Les Go…

A little mix of Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Cuernavaca.

Remember how I said that I’d lived in Ciudad Guzman, Mexico for a hot second? Mexico was short lived. Way too short lived. The streets of Mexico ooze flavor, colors, culture and spices. I am gonna recall my journeys to the best of my memory but, remember, Google’s always got the answers.

Cuidad Guzman and Guadalajara

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Si, hablo espanol pero, soy Gringa entonces… lol.

This was my house, my city, and my favorite dish. Chiles Rellenos is the one safe bet for me as a veggie and, it’s delicious!! The women who own this lil “soda” (in Costa Rican spanish) were so pleasant!

Back in the day I wasn’t keeping a blog and I had no social media therefore, I didn’t take pics. But, Guadalajara was dope. It is an extremely LGBT friendly place (from my experience) and the food is great.

Mexico City, Teotihuacan, and Cuernavaca

As I’m sure you’ve surmised I am a nomadic expat. Mexico City and more so Cuernavaca stole my heart. I plan to return there and live for an extended period of time.

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Mexico is a megacity. It’s impossible to hit all the sites but one doesn’t have to, everything/where is dope! Yes, I ate grasshoppers and it was delicious. Of course I paid tribute to the queen Frida. And if you want a lil taste of all of Latin America, try Comedor de los Milagros.

Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan is an awe inspiring ancient city. The pre-Colombian city is massive and the art work is extremely intact. Beware, if you’re scared of heights then the pyramid stairs are not for you. They’re so narrow, shit is real.

Cuernavaca!

I loooooooooooved Cuernavaca. There was cute shit everywhere. I love cute shit. AND, the scene was alive! We went to many LGBT friendly spots and shows!

Pulque is a milky-cream alcoholic drink from Mexico. I’m not gonna sit here n straight up lie to ya, it was not my cup of tea. But what was my cup of tea was Pulqueria La Guayaba. Absolutely an LGBT spot that was all around empowering. And on that note:

You’ve seen that one movie that Angelina Jolie was in where she trampled all over the largest religious monuments in the world? Yea, neither have I. But, I traveled to the beautiful site that is known as Angkor Wat. The religious monuments as a whole seems massive, and Angkor Wat is only one site on the grounds.

I was really impressed by the attention to detail that has been preserved for hundreds* of years.

*Not sure how many years ago exactly Angkor Wat Temple was finished.

The people

The people of Siem Reap were so pleasant. Walking down the street it was common for a bright smiling child to wave from a bike and say “HI!” Their absolute welcoming demeanor complemented their overall stunning disposition. This place was particularly special and welcoming : Tevy’s Place.

A few months ago was the lunar new year, aka Tet in Vietnam. Not only is it a really interesting time in Vietnam with everyone buying the most beautiful flowers to welcome the new year, workers also get a substantial amount of time off. With my time I decided to go to Penang, Malaysia where I’d heard there’s the most delicious foods of all sorts!

I was pleasantly surprised by the multi-cultural pot that is Penang!

Penang has really cool street art. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing, you can also learn a little history along the way.

Food!!

Now, I ain’t sayin Hanoi has bad food. I just prefer more bold flavor, ya feel me. So, exploring the street food scene of Penang left me with a more than satisfied taste in my mouth.

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Some of the dishes I tried. I’m not gonna lie, I don’t remember the names… but I know love went into these dishes.

Remember the funky ass dancing explosion on your taste buds that is Durian? Well, there were whole cafes dedicated to this goddess-sent of a fruit.

The cultural blending in Penang was super interesting. The food, sights, smells, and sounds sweeping the streets were tantalizing.

Last but not least.

A shout out is definitely in order for this gem of a place. A vegan sushi joint that was all out LGBT safe space. The food was so delicious and the space was completely welcoming, safe, and warm. Spread the love : Sushi Kitchen – Georgetown.

When you day drink with your homie after “work” you wanna get creative so…. *

*Note: I got hella distracted and I’m now actually in the airport in Seoul.

In the past year some of the places I’ve been to:

In Vietnam –

What can I say? Hoi An was magical. Yes, it’s tourist. But, it’s cute, relaxing, and your can people watch all day. Also, you can do this:

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Ear cleaning. This state – of – the art cleaning was done in the most pristine open market Vietnam has to offer. I’m sure it was conducted by a professional ear, nose, and throat doctor (or whoever cleans ears)!

Phu Quoc

Remember when I told y’all I had lived in Costa Rica for a year and a half? Well, I’m used to some beautiful ass beaches. I mean clean, hidden gem beaches. So, I didn’t have really high expectations for my first beach trip in Vietnam to Phu Quoc. I was surprised! The beaches were clean, and we’d managed to find a few off the beaten trail hidden beaches!

Before moving to South East Asia I didn’t know the glory that is Durian. If you’ve never had Durian, don’t listen to the haters. It tastes like a lil bit of funky ass heaven dancing on your taste buds. I got to try a fresh one in Phu Quoc!

