Luke Who is Here

Mexico City, Mexico

My days alone were reflective, but the days I met new people were unexpected in the best way. The human connection is a powerful thing, and we are not meant to experience life alone. I still don’t have a job, but I came back to Seattle with welcoming arms and the support I need to get through this shit storm of a month. If anything, this trip reminded me that things are constantly going to be in flux and we should all be embracing that change because you never know who you will meet or where it will take you. Solo trips are truly good for the soul.

I swear I wasn't getting emosh making this. Hoping these scenes will inspire you to travel more or do something out of your comfort zone. Countries not pictured were embraced in the moment.

So here I am, now with friends across the globe, memories as souvenirs. Home will continue to evolve, but I couldn’t think of any other place I’d rather be than Seattle. My community is here. Thanks for making it so easy to come back. Hey everyone, Luke who is home!

I took one look at my friend and said, “Alright, it’s time to go.”

Welp, I'm in Borneo. I had never even heard about the Malaysian/Indonesian island before I started traveling, and I probably wouldn't have gone unless a backpacker I met in Penang asked me. Just goes to show how much of the world is left to discover. That being said, we both had no idea what we were getting into. We knew nothing, and that made Borneo even more intriguing. From the beginning we decided to travel on the fly (impulsively buying $50 tickets to Kuching). A week later we realized just how hard it was to get around. There was literally no other way to get to out next destination without flying. We booked a flight for the next day, but when we showed up to the airport it had been cancelled. Mentally we were checked out already but had to stay the night in Kuching before flying to Mulu. We were pretty bummed, but then Malaysian Air miraculously gave us a free hotel stay, free transport, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We thought it was too good to be true because throughout Asia we were used to thinking and taking care for ourselves, that no one was going to help out. BUT BOY WERE WE WRONG. They hooked us up with some free airport KFC fried chicken. God bless them. And free movies in a private hotel room. PRAISE. 🙏🏼 You can probably imagine we didn't do shit that day with all the creature comforts we were given. The next day we were ready. We got on the tiny propeller aircraft into an even tinier airport. We actually got up in the air. We fuckin' got the hell out of Kuching, and we landed in the cutest and greenest airport I've ever seen. We exited the aircraft, amazed of our surroundings, picturesque mountains on either side. We basically rolled up to what looked like a bus station in the middle of a rainforest. The "baggage claim" was 100ft away (one man pushing a cart of luggage from the plane), and there wasn't any security checkpoint to bypass. We were OUT HERE, and technically we hadn't even gone inside the national park yet. Once we got to our homestay we immediately booked a tour for the next day to see the bat caves. An hour before the tour, it started to POUR. Lightning, thunder — the whole shabang. Not knowing what to expect, the 40 minute hike over was pretty depressingly wet. We just prayed that it would all be worth it. Approaching the cave, I noticed the rain had stopped, and we weren't even in the cave yet. The cliff was so high it was still covering our heads even though there was so much light. The fog eerily crept its way inside. Walking in, it felt like something out of Lord of the Rings. I was pretty certain Golemn was hiding behind the massive mounds of guano. And he would look bat shit crazy too — ha. I really wonder how that phrase came about because there was SO MUCH of it in this cave. It was the largest cave I've seen on this trip...and I've seen a lot of caves. I thought I'd be sick of them by now, but I was blown away. We got to the end of the cave, and I swear it was Narnia. Lime green forestry and glistening waterfalls. No picture could accurately capture what we saw. I couldn't stop staring at its beauty. The landscape was appropriately named "Garden of Eden." No joke. It didn't look real. You only see these things on Planet Earth or desktop backgrounds, which, by the way, we didn't have our phones. We didn't have internet — just the park to guide our way. But reality settled in, and we had no way to plan our next move. We couldn't even go to the airport until the next morning to check if there were flights out. Well, eventually we did, and they were fully booked. I don't think I had ever tried to book a flight the day of, not to mention from the airport we had just walked to from our homestay. We spent the rest of our time trying to access wifi in order to get cheap flights for the following day. We tried the Marriot after trekking out 30 minutes and buying a smoothie there, but the wifi was shit. We tried their computer. Same problem. We were desperate. We even asked if we could use the reception computer. They wouldn't let us at first, but we basically begged them after telling them how terrible their wifi signal was. "Just five minutes!" "But my boss...I can't let you..." This went on and on until she finally let up. We couldn't believe it — we got tickets, and we weren't going to be stuck in the rainforest anymore. This is why Borneo is not the place to plan on the fly. All and all everything worked out. The good comes with the bad. Yeah, our timeline got cut a little, but out of all the places to be stranded...a rainforest is not a bad place to be for an extra night. Borneo has been a delightful surprise, and SURPRISE — we haven't booked anything after our flight. The adventure continues, and that's the true beauty in it all.

