Random things I learned from a year of travel

This year, I learned....
1. I have quite a knack for building snowballs.

Tahoe

2. It's never too late to create new dreams.

New York City (taken from the Brooklyn Bridge)

 3. To stop and smell the roses.

Berkeley Rose Garden

4. There are no such things as rules when it comes to driving in Southeast Asia.

Saigon, Vietnam

5. It takes skill to cross a monkey bridge (stick bridges) or...

...you'll end up like this.

My Tho, Vietnam (Aunt above, cousin below)

6. The innocence of children can put a smile on your face or...

Sentosa Island, Singapore

...break your heart.                                                                   

Floating school, Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia

Love Market in Sapa

7. Tay Ninh is home to the cutest breed of dogs.

Grandparents' fields, Tay Ninh

8. Sapa is one of the most beautiful regions on Earth (and my personal favorite).

Dzao Village, Sapa

9. I have a stomach of steel!

Eating bugs on a bus ride to Phnom Penh, Cambodia

10. Mosquitoes are evil creatures.

11.If you're not stick skinny in Vietnam, you're considered fat (Whatever!).

Getting measured for my Ao Dai in Saigon

12. Never, EVER trust Vietnamese people with cutting curly hair. This is a universal lesson.

Stupid salon in Saigon-they gave me bangs, cut my hair too short, and STRAIGHTENED my hair! UGGH.

 13. Make friendly talk with shop vendors. They'll give you good deals!

Hat seller in Hue, Vietnam

14. Revisiting the past can give one closure.

15. Beauty lies in the simple moments.

Hoi An, Vietnam

Perfume River in Hue, Vietnam

Sapa, street seller playing with his baby boy--one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking moments I've ever witnessed

14. My name is famous in Vietnam!

15. Crappy travel tours are somewhat less crappy when accompanied by awesome friends. 

Tran and I on Sentosa Island, Singapore

16. The frailty of life

Grandpa, looking at a picture of his US family, Tay Ninh

17.Small town life, while picturesque, is not for me.

Lewisburg, West Virginia

18. Home is where the heart is.

Backyard-- San Jose, CA