Adam and Kate’s story begins in Dalat (Đà Lạt), Vietnam in March, 2019. Kate was on a solo backpacking adventure and Adam had been living in Dalat for 2 months. They met at a late-night club where Adam was DJ’ing called The 6th Floor Bar at Kim Cuong hostel. Kate was enjoying the evening with a few new friends she met and luckily for her, Adam had the night off. He was quietly nursing his club soda and talking to the manager Emre, when Kate (having some liquid courage) sauntered over to chat. A poster of Ned Stark hung on the wall, encouraging people to do a “song challenge” for 60,000 đồng ($3) and this was her opening line.
Kate and Adam talked and danced the rest of the night. They agreed to meet the following day for their first date. It was March 8th, International Women’s Day. After that, Kate left Dalat for a few days but Adam’s persistent messages over IG convinced her to come back. When she returned, Adam showed her all his favorites spots in Dalat. He took her to a coffee farm, a beautiful waterfall, his favorite bahn mi stand, and a hip gastropub themed after the movie “The Professional”. Neither Kate nor Adam was expecting to fall in love, but they both felt a strong connection being formed and the feeling that destiny had somehow brought them together.
Adam had two jobs, and Kate had an aggressive backpacking itinerary she was trying to achieve with limited time. Kate continued on to the very south of Vietnam, the Mekong Delta, and Adam stayed in Dalat. A few weeks later, Adam surprised Kate by meeting her in Siem Reap, Cambodia and they had another fun-filled weekend. A plan was made for them to reunite in Sihanoukville, Cambodia in April after Kate’s trip to Indonesia to meet her sister. Adam planned to quit his DJ gig and they would island hop and travel around Southeast Asia together.Timeframes and destinations were a bit unclear, but it didn’t really matter. They just wanted to be around each other and see where it would lead.
Their adventures took them around Kampot and the Cambodian islands in the South. This was followed by a trip to Don Det (The Four Thousand Islands) in Laos and the plan was to travel all the way up Laos to the North. This trip was cut short when a bug bite on Kate’s leg became a serious bacterial infection. Needing quick and reliable treatment, a difficult decision to ditch Laos was made, and replaced with an emergency trip to Bangkok, Thailand.
In every relationship there are mountains and valleys. Highs and lows. When traveling, it’s almost impossible to “start off slow” or give the other person space. After all, you are sharing a small bungalow, a seat on a packed van, and every travel detail is decided by two people instead of one. Kate and Adam did not have the option of getting their friend’s inputs on their new crush. Typical dating formalities were nonexistent, they each put aside individual travel plans and bet on the deep connection they both felt. Scooters and Noodles is a peek into the first chapter of their lives and adventures together.
The intention is for these short stories, pictures and videos to encourage you to explore, follow your heart, and be confident in who you are regardless of life’s challenges and setbacks.
Much Love!
