My first trip to Southeast Asia was in 2003. I was 23, fresh out of college and making bad decisions. I ran around with my enormous backpack and a group of culture-eschewing friends. Full moon parties were a priority.
Something clicked for me in this region, though. I was drawn back. I moved past the cheap Chang tank tops and the all-nighters on Khao San Road. I grew to consider Bangkok as a second home of sorts.
Now, two decades later … I remain completely smitten.
I love most the earliest mornings, when the flower markets find their busiest hour and Buddhists snag handfuls of prayer garlands for taxi-cab rearviews and sidewalk alters. At the feet of Buddha statues, you’ll find loose change, a smoldering stick of incense, a bowl of rice and small notes.
In the middle of it all is usually a bright red bottle of Fanta.
I grew up in Alabama. The Southern Baptists believe that Jesus drank austere, red wine. From a wooden grail.
Buddha wants something fizzy and full of sugar. He’s laughing or teaching. He’s got a belly and a bendy straw.
I love the whimsy in spirituality. To me, the sacred necessitates smiling. This is the region that first inspired me to be a travel writer … those bottles of Fanta, specifically. I came home from that first trip telling friends about the strange, quirky things I had discovered. I come home from each trip, still, with a heartfelt excitement about the little stuff.
The world is a crazy, bizarre, catastrophe of a place. I want to explore as much of it as I can before I sign off, and this travel blog is where all those attempts get cataloged.
I don’t believe in taking it all too seriously. I don’t believe you have to lose your sense of wonder or stop believing in magic, just because you’re now 52 instead of 15. I’m well into adulthood … and I still go outside to play.
Even Buddha drinks Fanta.
Hi. I’m Jenny. I’m a full-time writer, author and photographer. Welcome to this blog. If you have any travel-related questions or just want to say hello, feel free to email me at jennyadamsfreelance@gmail.com. You can also visit my other (slightly more professional) attempts at journalism on www.jennyadamsfreelance.com
