Friends & Contributors Page 3 | The Monsoon Diaries

“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill

Friends we’ve made around the world:

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: Richie…for being a great friend to us and a fantastic guide while you were helping Gareth run our tour in North Korea. We had no idea that you were younger than all of us! And thanks for breaking our room light. 08/09/11.

: Gareth…for providing one of the most unforgettable tours into North Korea. Your free spirit and jovial antics belie the serious, hard working, and omnipresent guide that solidifies YPT as *the* go-to tour company into North Korea for younger travelers. See you at another alternative locale somewhere around the world. 08/08/11.

: Jiwoo Jessica Kim…my friend from Columbia…for jumping on my Facebook status and meeting up with me immediately when I arrived into Beijing. Thanks for the cheeky conversations and hanging out with us until 6am, even though you had to go to class that morning! 08/07/11.

: Winnie…for being another Asian female who grew up in an English speaking country and is traveling alone! 08/07/11. -steph

: The Soeun Sisters…for the fish massage, a free drink, and the great conversation. 08/06/11. -steph

: Number 10 Guesthouse…for being the most interesting guesthouse Steph has ever stayed at. seriously. 08/05/11. -steph

: Andy and Carmen…for eating chili chips, stalking lady boys, basking in 7-11, and the best introduction to Bangkok. 08/03/11. -steph

: New Zero Art Gallery…for letting me a part of your performance art workshop and appreciating my cracker/toilet paper crushing act. 08/03/11. – steph

: Ludovica Durelli…for accompanying me as we hung tight on the Indiana Jones style jeep up Kyaiktiyo, climbed up the rest of a ridiculously steep mountain, and roughing it with me through the middle of a monsoonal rainstorm just to see the Golden Rock. See you in Italy! 08/03/11.

: Gal, Anna, and Dina…for showing us where to eat some trustworthy, cheap, and delicious streetside food in Nyaungshwe by Lake Inle, and for the way-too-early-but-still-worth-it breakfast conversations the next morning. See you in Israel! 08/02/11.

: The girls of the Hnin Thitsar Umbrella Workshop near the Floating Market of Inle Lake…for introducing me to the Padaung giraffe women and thinking that I was a Korean pop star. 08/02/11.

: Oriana…for daring Steph to try various street foods, spending several days with her photographing Yangon, and for being of a like-minded soul when I had the pleasure of meeting you myself at Inle Lake. 08/02/11.

: Ey-Ey…for being the feistiest, most confident and most honest out of all the local folks I met in Bagan. 07/30/11.

: Shan and your horse Tutu…for helping us see all of Bagan’s big temples in one day. 07/30/11.

: Our 7 year-old guide at Bagan…for making sure we didn’t fall while climbing up those brick temples and guiding us to a beautiful view of the sunset. 07/29/11.

: May and Jim…for being the best, most genuine, and most hospitable hosts we could ever stumble upon when arriving in Myanmar. Thank you for your constant prayers that safeguarded us throughout our travels. 07/29/11.

: Jun and SPT…for the neverending game of snakes and ladders! “tit, hni, thoun…” 07/28/11.

: Olivier…for wandering around 19th Street in Yangon with Steph and letting her practice her French. 07/27/11.

: Alex Lang…for being my first male travel buddy (finally!) in 2010, for accompanying me as we explored Dhaka north to south and for sharing your extensive travel experiences around the globe. I have a long way to go. See you in Melbourne! 07/26/11.

: Sabrina, Christina, and her dad…for taking in me better than any host could when I arrived into Dhaka. Getting to speak Chinese with you all felt like I was home again. 07/26/11.

: Sharmin…for taking care of us immediately after we disembarked from our flight to Colombo and randomly showing us around the Sri Lankan Special Forces compound the next day. 07/20/11.

: It all comes together in Mumbai: Anya, George, Annah, Karen, Sidd, Vikas, Me, Benn, and Joyce. Anya & Joyce I met at Delhi airport only 3 weeks ago, George & Ben found The Monsoon Diaries and we decided to meet for the first time in Mumbai, Karen is my friend from med school, Sidd I met last year in Mumbai when he got into Columbia, I was Vikas’s Orientation Leader 4 years ago in college, and Annah is my original Monsoon Diaries travel partner.

: Karen Wong, my friend from Downstate Medical School…for taking a detour from Jamkhed just so she could see me in Mumbai, and then heading out with me afterwards to Madurai and Pondicherry. Please keep my silver ring safe for me when I get back! 07/18/11.

: Avanti & Shivani…for never failing to take care of me whenever I’m in Mumbai. 07/16/11.

: Raja of Om Hari Jewelers…for the conversations, honesty, and the addicting cardomon black pepper chai while we hung out at your famous jewelry shop in Jaisalmer. 07/10/11.

: Pieter…for taking care of and keeping Stephanie Quan company while she was down and out in Varanasi. See you in Holland! 07/06/11.

: Shyam Singh…for meeting up with me again in his hometown of Dharamsala and being the same cool guy I remembered meeting a year ago on the rooftop of Nukkad Guesthouse in Udaipur. 07/07/11.