Traveling abroad sometimes means encountering strange people and things — it’s all just part of the normal distribution.

Text and photos by /peri

When you’re out and about, the journey is inevitably adorned with inexplicable encounters. Some are amusing, others unavoidably frustrating. Whether good or bad, when they happen, I always think, “I could’ve run into this back in Taiwan too.” Just stay alert, smile, and move on. Oh well, life is full of ups and downs — it must follow a normal distribution, right? XD
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In the normal course of the day, under the scorching sun nearing 40°C, I stood at a crossroads in life, deciding whether to press on. After much deliberation, I decided to give up visiting the crumbling stupas for now, hopped on my E-bike, and headed back to Nyaung U to find a cool restaurant with WiFi.

“Hello, hello!” A uncle by the roadside waved at me, asking where I was from, how I got to Bagan, the going rate for renting an E-bike, whether I’d had lunch, and suggesting we find a restaurant. He said he’d already eaten but could sit with a drink and chat. Though I wanted some alone time, meeting someone by chance, it seemed harmless to chat a bit.

The uncle currently lives in Australia and is a landlord near a university, living a leisurely life and traveling whenever he wants. His age is unclear, but his last trip to Taiwan was 35 years ago. By the way, he’s quite something — he studied in the UK back in those days. I’m not sure if he meant anything by bragging about collecting one or two hundred Australian dollars in rent per room per week in Australia or joining a ten-day, 7000 CAD Canadian glacier tour. He kept showing off his travel exploits while also throwing out presumptuous questions at me (you must think...). The conversation was actually pretty dull.
Some people, even when smiling, just give off an uncomfortable vibe. I retreated into my own little bubble, uploading photos to let people know I’m safe, occasionally replying sparsely, and repeatedly declining invitations to explore Bagan together the next day.

After eating and drinking my fill and finishing uploading the photos, I decided to leave. It was still very hot outside, and walking around was torture. Since I had rented an E-bike anyway, I figured giving the uncle a ride back to his hotel wouldn’t hurt. I thought it was just a small act of kindness among travelers — nothing to fuss over.

“I haven’t had a girl give me a ride in a long time,” the uncle said halfway as I was pulling the bike over. That was definitely not a good sign. Honestly, when traveling, I don’t like dividing things into male and female — it’s narrow-minded and boring. Once I decide to hit the road, I’m just an independent person, fully responsible for myself, that’s all.

Following the uncle’s directions, the E-bike bumped along the rugged gravel road. The occasional touches from behind made my resolve start to crumble, and the irritation intensified under the sweltering heat. Whether fortunate or not, just as I was about to lose my cool, we arrived at the hotel. I had dropped him off, so naturally, I should leave.

The uncle insisted again, saying, “Let’s explore Bagan together tomorrow? I’ve already arranged a guide.” Or, “Come see my room. The newly built hotel has modern facilities and isn’t expensive. Just for looking, I won’t do anything. I’m not a bad person.” “Protesting too much,” my internal alarm blared, and I quickly thought of ways to extricate myself. After much refusal, I still couldn’t get out of it. Reluctantly, I stepped into the hotel, bracing myself and making small talk to avoid the topic.

When we reached the uncle’s room, he opened the door. I stood three steps away from the doorway, pretending to peek in. “Oh, nice — for Bagan, this room for 50 USD is great value. Well then, I’ll head out. Bye!” Seeing how determined I was to leave, the uncle actually turned around to lock the door and walked me downstairs. Huh?! “You can just rest in your room!”

Along the way, he kept trying to ask about where I was staying, if I wanted to have dinner that night, or explore Bagan together the next day. “How about this — you think about it. I’ll wait here for you tomorrow morning. If you’re not here by eight, I’ll leave.” Needless to say, I didn’t agree to any of these suggestions. I hopped on my E-bike and sped off.

At the time, I was angry, felt disgusted, and sensed I’d been violated. But when I sat down to write about it in my blog, all those emotions had passed. After all, there are so many people in the world — not everyone can be as angelic as you’d hope, all polite and harmonious. There are bound to be both good and bad ones.Normal distribution (Normal distribution)As Gauss himself said, XD. The same things can happen anywhere. Next time, just be more careful, stay alert, smile, and let it go.

But I’m deeply, deeply grateful that I had firmly tucked awaymy traveler’s business cardand left no trace behind. With some people, if you can’t be friends, let the passerby remain a permanent part of the past.

II. Fleeting Moments

A female engineering student who once thought she’d grow up to study Chinese.
Talks too fast, writes too slowly; opens her mouth like a comedian, picks up a pen like a pseudo-literary youth.
Loves setting off on solo journeys, drawing courage from the corners of the world, and encountering the glimmers in travelers’ eyes.
Firmly believes that no plan is the best plan, and beautiful encounters can’t be calculated.
And just keeps on walking.
Peri