Chat with To Uyen- the traveler across 25 countries
Following the last episode of Traveler, this episode is carried out in the form of a small chat with traveler To Uyen- whom I admire for her willingness to experience different cultures.Let me tell you something about To Uyen
From what she has shared in Dear Roads- Gui nhung con duong which is her own page, we can say that from 2003 to 2008, she visited many places in and almost every country in Asia. By the end of 2009, she decided to quit her job as a copywriter and writer for film series and moved to Los Angeles to study Cinema/tv production in Hollywood
In early 2014, Uyen started her journey Around the world. In June 2015, she chose US as a temporary stop and began to create her own blog to share her experiences.
In her youth, she herself have made thousand package holidays to Vietnam and has visited 25 countries so far (holidays to Cambodia and Vietnam or Vietnam Thailand Cambodia tour for example). Each country she visited, she tried to spend 1 to 2 weeks to experience and explore new things. As for several countries, she had opportunities to com back, which was pure coincidence. However, as for USA only, she decided to live and study there for 3 years
After her trip to Cuba, she came back to USA and carried out her second road trip from New York to Niagara where she decided to build her own blog.
Where are you living now and how long do you plan to stay ?
I came back to my home in Saigon and intend to continue my journey by the end of this year
How many countries have you traveled to so far? Which country do you like the best and why?
Of the 25 countries which I have visited since 2004, I like Brazil the best. Life is so fun and convenient, every thing is available. Besides, Brazilian cuisine is wonderful with the world famous café, you know. And the spectacular scenery with mountains, tropical beaches, jungles and so on. People are really friendly and beautiful
You must have a lot of experiences, can you tell me briefly some of your unforgettable experiences?
Well the first one is that I came across travelers from different countries. On my checking in in Rio de janeiro, I came across 2 British guys who had traveled to Muoi desert with me then we decided to go together for the next journey. And Mark- a cook I met the first time on the vessel to Machu Picchu later became my accompany, I met him the second time by accident when I was checking in in Sucre Bolivia
The second one is about my report about the only noodle maker, called Uncle Ven in Coroico, Bolivia. I traced him after I visited the only Vietnamese restaurant in Lapaz and was told that he lived 100 km far away. Lapaz is nearly 4000m high, the water there boils at 80 degree Celsius which makes it impossible to make noodle. People have to go down at the height of 1500m in Coroice. So uncle Ven has to go there and live alone. You know, he can neither speak Spanish nor English, just Vietnamese. His eyes were filled with tears when I said goodbye to him..
And the third one is in Pokhara Nepal. During the time I was there, a snow storm came up in October 2014. In the afternoon of the day before I was taking photos in Peace Temple looking out Annapura. Two days before it was raining heavily. In the morning of the day after the storm, it was informed that two guests of the hostel where I was staying were missing. On the following days, corpses were carried to the station in Pokhara. The hostel’s owner warned me against going there. I myself did not dare to go there. The atmosphere at that time was mournful due to high death toll including 20 local guides. A friend of mine, from Holland came with me during that journey. Her family kept asking me about her and it took me one week from the day of the storm to know that she was still ok by her message on facebook. Actually, it was such a bad time to anyone in Nepal.
Where do you plan to go next?
Well I plan to make a journey to Eastern Europe and Northern Africa. I had traveled to Italia and Spain where I stayed in 1 month. I have ticket for Holland but I can not go now because I am quite busy.
According to To Uyen, the more she travels, the more she loves Viet Nam.
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