Hi Reader, As I was leaving a coffee shop in Shirahama, Japan, a staff member stepped outside at the same time and said something to me in Japanese. My default (the one I've had for years) is to smile, nod, and keep moving. It's easier and less awkward. But this time I stopped. I asked what she said. And it turned out she spoke English. We stood on the street and had a proper little conversation. She'd had an English teacher from the Czech Republic. What are the odds? When I walked away, I...

Hi Reader, "No discount for you." Something felt off in that response. In fact, I was ready to give in, give up until the "for you" part of the response struck me as personal. I was at the reception of a hotel spa in Sapa, waiting to pay after the lady who did my treatment delivered the wrong combination of treatments. I asked for a discount because I didn’t get what I had reserved. I thought maybe the refusal was because I booked through Agoda. But I had moved the booking to the hotel and...

Hi Reader, How do you wash your hair? When I travel to places with few black people, folks are so curious about my hair. Last time I was in Vietnam, people wanted to know if my hair is real. This time, in Sapa, someone asked me how I wash my hair. I was in Sapa for a weekend on my way from Nagoya to London. At a random spot after a hike, a lady asked me how I wash my hair. I smiled and said, "The same way you do." Honestly, I used to get upset about questions like that or comments about my...