“You seem like the type of person who would have gone around the world already!” a friend said a few years ago.

At the time, I winced. As much as I have traveled around the country domestically, I had not been outside the United States that often. And most of the time, it was on my parents’ dime—China, Hong Kong, The Netherlands, France, Australia, Canada, Mexico and a few islands in the Carribean. In February/March of this year, I added Thailand and Cambodia to the list.

To some, that might be a lot. But it was nothing compared to several people I have met—like my roommate who traveled to Peru, Japan, Vietnam, and soon some African country in the last few years….all because he could. Or other friends who had spent months in South America braving high elevations and speaking Spanish for weeks. I was just a feeble (Asian) American who didn’t understand backpacking and the challenges of figuring out a foreign country.

And so with my friend’s upcoming wedding in Hong Kong, I decided that I would swing by Vietnam. Almost an impulsive desire to see if I could brave it.

I would be in a land where I wouldn’t understand a single word—except maybe a few similar words in Cantonese. I would point and act American…but I would try my best to fit in. That’s what some say is adventure. I can’t wait to eat tropical fruits.