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!

► 8:57► 8:57

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!

!!