So I've become pretttttyyyy good at island hopping lately. Laying on a beach in direct sunlight for hours on end is harder than it looks. Even though I was only taking a one-hour ferry ride to Langkawi from Koh Lipe, the moment I landed I could already notice a difference between the two COUNTRIES. Buildings were more developed, women were wearing shawls — the time difference was even an hour ahead. But more importantly, the island was full of duty free stores. At first glance alcohol seemed like the most logical decision. There was just one minor problem...I had no friends yet. So what did I do? I bought a half pound of Cadbury chocolate for my single self on Valentine's Day. The best $2 I've spent in a long time. The chocolate in Asia just doesn't compare. Luckily enough, I found friends to drink with on the beach the next couple days. DUTY FREE STORE: PART 2. I just couldn't get enough — felt so ALIVE. Before walking into the alcohol section, we noticed a sign saying "Muslims are not allowed to buy alcohol." I mean, sure, Muslims aren't supposed to buy alcohol, but how could people enforce that law? How do they know for sure if someone is Muslim? Just moments later, two Muslim men approached us and asked if we could buy them alcohol. I felt like I was newly 21, trying to buy alcohol for my friends in college. My friend and I were caught by surprise. What would happen to us if we were caught buying alcohol for them? What would happen to them??We didn't want to find out, so we just said that we weren't sure if we could even buy alcohol without our passports. Turns out that you are only allowed about 60 cans a month per passport. ONLY SIXTY?! Just kidding...we were only there for a few days anyway. Haha. My friend just showed a picture of his passport to buy us alcohol once we were ready to purchase a couple cans. Later that night, I asked the employee at my hostel how people would be able to know if someone is Muslim or not. Apparently the cashier can judge you by looks and the name on your passport. The hostel employee said that he is Muslim and doesn't drink now, but when he did, he had an insider connection. His friend worked at the counter so he could always excuse him for being Muslim. How crazy is that? Even if he wanted to buy booze, it looked like he wasn't getting the can any time soon.

