Girl Unobserved

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Tell yourself daily, what a day to be alive.

Pearl Farm Beach Resort. Mindanao, Philippines.

December 2012

Christmas Vacation Instagrams!

The entry of Instagram in my life has made me a lazy “photographer” (something I intend to change this new year) but it’s so convenient and easy that I really can’t bring myself to hate it. 

1. Durian always means coming home to Davao
2. Flowers
3. The great outdoors
4. The beach!
5. Vacay GPOY
6. A peacock!
7. Dad swimming out at sea
8. A sea hustler
9. Family Sunday at the beach
10. The city from atop a mountain

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“I go to seek a Great Perhaps”- Francois Rabelais

Me seeking a great perhaps in Ta Prohm temple in Angkor Wat.

Siem Reap, Cambodia. December 2011.

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. 
- Thomas Merton

The Bangkok Arts and Culture center is undoubtably one of my favorite places to find and  lose myself in at the same time. 

Bangkok, Thailand. May 2011

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Today is the birthday of one of my best friends in the entire world, Billie. I’m not just saying this because I love her like a sister, but she really is an amazing human being. I hope that today you send her good thoughts that wish her a beautiful year ahead. 

Happy birthday, Bill! 

Photo taken a year ago outside of Sagrada Familla in Barcelona. August 2011

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On some days I wake up and every bone in my body aches for this city.

Paris, April 2011

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Random washed out superhero art on a utility door at Roppongi Hills.

Tokyo, Japan. December 2009

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“Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life.”- Anna Akhmatova

Florence, Italy. April 2011

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My Favorite Breakfast Memory

This is a picture of breakfast on the morning of January 1, 2010 in the restaurant of the  ryokan my family and I stayed at in Kyoto, Japan. Breakfast like this is what they traditionally serve in ryokans in Kyoto, and it was seriously one of the best meals I have ever had in my life. It was also one of the best mornings of my life.

The night before we had gotten to our ryokan two dark and freezing hours before midnight. As the snow began to fall lightly, my family and I rang in the new year quietly enjoying each others company while eating Japanese rice triangles and drinking tea. We woke up to magic the next morning. The sun shone brightly and there was a thin layer of snow blanketing the roof tops and the garden right outside our window. Upon looking out we also realized that our ryokan overlooked these rolling hills covered with lush trees. Either that, or it stood right in the middle of those hills. Whichever it was though, it was nothing short of breathtaking.

When we finally made our way down to the restaurant we were greeted by the owner, an elderly Japanese lady who sat us down at a table right beside a floor to ceiling glass window that gave us a view of a traditional Japanese garden, complete with Bonsai trees and Ishi. She cooked our food, served us, and even managed to exchange a few words with us despite her very limited ability to speak English. 

Looking back, that morning was the perfect way to start the year. That morning will also always be one of my favorite travel memories.

If you do find yourself in Kyoto in the near future, I highly recommend you stay at a ryokan, and at Ryokan Yamazaki, (where we stayed) at that. It’s an AMAZING place. Don’t forget to eat breakfast. 

Kyoto Japan, 2010

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Thinking of no one BUTT you in Cabodia. 

Wish you were here!

Angkor, Siem Reap, Cambodia. December 2011