Earlier this year, when I was travelling to Da Lat, Vietnam, I got a travel mate. A guy from the US who was posted an open message in Couchsurfing, said he’ll be heading to Da Lat and will be staying there for exactly the same period with what I was planned, with a blank agenda and up to anything that might interesting, pretty much matched my mood at that time. He was tired of doing touristy thingy (too).

So we decided to meet and form something that we can call a plan. I arrived couple hours earlier than him. He wasn’t there until midday, and I was (this is serious) not in the mood of exploring the town (as a tourist), and the (supposed to be sleepy and laid back) town itself was crowded and packed with people because it was Lunar New Year, and it seemed like everyone in Vietnam was in Da Lat. So I waited him in a quite lovely coffee shop called Urban Coffee, and got some works done. Yea, you read it right. Works.

Every now and then, especially when am in a slow travelling mode, there are days when I’m not in the mood of doing something touristy, I call it the not-being-a-good-tourist mood. There are days that I spend only by lazily read some books on my bed, or walk by a quiet park, or just sit in a coffee shop, having something great to eat, and pump some caffeine through my vein while getting my shits done.

Back to the story, so I ended up travelling with that guy for a week or so. It wasn’t much things that we’ve done. It was involving a lot of walking, a fair amount of coffee, super yummy breads and cakes, sitting by a lake, and just to be a nice tourist, joined a country side tour we later regretted.

At one of our conversations, I randomly threw a topic that he agreed. It was just came to my mind. “That the more we travel, the more we experience, the harder it is to find something that really makes us struck with awe.”

It is pretty much when temples start to look like just another temple. Waterfall seems like just another waterfall. So does the mountain, the lake, the museum, the monument, the beautiful scenery, the night market, and even THE SOUVENIRS!

It is a little bit feel like, I could (always) find a guy, a man who is interesting to know, to talk to, to flirt a bit, to crush on (probably), but to fall in love is a complete different story. It takes more than just the cover, I need to unveil, discover anything lies beneath, to go further, deeper than what it offers on its surface.

And a lot of times, I have no energy to do that. I have no intention to give it a try. Not ready to be disappointed. Then I leave it as it is.

So now, if ones asked me, what is my opinion to certain places, cities, objects I’ve visited, a lot of times I will reply, “It was just okay.”