Hpa An, Myanmar

Lately I haven't been blogging because I had been exhausted throughout Myanmar. The night buses killed me as we maneuvered through windy roads in cramped seats. There is so much to see in three weeks that it was hard to process this strange insomniac dream — especially when I was having a hard time (and still having a hard time) processing what's happening in my own country. Now that I'm in Thailand, I can take a step back, relax, and reflect. I'm currently taking a ferry to Koh Phi Phi, sitting next to my friend and old coworker from Seattle. I'm reminded of loved ones back in the states and societal comforts of home. Yesterday we treated ourselves to massages and stuffed our faces until we had 1st, 2nd, and 3rd dinner. It's always comforting o know you're on the same page about food. Before I left for Myanmar, I wrote about how Bangkok has been my home base and the only constant in my travels. I think I could say that for all of Thailand now. It's where I met my first friends traveling through Vietnam. It's where I met my friends from Seattle as we toured the gay scene of Bangkok. It's where I met my parents before celebrating Christmas and New Years. It's where I said hello to old friends and goodbye to the new ones. But before I get too emosh I need to talk about my favorite moment in Myanmar. So pretty much every day is the hottest day in Myanmar. We knew we had to hike 2 hours up to the top of a mountain in Hpa An, but we weren't prepared to stop every 10 minutes. The heat got to us, almost drowning in our own sweat. This was do or die and we were going to DO. We saw locals dressed in pants and long sleeves, but apparently they don't sweat. 🙄 Many uneven steps and gravel paths later, we entered the peaceful monastery that rested right on the very top. A monk checked us in, and gave his blessing as he wrapped an orange bracelet around our wrists. With about an hour left before sunset, we relaxed, read, and took in the breathtaking views of golden hour. I had never seen anything like it. We heard there was tea and snacks, but after sitting down we were presented with plate after plate of food. We didn't know what was happening — the general consensus of the country. We just looked at each other and said, "Welp, I guess we're eating now." I usually didn't know what I was eating during my stay, but that was just part of the adventure. ;) Before going to sleep, we heard conflicting sounds all around us, not sure if we were ever going to get some sleep. The Buddhists were praying by the pagoda, Pitbull remixes boomed from a building down the hill, and someone kept banging the gong for good luck. NOT FOR ME THO. Jk I eventually got to sleep. We just laughed it off. We awoke at 6am, still dark because Myanmar likes to be different and sets their clocks 30 minutes ahead of everyone else. Good for me because that means sunrise is later than usual. I walked down a few flights of stairs to get a good view. A dog was sitting next to me, watching the sun rise above the mountains, glowing off the fog sneaking between the trees. I wondered if that view was just a small part of his daily routine — not a bad life for a dog. I couldn't believe how small these cliffs looked compared to where we were. More so, I couldn't believe how high we had climbed up those steps. At that moment, there was no where I'd rather be. It was that moment that I would remember for the rest of my life.

Yangon, Mandalay, Hsipaw, Bagan - Myanmar

After a blissful end to my haircut, Honey said, “You are beautiful. I love you.” And then asked for a picture with me. Honey hugged my side, like we were a couple. It was the cutest thing I’ve witnessed in Myanmar. Happy that Honey was the first person to ever buzz my hair. Cheers to a new Baganing!

I'm starting to lose track of reality, FaceTiming friends back home. Hearing about their day-to-day sounds so foreign, to actually have a purpose in this world? Ha. What are jobs? The only constant in this journey has been the extensive amount of times I've visited Bangkok. I'm practically a local now with the amount of $1.50 pad Thai I've eaten, movies I've watched, and laps I've swam. Bangkok has become a moment of pause in such a chaotic city. It's become my home of familiarity and reflection. My past visits were met with such ease, always meeting friends or family in a much developed city than I had ever realized. This time I would arrive here completely on my own. Many people don't like Bangkok, but because I've had such positive experiences in the past couple months, it's become my reset button. My head went right back to my purpose here. Traveling has been a blessing, so fortunate to see these beautiful landscapes and cultures, but I've reached the mid-point of my trip where I need something a little extra. The excitement of a new destination just isn't enough now to keep me going — I need a purpose. This is going to sound silly, but I got inspired while crying at the ending scene of La La Land last night. I don't even usually like musicals! Guess I'm just a sucker for falling in love with Ryan Gosling. I've cried dozens of times in movies, and I'm always astounded that someone can make me feel so much for something that wasn't real. I want to do that. I want to make you cry. And then laugh. And then cry again because you'll never get with Ryan Gosling. I want to write a screenplay. Now, I still haven't started, but I've planted the seed. Hold me accountable, and I'll put that pen to paper...or thumb to phone screen. The whole idea sounds daunting because I've never written something so long in my life. If it sucks, so what. If it rocks, I'll cry. And then laugh because there's no way I just did that. And then cry some more because Ryan Gosling agreed to play my main man. Hey, a kid can dream...

