my photos. Still love monks though. I’m gonna get that portrait one day.

4. Straight out of a high school themed Asian drama.

I was in the backseat of a Chevy taking the scenery around me while listening to The Fugees’ Killing  Me Softly when we passed by a group of students on their way to school. No it wasn’t my OST choice of song for this trip but my guide/driver/restaurant owner brought along a few CD with English songs for me. I loved it though. It’s a great song to remember this moment by. So anyway, all of the students are on bikes, some best friends even holding hands while pedaling side by side. It was such a pure and innocent image and I was filled with nostalgia and I wanted to tell the driver to slow down so I can record it on video or snap a photo but again the language barrier came into play. That, and the fact that we were actually racing to My Son since I’m due at the train station in a few hours.

I wasn't able to take any photos or video, so here's a video instead. This was the song playing at the time. Every time I hear this song it whisk me right back to that country road in Vietnam watching as the students bike to school in their uniforms. Really, such an innocent image even though this song is far from innocent haha.

5.Hello, strangers.

I haven’t been traveling for a long time but I realized how rewarding it is going solo since you’re bound to meet people along the way. I’ve experienced being the third wheel to a nice Thai couple I met during a day tour in Halong. It didn’t feel weird though, we had to resort to drawing on a piece of paper at times to make each other understand but it’s worth the effort. I’ve spent a night holed up inside a train compartment with two British guys and sort of feared for my life haha. They could be serial killers for all I know. I know, I’ve been watching far too many episodes of Criminal Minds. They ended up being my human GPS though. xD A friend and I also met a fellow Pinoy on the train for Nong Khai and decided to see Vientiane together. I met the two nicest Koreans in the lobby of the hostel I was staying in. I was pleasantly surprised since I’m used to seeing Koreans dressed to the nines wherever they are, and I mean WHEREVER. Like, wearing heels on the shoreline of Boracay. So it was refreshing to meet these two namjas who looks like certified backpackers. Not that they’re dressed shabbily, far from it. It’s just that that they’re wearing practical clothing. Now these might not be a really impressive account for backpackers but for me who’s a rookie in travelling, it was really, really exciting.

6. Before Sunrise – of what might have been. Screw language barrier.

Okay, so it’s my fault for not learning the language beforehand. I met a Vietnamese local on the train. He works there. I wish I have more to tell but it seriously was one of those what-might-have-been-if-not-for-the-language-barrier thing. Instead our conversation was limited to “Hanoi?” when I wanted to know if we’ve arrived at our destination already and then he would shake his head. We must have went through this motion 7-8 times more. During his break (I presume), he’d sit across me from across the small table inside the compartment and he’d look like he wanna strike up a conversation but don’t know where to begin. It was obvious though he doesn’t speak English AT ALL. So we just sat there in silence. It was intense. It was bittersweet. There we were two strangers sitting across inches from each other in the middle of nowhere unable to connect due to language barrier. The chemistry was strong but our will apparently is not. This was kinda personal for me but I’m throwing it out there anyway.

There were more random incidents which I won’t mention anymore but the point of this entry is that after unpacking my bags and returning to the daily grind,  I am left with memories not necessarily of the places I’ve been to but rather of the people I’ve met.