2.05.2012

Confessions of a Female Traveler

As of today, it has been a little over a month since departing my home country and thought it would be nice to turn up the heat a bit and confess a few juicy secrets. To be brutally honest, there has been a few (perhaps several) comforts and luxuries I miss while being abroad ~ And, as a young woman, I feel this is a blog entry that female wanderlusts can either, a) relate to, b) sympathize with me, and/or, c) simply hear me out on this because I need to get this down on an electronic-type journal for all to see:

1.













I know, I know. This is not me but I could not find a picture of me curling my hair so I found the next best thing. I miss the simple ego boost from curling my very straight, very Asian dark hair. Although I never planned on lugging around a bulky curling iron, what I should have done was brought 100's of bobby pins. One can learn anything on Youtube because apparently, it is possible to curl hair quite effectively without the use of heat!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=50yw2W5F_z8

Once I arrive in Vietnam, I am getting myself a HUGE bowl of Pho and a HUGE stack of Mr. Bobby Pins. Yessss....

2.

















Washing my dirty laundry - in a MACHINE! Although I cannot help but appreciate how toned my biceps and triceps are getting from handwashing my clothes with good ol' Dr. Bronner's soap, sometimes it is the last thing I want to do after taking an 11-hour overnight train.














Yes, I know this is another picture of a stranger but it's pretty challenging to take a photo of myself wringing out the moisture from my clothes.

Luckily, my universal sink stopper, fishing line, Dr. Bronner's soap, and safety pins helps me save a few Euros while tightening up my arms. From only these items, I have learned to live without a washing machine as well as a dryer. It doesn't mean I don't have human emotions though - - I still miss that boxy off-white beauty that tap dances when I stuff too many clothes in it.

3.










Yes, I am still without a cell phone. Within the Information Age, I find this to be an interesting challenge. It definitely has its pros and cons when going cell phone commando. I do miss the convenience of instant communication because if you haven't already noticed, my travel plans can change pretty fast and quite unexpectedly. When these changes occur, I must admit it can get tiring having to find the nearest Internet Cafe in a foreign country just to wait for your friend to appear on Facebook - - and only to say something to the effect of, 'Which entrance did you say you wanted to meet at an hour ago?'

But still...as I have confided to a few, I am still going to take on this modern challenge by continuing my travels without a phone. No monthly fees, no muss, no fuss, and a few missed appointments. This challenge encourages me to be on time - - more often.

4.

















Not only do I miss faking my height while also essentially updating an outfit from sporting a trusty pair of black pumps, I miss the variety of shoes. At this time, I've got my rain/hiking/snow black boots and my flip-flops. Not much variety there but when I tried stuffing a pair of black heels into my luggage before I departed, I just...couldn't...do it.

Because I knew I would eventually get sick of lugging these things around and take up way too much space. Do I need these? No. Can I live without them now? Yes. Do I miss being at least 5'2?

Absolutely.

However, I am pretty sure black pumps are not part of the basic human needs list.

5. Did you know some European hostels require a few Euros to hire a blowdryer? I dried my locks for the first time in a long time - - just this past week. And man, how I miss this powerful tool. It's tough to have semi-wet hair underneath a scarf - - it truly defeats the purpose of wearing a scarf! 
                                                                                   
At least my hair is getting better (hopefully better) treatment since abandoning this great invention.

    Thank you for listening to my vent-blog-entry! !!

4 comments:

  1. Haha, so true! Little luxuries I have missed as well, from traveling for a fraction of the time you have. Hang in there, girl! :) P.S. Love reading your blog! P.S.S. That giant bowl of Pho sounds PHENOMENAL right now!!!! Enjoy it for the both of us!

    --Evelyn

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  2. Evelyn!

    I'm glad you enjoyed reading my blog, I just read yours and it was fantastic!! Love the red lipstick and Chinese New Year entries! I will be sure to eat plenty of Pho for you and the girls!!!!

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  3. Love this post!

    Made me giggle... it's cute, but it's so true. I know exactly how you feel!! It seems vagabonding and living/cruising on a boat means living without a lot of the same things. Can you really curl your hair with bobby pins?? I must learn how to do this!

    ~C

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    Replies
    1. Haha yeah this was a silly but very honest one ;) I can curl my hair with just bobby pins...but let's just say they're not the best curls in the world and still needs lots of practice! I do love the foam rollers I got from Vietnam for a buck though! ;)

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