A Beginner's Guide to World Travel

Wat Pho Temple, Bangkok, Thailand

I took my very first solo travel trip ever, late in 2012 and even then, at 31, the very idea of solo travel was completely new to me.  And backpacking, that was something teenagers --born with silver spoons-- did with graduation money.  Until very recently, I had no idea that it was in fact absolutely possible to travel the world, venturing across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, to see and do as much as I could, all the while paying off huge chunks of debt I had accumulated as an undergraduate at Rutgers University.

The Tea at O'Sulloc Museum in South Korea

You are here~

I have long been a fan of the benefits that come with a cup of green tea.  Ever since my grandpa mentioned to my grandma about it being a dieters drink, I'd been drinking a small cup daily with breakfast for several years.  Dr. Oz, a featured doctor on the Oprah Winfrey show who later got his his own syndication has raved about these tea leaves named after my favorite color and the benefits that come from drinking it; benefits that include antioxidants and a means for maintaining and/or losing weight.

I'd seen enough pictures of this museum that my interest had been sparked right from the beginning.  Add to the fact that I've long been a fan of the health benefits of green tea... The stars had aligned, today I'd be heading to O'Sulloc (오설록), known to foreigners as The Green Tea Museum.

Here's the tea...

Eating Everything in Bangkok

Scorpions and silk worms on Khaosan Rd., Bangkok, Thailand

I landed in Bangkok just before 11pm, stood in que for a few minutes so that I could hire a taxi that would take me 45 minutes to my hostel.  Wide awake, I took in the highway.  It resembled much of the highways and byways in other major cities.  I checked in and took a shower and waited for sleep.  I stared at the louvers and the fancy bricks as I laid in bed.  It reminded of my grandmothers' house in Trinidad.  I pulled the thin covers closer to my chest but then my feet was exposed to the night air.  I tried to close the louvers, but they were broken... oh Bangkok!