One of my favorite things about Thailand was Gae, our guide for the bike tour / cave hike. We’d been in Thailand for about four days at that point, and all the Thai people we encountered spoke little to no English. Enter Gae, married to an American, nearly fluent in English, with a LIMITLESS AND INFECTIOUS ENERGY, SOMEHOW NEVER SWEATY, and lastly, with a deep love of selfies:

I was able to ask her all the questions that had been accumulating in my mind about everything from Thailand’s monks to the Burmese people to how Shrimp happen. In turn, she kept taking pictures of us like we were famous people. HEY LOVE BIRDS! GO OVER THERE! SIT THERE, IN LOVE! She’d say, and point her phone at us. LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!

Once satisfied: OKAY, WE GOT IT!