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Railay Beach, Thailand

Literally. We thought the lanterns weren't going to be lit until midnight in Chiang Mai, but as we got closer to the night market we could see tiny specs up in the air. They are sold all around the city so at any point in time tourists can let a big ball of fire into the sky. We chose to stand by and watch the magic happen. Most of the magic happened seamlessly and effortlessly, but 10% of the time lanterns were floating into people's heads or right into the trees. You don't always see what's behind the scenes of a picture perfect photo. Good thing they had fire engines just in case anything or anyone caught on fire. We decided to watch the lanterns a little further away by the river so we wouldn't be distracted by all the chaos. It really was beautiful. Seeing my parents watch the spectacle just added to the special night. It's not every day that your parents get to visit you in Thailand on a 6 month journey through SE Asia. But the night didn't stop there. I took them to our first gay bar together. Our first gay bar that just happened to be IN THAILAND. When they heard I had been to a ladyboy show the night prior they were very intrigued to go for New Years. We only went for an hour but won a bottle of rum in a free raffle! We had a big day of elephant trekking the next day so we ended up getting back to our room before midnight. Even though we were far from the city we could still see some lanterns, but we could DEFINITELY hear the fireworks. It sounded like bombs going off — it was so loud. One firework had set off right next to our guesthouse, sparks falling down right before our eyes. So yes, New Years was lit.

Hong Kong

Before I left on my trip, my friends kept joking: "Are you going to have your Eat Pray Love moment?" Well, if you nix the "pray" and "love" portion, my belly has never felt so full of life. Thanks to my friend who grew up in Hong Kong, I've been able to dive mouth first into a delectable assortment of dim sum, noodles, baked goods, and everything in between. I'm pretty sure I ate the entire city. There were moments of doubt when I couldn't finish a meal, but with strength and determination I conquered every challenge put before me. I've learned that condensed milk is my kryptonite — I will always give in. Waffle and condensed milk, french toast and condensed milk, coffee and condensed milk...I won't be able to live without it when I come back to the states. Condensed milk is my EVERYTHING. It was love at first sight when I devoured takeaway BBQ pork puns by the pier...not to mention beef lathered in sticky rice and pan-fried carrot cake for a grand total of $7. I let the biggest and brightest lights lead my way the rest of the night as I got lost in the beautifully chaotic city. I probably visited about 10 bars without even ordering a drink, taken away with the vivacious energy along the crooked one-way streets. Naturally I ordered dim sum for 5 the next morning with a friend I had traveled with in Cambodia. And this is before I even met up with my friend who actually grew up in Hong Kong... Erica and her father picked me up at the subway station right in the heart of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Their house sat atop lush green hills overlooking the campus and breathtaking views of the ocean just a few blocks away. Soon enough her Mom was ordering food to feed a whole soccer team. And yes, bread and condensed milk was just one of the many dishes we tried to finish. She kept telling Erica to fill our tea cups and offered helping portions of food on my plate until I was officially stuffed. We ate more food that night if you can believe it. Well, I have been called a baby dino in the past so I guess it's not that surprising. GOTTA SAVE ROOM FOR DESSERT. Erica told me I HAD to get soft serve from the ice cream truck because the government stopped issuing new licenses for food trucks. One day they may all disappear, and it would be a disgrace if I didn't have a chance to try it. We ate a random assortment of other desserts that I can't remember for the life of me — pretty sure I just blacked out in sugary goodness. I spent the rest of my days visiting islands, seeking out viewpoints, maneuvering through busy markets and malls during rush hour, and most importantly eating as many new things as I could find. I was deeply saddened to leave the good food, but I WILL BE BACK EVEN IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO. All kidding aside it was so nice to see familiar faces and stay in an actual home before Christmas. I couldn't think of a better way to spend the midway point of my SE Asia journey.