The travel buddy, Allen.

He taught me the first Spanish words.
He travelled with me for 2 entire weeks.
He dealt with my constant fear of darkness at night.

Allen, a scout boy spending his time in united states for the summer and then decided to take a dip in Peru before heading to Canada and eventually heading home, Taiwan. We met then quickly became travel buddies as we are doing the same stuff and get along quite nicely (mostly because he is a very chill out guy).

"Jenny, you need to get more clothes and especially, a better pair of shoes."

"Jenny, here, take my 4gb memory disk. You can return it in the future."

"Geezes, you are going to Amazon and you don't have a torch? Take mine."

"I'm thinking whether to accompany you to Bolivia, see if I can get through the border with my Taiwanese visa."

We talk about everything and anything day and night, about family, work, relationships and future directions. We talk about our loved ones, our family and their personalities. We talk about photography. We also discuss the local culture and fellow travellers we meet. He tells me his knowledge on travelling gears. I sponsor face moisturising mask and sunscreen to him. He is extremely organized with his backpack. He records everyone he meets on the journey and their background. He owns a expensive camera and carries it everywhere with him. He is a IT programmer but after seeing the IT world and spending the summer in the states, he redrafts life goals to get in the marketing field.

For the first 2 weeks of the trip, I am very, very grateful for having Allen as a travel buddy.  He helped me get through culture shocks and eventually comfortable enough to travel by myself on this unfamiliar continent. It's these encounters that makes travelling memorable and create great lasting friendship. It's hard to imagine travelling with a stranger for so long but hey, its possible.

Thanks, friend.

fooling around in San Pedro Cusco market.