Helpful Advice When Someone You Know Is Robbed

Posted on May 1, 2014 by lisafindley

Things Not to Say to Someone Who Has Just Been the Victim of a Nonviolent Robbery (all true things I heard within hours of having my purse snatched in Peru)

“You really have to be careful with your things.”

“So you were just sitting there writing? He didn’t hold a knife to you or anything? How did you not notice?”

“You know the police aren’t going to do anything, right?”

“They’re only material items.”

“Oh, you’ll be upset for a couple days, but after that you’ll feel so free and unburdened by the things of this world.”
Note that it is particularly vile to pontificate thusly while holding an iPhone 5.

The One Truly Helpful Thing to Say to Someone Who Has Just Been the Victim of a Nonviolent Robbery

“That’s terrible. I’m so sorry! Can I buy you a drink?”

I Am a Potato

Posted on April 21, 2014 by lisafindley

The potato is me

I ate this dish at San Pedro Market in Cusco, Peru. Lisas are one of the many types of potatoes here. The woman who sold me the meal was tickled pink when I told her my name.

Japan by the Numbers

Posted on January 13, 2014 by lisafindley

High-speed trains whisked away on: 6

Temples visited: 20+

Wedding processions stumbled upon: 2

Bill Murray homages performed: 1

US Navy bases visited: 1

Perfectly planned gardens appreciated: 15

Perfectly planned gardens found wanting: 1

Traditional performances attended: 3

Schoolkids who made me part of their project: 17

New foods consumed: 23

New foods enjoyed: 21

Beatles cover bands watched: 1

Intimidatingly fashionable teens seen on the street: hundreds

Total days spent in Japan: 20

Total money spent: $1,254.60

Average per day: $62.73

Total money spent, minus the rail pass: $629

Average per day, minus the rail pass: $31.45

Gratitude I have for my many hosts: boundless

Children’s Day banners in Kawagoe

It’s the Little Things, I Guess

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I know “Yes, we can” isn’t just Obama’s 2008 election motto, but it is what I most closely associate the phrase with. So it was jarring to see this loaf of bread in a London supermarket:

That is an ambitious loaf of bread.

I’ll Just Stay Outside, Thanks

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Seen outside a food market in Cairns, Australia:

PERSON TRAPPED

There is a dedicated alarm for PERSON TRAPPED. I guess it’s good they’re looking out for that sort of thing, but I don’t think I want to go in there.

Different Kinds of Fundraising

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Maybe this is how I’ll fund my next trip

No Need for Panniers

Posted on August 26, 2013 by lisafindley

I know a lot of people who love to bike everywhere. I’m freaked out by the many distracted drivers out there–both in the city and in the suburbs–so I don’t really like to bike unless I’m on a path made for that purpose. But I admire the cyclists I know, especially the ones who use their bikes as their cars, carrying things in panniers hanging off the sides, or in adorable baskets on the front. But I gotta say, after seeing the massive loads teetering on the backs of bikes in Vietnam, maybe US cyclists need to step up their game!

Hue

Hoi An

Ho Chi Minh City

Hanoi

Ho Chi Minh City

Hue

Beverage Service Not Included

Posted on July 8, 2013 by lisafindley

Storage space was limited on the train, apparently

The train from Poland to Hungary was perfectly pleasant, once I moved out of the car with the busted A/C. I ate a lunch I’d packed wrote in my journal. Judging by these empties found in the bathroom sink onboard, other passengers were passing the time differently.

Then I got to Budapest and saw an elderly woman holding up a “rooms for rent” sign negotiating price with a mohawked man, and a woman in a spangly shirt sweeping out the train, presumably before going clubbing. I liked it right away.

An Uneventful Yet Alarming Flight

Posted on July 2, 2013 by lisafindley

My flight from Luang Prabang to Siem Reap was uneventful, but I was a little nervous at first. It had been awhile since I flew on a propeller plane:

And the safety card seemed to indicate that in case of an emergency, you should leap out of the plane into mid-air, and try to avoid being chopped to bits by the propeller:

Finally, instead of the normal two layers of window, there was just one piece of plastic between me and some serious loss of air pressure:

In the end, though, it was just as the snack box promised, and I made it safely to Cambodia:

The Toilet Spectrum

Posted on June 4, 2013 by lisafindley

I knew there would be squat toilets in Asia, and I thought I had mentally prepared myself for them, but this one on the road from Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong in Thailand gave me a moment’s pause:

Use the bucket of water to splash water in the toilet as a kind of flushing

There are squat toilets in Japan, too, but also the elaborate seat toilets with at least four features–noise to cover up the fact that you’re voiding your bowels, bidet, light butt wash, and heavy-duty butt wash (haha):