Beijing wasn’t at all what I expected. Aside from the rip-off cabby, the masses of tourists, and, most notably, the public restrooms with many squat potties, but no doors of any kind, Beijing was kind of surprising. Nicely surprising, even.
The first thing I want [...]
[Warning: This post is going to contain every picture of a toilet I've ever Instagrammed in Thailand and lots of text on the subject, too.]
On a recent train between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, a drunken Dutchman screamed, “Use the one on the right!” at me as I sashayed between the dining [...]
I know I need to write about Vietnam, but processing the unexpected onslaught of emotions I experienced there into digestible posts will probably take some time. In the meantime, I’m going to babble on about whatever is in my head. Today, that’s Cinco de Mayo.
On May 5th, 1862 the Mexican army [...]
I’m already sensing that this post is going to be all over the place, so let’s just start with an email I got from my Mom:
I’ve written before about how much I love eating out in Thailand. And it’s not just for the food that’s hard for me to reproduce at home. I love the pace. I love sitting around for hours. I love waiters ignoring me until I flag them over. I love how the more inexpensive a restaurant [...]
Act 1: Valentine’s Day Still Sucks
Ah, Valentine’s Day, the red and pink orgy of crappy candies, ugly flowers, teddy bears, and awkward boxers in no way relevant its namesake martyrs with no connection to romantic love. How a poem by Chaucer spiraled into a veritable clusterfuck of cheesy, cupid-covered [...]
If you promise to be very open-minded and not to judge my travel-style or bravery, I will tell you a secret: I’ve not been very good at socializing or conversing with Thais. Let’s partly blame the language barrier for this. While I can say “Hey! What’s up?” to the folks in the elevator or at [...]
Three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and that if you walk into the Sharp Household on January 1st of any given year, you will consume some small quantity of black-eyed peas whether through force feeding, guilt-tripping, or sneaking them into something else you’re planning on eating while you’re not looking. [...]
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like SHITmas
Remember my last post wherein I whined both about too much Christmas and also not enough Christmas? Well, if I believed in some sadistic cosmic force that punishes the worst kind of over-priviledged internet navel-gazing, I would certainly think that our Christmas day was cursed.
It started lovely enough. I [...]
Spending the holidays in the sub-tropical climate of an exceedingly buddhist city has its advantages. Notably, I’m not on the verge of a maniacal rampage. I’m not hit with an urge to destroy all things red, green, pine-scented and sounding of Bing Crosby because they’ve been around since mid-November, agitating all of my senses. [...]
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Hi! I'm Susan, and this is my travel journal. You can read more about me here.
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