People who know me know I'm unlikely to wed. But I love weddings. And it's not just because of the fancily dressed people (yes, men, you're about 100% more dashing in suits, vests, and ties), the superbly delicious food, the open bar, and the consequently goofy dancing (thank you, open bar!) to questionable music. Those are all great things. But the thing I really love about weddings is the ceremony itself and the unabashed celebration of real love and commitment. Honestly, I don't recall the last wedding I was at where the officiant gave some full-on bullshit about how two people were just made for one another and that everything would work out swimmingly for them. No. They advised constantly working on the relationship because, well, great relationships take work. If you think great relationships are effortless and it should just "work" automatically, I don't know how to break this to you, but you'll be sorely disappointed with marriage. Quick. (And I'd advise "pre-nup." Just in case....) The other piece of advice that I often hear: celebrate and love one another for who you are and who you'll become. You're growing old together, after all. To marry someone and commit yourself to them for the rest of your life is a huge deal and you should do it with eyes wide open, seeing exactly who they are and who you are. If you're completely honest with yourself and your partner, love will help you take care of the rest.

Wow, toast + coffee = heavenly. I've been eating breakfast quite regularly. (Helps to have nowhere to rush off to in the morning.) It's such a delicious meal, no matter how simple! Today, I've got the addition of two Morningstar breakfast patties. I've been unintentionally cutting back on meat products. I wonder if it's because of subconscious guilt for eating so many yummy, yummy chickens in Malaysia and Singapore. So yummy. So very, very yummy.

Oh yes, I still need to blog my trip. So much to share. I'm glad I wrote most of it down, otherwise it'd be lost forever because my memory is terrible. Well, at least I'd remember all the important stuff - like where and what I ate and how it tasted. Yum. Yum. Yum.

I went to Berkeley and realized something: IT'S SO GHETTO THERE. ZOMG. And I have no idea how to get around even though I lived for years there, even after graduating from Berkeley. I guess you have to keep refreshing things by incorporating it in your life somehow. Otherwise, out of sight, out of mind without a GPS (or a friend who knows where you're going).

I heard a cover of "Moon River" by this Chinese singer, Khalil Fong (YouTube link to the song). I was in Hong Kong at the time, standing in an HMV using their listening booths for free because I'm a deadbeat and things in HK are kinda expensive. But I loved these lines:

And of course I've heard the song before. Many times. And I instantly thought about the Sex and the City episode when Big left New York for Napa and he and Carrie danced to the song. I guess in that moment, for me, being in a foreign land listening to the song, it felt nice to have this idea of drifting and floating, even if it's drifting away from the one(s) I love. Because we're going after the same thing, right? We'll meet up eventually. That's life for you.

I'm so adverse to commitment, I fear that if breathing were optional, I'd be uncomfortable about committing to breathing on a constant, regular basis.

I'm only half-joking.

• The bugs in Cambodia seem extra vigilent about biting.
  
• Certain things seem cheaper in Cambodia (e.g. hotels thus far are about $5 - 8 a night, compared to $15 in Saigon), but food seems just a tad bit pricier for some reason. In Cambodia's defense, I did just have a hamburger (yes, a hamburger) for $1 and it was AMAZING!!! I might get another before I am to board my night bus to Siem Reap (checking out the Tomb Raider temple, y'all; yes, that is how I will be referring to it!).
• I had a decent time in Sihanouk Ville. It would have been better if the Universe weren't against me on this one. Win some, lose some, eh?
  
• It's been rainy here. Damn this wet season!
• I just got a massage for $8 ($6 + $2 tip). It was interesting. In a good way, I suppose. I'm too indifferent to know an excellent massage from a passable one.
  
