THE UNAPOLOGETIC TRAVELER
Warning: This is rated R*
*If you’re under 18, please don’t read this. Thank you.
How Not to Get Robbed in Colombia
In January, I left China to spend three weeks in Colombia for my winter holidays. “Be careful, I’ve heard some crazy stories about that place,” my friend said. What does he know, he has never traveled outside the Canadian Prairies, I thought.
“Her Prince Charming is a Princess,” My Grandmother Said
I grew up in a house without a telephone, a VCR, or a computer. TV was a luxury in those days, so I watched all of my favorite shows and movies at my grandmother’s place, which was my wonderland, my art studio, and a rabbit hole to new experiences.
My Grandmother Took Me to the Red Light District
The music stopped playing in the haveli, but the sound of ghungroos (dancing bells) echoed our ears, and two girls came running out to the balcony. One of the girls prepped a paan (betel leaf with areca nut), and the other one looked at me and Nani. “Hey big boy, I’m so thirsty, let me taste that cream,” she whistled.
Let’s Talk ‘bout Sex Baby Doll
It’s been 275 days since I last had sex. In January 2020, I went to Colombia to spend my winter holidays, where I met an Italian-Colombian girl from Medellin (Pablo Escobar’s town). Then the pandemic happened, and everything changed.
He Bought Her for 60K USD
Get the fuck out of here, I raged with anger. I don’t know who I was mad at? At her, for saying yes? Or at her family, for creating the mess? Or at the guy for paying the cash? May be all of them.
Why You No Marry?
What should have I told him? The Truth? He wasn’t ready for my truth. He wouldn’t have understood why I was happy being single, it was an idea beyond his imagination.
No, Really, Where Are You From?
My dilemma was that I felt invisible, as if I was not worth to be remembered. What I really wanted was to be accepted by everyone, especially the girls in my class.
No Condom, I Love You
She told me she hated sunsets, because they made her sad, they reminded her that she was selfish; and instead of spending this valuable time with her family, she was sitting on a hill on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, telling her secrets to a stranger.
We Only Hire White People
My friend picked me up at the airport, and we went straight to her friend’s place for dinner, where we ate kimbab with kimchi, and drank too much soju. I thought I had made the right decision, until I went to school the next day.