New Places with My Favorite Girls
I should have known, when LaToya shared her longing to return to indigenous settlement research, that within a year she would be on the other side of the world with a Fulbright Fellowship, Leila in tow, and us celebrating my 1st Chinese New Year in Asia .
The reality of my vacation was so much more than I could’ve imagined, Taipei, Taiwan – their adopted home; Hanoi, Vietnam – cultural excursions; and Palawan, Philippines – sun, sand, and cocktails.
I was in awe of their adjustment to Taipei in less than 6 months, Leila is celebrated among her Taiwanese classmates, LaToya’s comprehension and careful pronunciation of Mandarin, and their mastery of trash collection(see earlier blog post). Best of all was experiencing their favorite places, restaurants with yummy dumplings and noodles, sights that offer majestic views of the city, their “central park”, and night market with the stinky tofu.
On to our Girls Trip…. Hanoi, Vietnam. Our boutique hotel was in the heart of the city with a balcony overlooking the crowded streets. We explored those streets by bus, on foot, and even cycle rickshaw to visit museums, temples (including Confucius), Hoa Lo Prison – “Hanoi Hilton” during Vietnam War, and oh can’t forget the water puppet show. We enjoyed scenic excursions down rivers, up mountains, and through caves. And our inner foodies loved every meal, snack, and morsel. Our visit ended with a magical send off, we arrived at the airport at the stroke of midnight for Chinese New Year. No, we didn’t lose a glass slipper, but there were plenty of fireworks.
Next stop, Palawan, Philippines to a private resort island. Although the villas were sold out for Chinese New Year, we had infinity pools and beaches to ourselves every day until sunset. We literally wore our swimsuits to breakfast because our entire days were spent in sun, sand, and water, with occasional breaks for refreshing cocktails from our favorite bartender. Leila’s fav was the Palawan Sunset.
As I scroll through the many pictures that will never be posted on social media, I must say, this is my fav pic of the trip.
Of course there’s a story behind it. I was lounging pool side while watching Leila enjoy having the pool all to herself. She gets out of the pool with a serious look on her face. I figured she was focused on getting a towel to dry herself. Instead, she climbed on me, while dripping wet, and we both burst out laughing. Throughout this trip, the three of us explored, learned, relaxed, and most of all laughed.
A recent study concluded that going to new places with your favorite girls extends your life expectancy. Please drop me a line if you know a doctor that writes Girls Trip prescriptions.