• Sometimes I have existential out-of-body experiences because what I'm actively engaged in at the moment is too surreal and stupid to believe. For example, today, I rented a motorbike ($4) to cruise around the city. I'm driving pretty fast because, well, I'm in a hurry to nowhere-ville. And I'm in a hurry, apparently. So I'm driving on this highway'esque road to the airport when I realize that I don't want to go to the airport so I turn the motorbike around. BTW, this motorbike? The gauges are broken. It's always empty, and I have no idea what's the actual speed I'm driving at. Yay. So I turn around and I'm in the middle of effing nowhere when the bike stops itself because, hey hey hey, THERE'S NO MORE GAS. And so I'm pushing the motorbike up a little incline (d'oh!), and it starts to rain (double d'oh!). Luckily this guy stops over to help me out. He takes me to a nearby gas station and I get $2 worth of gasoline and get back to my motorbike. BTW - riding in the rain is SO PAINFUL. And at times like those, I need to detach from reality because it's just so ridiculous the things that I put myself through. D'oh!
• I've been thinking that there is not enough romance in the world, especially in terms of the grand romantic gesture. I've decided that I would like to make a grand romantic gesture (GRG) of my own, but I don't know the who, when, how, what, where of this GRG just yet. I think who is the most important, yes? So, we'll see about that. But in essence, I want to put myself out there and make a very strong, very silly, but also very genuine declaration of intention. And if I get rejected, so be it. But it'll be out there. And the world will be better for it because there can never be too much love. Never!

OK - it's beer thirty before I board the bus. See you on the flip side!

In the near future, I will try really hard to book photography clients and take some kick-ass photos. At the same time, I will be getting rid of a lot of things (physical, tangible, material things) that I don't need to lighten up my life a little bit. A lot, actually.

I want to take motorcycle lessons. I want to buy a motorcycle and go riding whenever I have the time. Go on hikes. Get my ass to Yosemite and do the Half Dome hike once and for all. See Death Valley. Maybe even start a bike gang - who knows.

My tennis skills will be immensely improved since I'll have a lot of time to play. It'll blow your mind!

I want to balance my life with work, play, but also a lot of downtime. I no longer feel the urge to be rushed. It's just not fun. Why are we always rushing? I want to take my sweet time to do things because life is a journey, and I don't need to be going at 150 MPH all the time until I'm exhausted.

That is all. For now.

• Got into Phnom Penh around 3PM today. Headed straight to Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. It was a high school, but in 1975, the Khmer Rouge turned it into a prison and torture chamber of sorts. It felt really eerie and spooky to be there. The exhibits came from people who worked there, a Swiss man who visited Cambodia during the regime and mistakenly supported it without knowing fully the extent of the situation, etc. - just all different perspectives. I learned so much in just one visit. I think I'll skip out on the Killing Fields, though. As much as I am a fan of learning more about human depravity, I think I got my fill. (Yes, I enjoy learning about human depravity because it actually makes enjoyment of human love and joy that much more genuine. You gotta know bad to know good, right?)
• The boat rides down the Mekong were quite the experience. We're talking hours at a time. I napped for some of it, but it was basically two days of nonstop traveling and I'm kind of tired. I don't know if I necessarily that journey for most people. Talk about roughin' it.... (: Still, quite an experience.
• I went to my hometown of Bien Hoa, Vietnam. But not having my aunt's address (duh) deterred me from visiting her. The thing is, though, I saw my hometown again. And realized that I grew up in the bible belt of Vietnam. Seriously. There were churches every 500 meters, it seemed. Nuts, eh? The bus ride to Bien Hoa was OK, but the bus ride back to Saigon was interesting. First, I sat right in front of this girl who either doesn't go on transportation much or is pregnant. Because she was puking very audibly for quite a bit of the trip. Again, I was sitting right in front of her and feared for splatter. Second, the guy sitting right in front of me was PASSED OUT. The dude who worked on the bus actually tried slapping him awake to no avail (don't worry - he moved, so he was alive). Finally, the guy wakes up and the bus employee asks him where he wants to get off. He says, "Thu Duc." Guy says, "Thu Duc is coming up soon, you better be ready!" He argues, "THIS IS NOT THU DUC! I'M NOT GETTING OFF!!!" Ten minutes later, he wakes up again and of course we're in another city altogether. He says, "Where are we!?! I needed to get off at Thu Duc!" Umm, yeah, seriously. This was around 5PM, so I don't know what he's drinking at so early an hour to be that wasted, but there you have it. [:
• Michael and I met up for dinner at Mitau, a Hue restaurant in Saigon. I love the proprietor. I really do. She's such an awesome lady. Co Oanh is truly one of a kind. She loves to travel by herself, loves to take photos, is an independent spirit, and OMG her cooking is phenomenal. I need to take up cooking!
• I need a new hat. Le sigh. My hat probably fell behind the bed in Saigon and I didn't pack it when I left. I'm a little sad because I really liked that hat, even though I got it for $3 at JC Penney. *audible sigh*
  

My life is so damn weird and random sometimes. So I took a bus from Hoi An to Nha Trang, which took all night. Here's what happened:

• A Canadian boy met an Israli girl during traveling and I guess now they're going together. That's great and all, except at about 9PM, they got into a heated debate about the whole Israel/Palestine thing. She, of course, got completely emotional about it (understandable). Did I mention that I was sitting directly in front of them? It reminded me of this.
  
