During my volunteer work in Phayao, Thailand, my roommate kindly shared her travel experiences across this beautiful country. (Shoutout to Leo, if you’re watching this! :)) Inspired by her stories, I decided to postpone my flight back to Taiwan and extend my stay.
It turned out to be the best decision I’ve ever made. I met the most wonderful, genuine, and intelligent people from different countries, and hearing their travel stories gave me the courage to explore more on my own.
Solo traveling is not widely encouraged in Asian culture, especially for women. After university, the usual path often leads to pursuing a master’s degree, working, getting married, and having kids.
Before coming to Thailand, I didn’t know what I truly wanted—all I knew was that this traditional path wasn’t the life I desired. I’m incredibly grateful for the privilege to travel in Thailand, even though my parents weren’t supportive at first.
Through solo traveling, I’ve gained so much confidence and developed a deeper understanding of myself. There were moments when I felt incredibly lonely, crying in hostels, questioning my decision, and wondering why I chose this path.
But then, out of nowhere, I’d find myself surrounded by amazing and beautiful people. That’s when I truly understood the meaning of being “at the right time, in the right place, with the right people.”
These video clips might seem a bit fragmented because I was either too relaxed or too overwhelmed to capture everything cohesively. I’m still trying to figure out how to stay present while also wanting to take photos and videos—things that help preserve moments I might forget someday. They serve as a way to hold onto those memories forever.
Another question I’ve been reflecting on is, “What is authentic?”
The places I visited were mostly touristy. (which isn’t necessarily good or bad—I’m a tourist too, after all.) What struck me was how tourism has shaped the lifestyles of the locals. I don’t know for certain how their way of life used to be, but compared to places like Tokyo, Japan, I noticed a difference.
In Thailand, it feels like locals often adapt by learning English or Mandarin, whereas in Japan, foreigners are more inclined to learn Japanese. Of course, this is just my personal observation, and there’s still so much I don’t know or have yet to question.
What do you think? If you have any ideas or perspectives, I’d love to hear them! :)
在泰國北部的Phayao當志工的時候，我的室友很熱心地分享她在這個美麗國家的旅行經歷。聽了她的故事後，我決定改回台灣的機票，把停留時間延長。結果，這是我做過最棒的決定。
我遇到了來自很多不同國家真誠又聰明的人，聽了他們的故事後，反而給了我更多勇氣去探索自己想去的地方。
在亞洲文化，尤其是對女性來說，獨自旅行並不是很常見的事。大學畢業後，大家大多會選擇讀碩士、工作、結婚、生小孩。
來泰國之前，我其實還不太清楚自己真正想要的是什麼，我只知道那條傳統的路並不是我想要的生活方式。即使一開始我的父母並不支持我出國，但我真的很感謝自己有這個機會來到泰國。
這趟旅行後，收穫了很多信心，也更了解自己。有時候，我感到非常孤單，甚至在青年旅館裡哭泣，懷疑自己的決定，為什麼選擇了這條路。
但在某些瞬間，我竟然會發現自己被一群很喜歡的人們圍繞著。那時，我才真正明白，什麼是「在對的時間、對的地方，與對的人在一起」。
這些影片可能有點零碎，因為有時候我太放鬆，或者太忙碌，沒能把一切都拍得很連貫。我還在學習如何保持當下的存在感，同時也想拍些照片和影片，畢竟它們可以幫助我記住那些我可能會忘記的瞬間，讓回憶得以永存。
另外，我也在思考一個問題：「什麼才算是真正的『地道』？」
我去的地方大多是觀光景點（這不一定是好是壞，畢竟我也是個觀光客）。但我注意到的是，旅遊業如何影響了當地人的生活方式。我不確定他們的生活方式在旅遊之前是怎樣的，但相比像東京這樣的地方，我感覺有些不同。
在泰國，當地人似乎更願意學習英語或華語，而在日本，外國人更多會去學日語。當然，這只是我個人的觀察，還有很多我不懂或者還沒問清楚的地方。 😊
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