Have you ever had a day (week, month, year #covidquarintine 😂) where you just weren’t feeling super attractive? Bad hair day, tired eyes/face, acne, frumpy feeling, etc. We’ve all been there, right? Well this is the story of the time I didn’t quite level up to the beauty of a Disney princess. 😂 Let me explain…..
I had been traveling alone in China for about 3 weeks at this point. What I learned right away on this trip is that traveling alone in China is HARD. There’s not nearly as many English speakers as I would have imagined. So that of course made getting around and communicating pretty tricky. Not to mention, I was lonely at times when I found myself in places where there was no one I could have a conversation with! So you can only imagine my excitement when I noticed two Western gals staying in the same hostel as me at the Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces. We chatted with each other and I Iearned that one of them, Kaitlin, was from the US and the other, Courtney, was from Canada. But they were currently living and working in Hong Kong. (How cool is that?!) I asked where they were working in Hong Kong and they said Disneyland! (Again, HOW COOL IS THAT?!) I asked what they did at Disneyland and they said they were in the performances and parades. Basically… They were bffs with the Disney princesses if you know what I mean. 😉😉 And that came as absolutely NO surprise whatsoever. These girls were (and still are) absolutely GORGEOUS! I mean like… flawless skin, beautiful eyes, perfect smiles, physically fit, the list goes on. And on top of that, they were (and still are) as kind as they were (are) beautiful.
So, one of the highlights of visiting the Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces is seeing them at sunrise. The way the light hits the terraces, the colors, the dewy reflections… (Highly recommend. 😍) The three of us decided to wake up early the next morning and hike to a spot where we would have a good view. So that’s what we did. And we weren’t alone! We ran into numerous Chinese tourists who were also enjoying the sunrise from that spot. And when they saw three Western gals there…. 😂
***So something to be aware of when traveling in China is that you don’t see nearly as many Westerners there as you do Easterners. (Makes sense 🤷♀️) But that means Westerners tend to stick out like sore thumbs. And it’s not uncommon for locals to take pictures of you, with you, of you holding their child that they unexpectedly put into your hands, etc etc.***
So these Chinese tourists saw us Westerners and immediately started taking pictures. They took a few photos of the three of us together but before long they physically guided me out of the shot and started taking pictures of just Courtney and Kaitlin! 😂 I mean like… They were posing them together, taking multiple shots from multiple angles and even handing me their cameras to take pictures of them with these girls! I diiiiieeeed….. I mean, overall I’d like to think I have a decent self image but like… talk about highlighting the fact that I couldn’t hold a candle to these girls’ beauty! 😂
Courtney, Kaitlin and I eventually hiked back to our hostel and a few minutes later a Western guy who was staying there as well approached Courtney and asked if she had lost/dropped her camera by chance. Confused, Courtney said she hadn’t and asked why… It was because he had noticed one of the tourists looking through pictures on a camera and there were SO many of her that he wondered if this guy had picked up the camera that had actually belonged to her. Haha nope… His camera. He had just taken a million photos of her. 😂
Well the terraces were beautiful and I even had a little laugh while I was there. 😉 As for Courtney and Kaitlin, being the kind people that they are, they invited me to stay with them in Hong Kong (where I was headed next) and also treated me to a fun day at Disneyland! So all around it was a fun time and I’d do it all again in a heart beat. (Even If I still wouldn’t make the cut as a pretty princess…) 😜
Safe travels, friends. 😊
CE
