I wrote this back on September 27, 2011:

Although this blog spanned over two years, I never really talked about my love life while traveling. Maybe I avoided the topic to resist turning my blog into the male-version of Eat Pray Love.

But truthfully, my run-ins with the fairer sex occupied a good deal of my life on the road and supplied many numerous and exciting adventures.

In this post, I divided my love life abroad into three distinct sections: finding love, random love, and leaving love — and honestly, these three categories created the bulk of my stories (and headaches). Don’t expect any hilarious or sensational tales.

You’ll have to buy me a beer for those.

Finding Love

Without a doubt, the most common question I got was, “Where do you meet women?”

All joking aside, the honest answer is, “Anywhere.”

Sure, you can find it on the dance floors of a crowded nightclub or by the bar in a noisy pub, but as one man explained so well, the best method to find a woman is to go into your life as far as you can and meet them there.

Yeah, sarging with a few, close buddies can always supply great entertainment, but there are opportunities everywhere. In my experience, love can be found in a bus or on the street; in a bookstore or in a gym; in restaurants, cafes, stores, or even in queues.

No script binds you:

It’s everywhere.

Random Love

I’m not talking about one-night — or even two-night — stands, which usually happen because of lust and artificially lowered inhibitions (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing).

I’m talking about love without attachments. Love without desire or need. Love that shines forth because it beams from within. Love that exists because you love, in the truest sense of the word.

Here’s a story:

One Spring afternoon, I went to a weird wedding party in the Shilin District of Taipei, full of delicious food and, uh, a laser show with a cloud machine and Star Wars light sabers. At the end, they gave each attendee two Tiffany & Co. boxes with awesome chocolates and sweets inside — one was large and the other was the size of a ring box.

On the subway back home, I was chatting with a Columbian-Taiwanese girl who was going to meet her friends that rainy Sunday evening and who couldn’t speak a lick of English or Spanish. (Fucking seriously?) She was very sweet and shy, so oh-what-the-hell, I gave her my ring box wedding gift.

“Well, that’s that,” I thought.

But I noticed her gently touching and playing with the ribbon on the box. She was glowing. Hell, when I got off at Main Station for my transfer, she walked side-by-side with me. I couldn’t help but think I made her day that much better.

And that’s all I wanted.

Leaving Love

No easy task, for sure.

The time may eventually come where — in spite of whatever relationships you built — you have to leave. Maybe it’s another opportunity elsewhere. Maybe it’s the prospect of new travels, countries, and cultures. Maybe your stay didn’t have enough time. Or maybe something else, completely unforeseen, forced your exit.

Whatever it is, sometimes even the best of relationships must end.

I’m not going to pretend I know how to deal with that emotional struggle — hell, I still beat my head over abandoned love. I always believe, however, those pains are an awesome opportunity for inner growth.

And what about the possibility that sometime, somewhere you and your partner might meet again? The circumstances could be different, but who knows…

There’s always time for old friends.