We've arrived in a new city, with new smells, new sounds and a new language. With our senses being bombarded on every front it's hard to decide where to go and what to do. Looking at the map we see there is a market in the city center. "Let's start at the market."
Hello, my name is Curtis and I'll be writing this blog along with my girlfriend Tram. I grew up road tripping around the United States. Tram moved to the United States from Vietnam when she was five. We met in high school in Portland, OR and went on numerous camping and hiking trips throughout Oregon. In college I had my first taste of international travel when I studied abroad in Tokyo, Japan. After college, Tram and I moved to the San Francisco bay area then took a three week vacation to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Finally last year we travelled for three weeks in France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Now we are planning an 11 week excursion through Korea, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam in the fall of 2015.
We've traveled alone and we've traveled together. We share a passion of eating new food and taking in new cultures. Every time we go to a new city, whether it's a small farming town in America or a megalopolis in Asia we try to find the best market. The market that locals shop at, with fresh produce, peculiar seafood, cured meats and delectable new dishes to try. The market is where one can get a quick pulse of the city: How does the language sound? What do people eat? What do people wear? How laid back are they? It's easy to constantly point your camera in a different direction and click the shutter, but it's best to take a minute and just absorb all that is going on around you. The chaos seems to come together, slowly, like different instruments in an orchestra to form a symphony of senses. If you listen, it will reveal the city to you and from the start, in the market, it will lead you to unimaginable places.
This blog will cover many places and many topics. I may dig up old photos and stories from trips past to sprinkle among current adventures. We may cover a hot spring in Japan one day and a new brewery in Portland the next. The focus is to show people interesting places around the world through words, photos, drawings and videos. The goal is to do this all in a way that is pleasant to consume, inviting conversation and inspiring your own travels. Please join us on this journey starting in the market and ending who knows where!
-Curtis