• Oh, and I was supposed to get two seats because I booked a "sleeping" bus but got stuck with a "sitting" bus. Bummer. So this cute'ish Vietnamese boy sat next to me and tried to talk to me, but I was totally curt because, well, I am like that sometimes when PEOPLE TAKE MY SPARE MOTHEREFFING SEAT! (Why didn't I speak up about the discrepency? Because I'm lame and can't defend myself. Duh.) So, the seats are small, but luckily so are both of us. You would think it'd be smooth sailing, right? No, not so much. After he fell asleep, his leg would very so slightly take up some space on my side. Normally, that would be fine, I would just move my leg over to be nice. But after a while, it just got ridiculous and there was nowhere to go. But I figured - and BTW, this is naive Chung talking - that he's so asleep, it'd be kind of mean for me to perpetually move/wake him, right? Right? Especially after being so curt in the beginning? Oh man. Long story short, I guess the guy takes that niceness to be an "OK" to be all chummy with me. At about 4AMish (I'm so tired by this point because of lack of sleep), he's holding my hand. Like, "you're my girlfriend and this is how we hold hands" holding my hands. I'm sitting there thinking, "What. the. fuck." (Yes, pardon my French.) So I took our hands and promptly let go of his on his own lap. Seriously now. Sheesh!
• This was the second "sleeping" bus SNAFU, and thankfully the last. I've been so tired from these journeys, that I've had dreams about transportation while on the bus - that's how traumatizing it was. The first time, I dreamed that I was having an AWFUL bus ride only to wake up to realize that the dream was, in fact, a true nightmare in real life. Le sigh. This time, I dreamed I was getting coffee. mmm speaking of which, haven't had any today....
• So I got to Nha Trang around 6AM, sans-Vietnamese-pseudo-boyfriend. I went to 3 different hotels before finding a room. I'm walking down the street to go find a particular dive shop when I stumbled upon one that offered certification for $190. Pretty cheap! It's Russian owned. My instructor is French. And was translating the lessons from his French cards into English. ZOMG. Seriously. And usually people teach you in the pool? Nuh-uh. I got hands-on, sink-or-swim training out in the ocean. Verdict thus far? It's not too hard, but it hurts the ears. Apparently you get used to this. (I'm still waiting for my hearing to return, several hours later.) But the crew is pretty cool. Reminded me of America because there was a tall, thin Russian named Dima on board. (:

I have 2 more days of instructions to go. WISH ME LUCK!!!

I feel like when I get into a serious relationship with someone, I make compromises and concessions of my own volition in order to please the other party. This is all done without them specifically asking (or even hinting) me to do them. I just feel like I should do it. And guess what? Over a long period of time, resentment builds up on my part, which becomes explosive for the other party. And they don't actually understand fully why things are that way.

It's my fault for trying so damn hard and consequently sacrificing myself unnecessarily along the way. What a terribly vicious cycle, right?

Going forward, I will not assume that I'm doing them a favor by doing or not doing something. My (future) boyfriend should be an honest and open communicator. So, for example, if he wants  me to stop seeing other boys on the side, all he needs to do is ask! Until then, I'll be leading my life as I see fit.

Well, at least with big things, I stay true to myself. For example, I would not have a baby just because the one I'm with wants to be a dad or something. That is a non-negotiable for me. However, the small stuff adds up, too, so I shouldn't let those things slide either.

And what's with the subject heading? Well, when Dima and I were together, I found out that he liked neither broccoli nor noodles. I love both. Sometimes even together. I found myself slowly weaning away from them because he didn't like them. Ridiculous, right? But that's how it was. And whenever I had a bowl of ramen, I'd feel like I was cheating on him or something. Ri-friggin'-diculous just reading that now, but in the moment, you don't realize your insanity. (:

1. Traveling: I want to use up all of my visa pages. Simple as that. And, I want to get my motorcycle license and cruise around the USA. And, I want to see the northern lights. After Sarah Palin steps down from office in Alaska, perhaps? Yes, very simple.
2. I want to write a book. Or, simply put, complete some impressive (in terms of quantity and quality) piece of writing.