Travel Memories: That Moment I Fell In Love With Asia

I wanted to go someplace special to find something special; to have an adventure. I didn’t know what. I didn’t know where. I was told that the food market was dirty and grungy and I wouldn’t want to go there. A little something in my gut twinged and I thought to myself, hmm… Well, I ended up there an hour later– in the food market which was dark, gritty, dirty. And it was at that moment that I fell in love with Asia. My senses were filled with the smell of trash and jasmine, sulfur and cigarette smoke. A woman was selling the most beautiful vegetables beneath a tin roof covered with rubbish. The woman’s smile was riddled with missing teeth but it was a smile of welcome– sincere and kind. I looked to my traveling companion and with tears in my eyes, I said, “I’m in love.” She shook her head and smiled,”Yeah. Me, too.”