An observation, perhaps naive, but really wholly innocent, on women travellers:
The girls I have met while backpacking in SE Asia fall into a few categories.
There are the european girls, lithe and golden and tan, floating through the islands of Thailand and the rivers of Laos like angels. They are scantily clad, unimaginably beautiful, but in their eyes I think they are empty, naive. They are on holiday from Sweden, on easter break from London.
we stand anchored to our vanity, eyes wide all jealous and shit.
and then there are the earthen women who trod in the mud of Asia and bloom like lotuses. They are fleshy and beautiful, their eyes shining with earnestness, overflowing with a simple kindness and love for the people here. they are brimming with stories, absolutely jubilant and joyful.
i wonder, should i be like that when i return to america? should i be so bright-eyed and optimistic?
brain is too scattered to contemplate all this. is destroyed. no words anymore. sigh sigh sigh.