Well, I did mention I was in the airport in Seoul. I now have to run to catch this free city tour to kill time during my 13 hour layover. You know I love “free”.

Shibuya and plus some

Shibuya is a hot spot in Tokyo. But, it’s sought out for a reason! This neighborhood is cool as hell. It’s the home to Shibuya Crossing which is the largest pedestrian crossing in the world (I think I read that somewhere but, Google’s got the answers, Sway) Meji Jingu Shrine, Harajuku -unique fashion that Gwen Stefani culturally appropriated back in the day, and Nonbei Yokocho – “Drunker’s Alley- filled with seriously tiny bars; Some 4 people max!

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Meji Jingu Shrine. It’s a lil pocket of culture, fresh air (even fresher air cuz the air is crazy fresh already!) and more people watching. I’m not a history teacher so, here are some deets: Meji Jingu.

Mt Fuji

You know when you read about a place in all its splendor then you get there and are grossly disappointed? Well, this is not the case with Mt. Fuji. When I say Tokyo is clean I mean I’d eat and sleep on all of the streets, subways, and got damn bathrooms of Tokyo. With that being said, Mt. Fuji is even cleaner! If I could have encapsulated all the fresh air and saved it for the gas chamber air quality of Hanoi I’d be a millionaire.

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I could post much more about Tokyo but, to reduce all of our screen time, I won’t. Jus let it be known that Tokyo was what I dreamt of and more. The mindfulness of the people was humbling. The food was unique and had such depth and the cleanliness was enough to write home about.
I used Tokyo Cheapo for most of my inquires about Tokyo!

Recently I turned the crisp age of 31. What a dull number. But you know what’s not dull? T-O-K-Y-O. The magical land that is the largest metropolitan city in the world (according to The Internet) and Mt. Fuji. Les be honest, before going I didn’t know much about Japan nor Tokyo (n if we’re being frank, I still don’t but I can jus talk of my experience) but I’ve always been drawn to the depth that Tokyo portrays. So my GF and I decided to get our happy lesbian asses on a direct red-eye to Tokyo!

Book – n – Bed

I am self proclaimed bibliophile (undiagnosed). So, this book and bed hostel was a dream come true. I’m not here to give hostel ratings so les jus say: this shit was bangin. We only stayed a night for budgeting purposes (see Les go Luxury for further deets on my thrifty-ness).

The Scene

I’ve been in South East Asia for roughly a year. Now, if anyone knows me, they know I love some gay shit. I live for it. Has that been easy to find in Hanoi? NO (that’s for a future post). Have I been desperately parched for the scene? Yes.

So… welcome to Tokyo! Where the fashion is poppin (the men seemingly out-dress everyone here) and there actually IS a scene ! A real gayborhood! Nestled amongst a 7-story porn shop is the gayborhood of Shinjuku. A legit place with rainbow flags blowing in the wind, lesbian cafes, and plenty of romping nightlife. See, the thing with gayborhoods is that they tend to never cater to lesbians. So, when I find gayborhoods whilst traveling it’s rare to find lesbian spots. But, we happened upon the lesbian bar Goldfinger. An let me tell you, there were ladies!! And not just expat ladies. The real, thriving lesbian scene of Tokyo. I’ve never had such haircut envy in my life.

If any one knows me, they know I’m cheap. OK, I’ll be nice. I’m “thrifty”. So, when I travel, I travel light (to avoid any baggage fees), I stay in hostels (though in my ole age I’ve come to stay in single accommodation rooms. But at hostels nonetheless), and I always select places that have free breakfast, or free anything for that matter! Recently there was a local holiday, King Hung’s Birthday here in Vietnam. My girlfriend and I wanted to get away from the pleasantly grey-skied Hanoi. So, upon her sneaky doing, we ended up at Ninh Van Bay, AKA a six-star resort.

The resort was my first exposure to this type of living. Mind you, I am currently lying in my studio-apartment where I can see the whole domain from my bed. I like small. I like “charming”. I stay within my financial lane. But, when you have a partner that truly knows the meaning of treat – yo – self (and not jus from Parks and Rec) you can become quickly comfortable with luxury.

Of all the luxuries my favorite was being able to pick my eggs from chickens that were living their best lives. As a city Westerner, I can safely say I’ve never had real chicken eggs* until this trip. The fluffy goodness will stay with me forever.

*The chickens were kept in a clean, open space. They were not killed at the end of their life or anytime during their lives. I don’t eat chickens, nor any type of meat, but their eggs that they worked hard to pop out were delicious.

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To end our stay we went to a Singing Bowl meditation workshop. As we entered the small space, we were accompanied by a fellow LGBT couple. The Singing Bowl meditation workshop had turned into an even safer space.

I’m a lesbian expat who’s three years into the game (the expat game, that is). I decided to make this blog whilst half naked drinking coffee. Let’s be honest, it’s mainly for my newly-single 69 year old father living his best life in Middle-America. Enjoy!