Secret Royalty On Tour

 This morning at the Vang Vieng train station, I accidentally became China-famous.

A man scanned a sea of empty seats and chose the one directly beside me. Moments later his entire tour group assembled opposite us, giggling like we were about to film a talk show, and very politely asked if they could take photos… not of me, but with me.

Suddenly I’m in a full photoshoot: smiles, angles, giggles, the works. One woman even restyled herself and removed all suitcases from the frame.

They reviewed every picture like Vogue editors on a deadline, selected their favourites and showed them to me with great pride. Here are just two.

Meanwhile I’m sitting there thinking:

China, sweetheart… what is happening here?

Years ago, travelling around Asia, the red hair and very white skin combination occasionally caused a bit of a stir. But I assumed those days were over now that the world is very much internet-connected.

Apparently the algorithm has not reached Vang Vieng Station.

Anyway, good news. I’ve still got it.
(And by ‘it,’ I mean whatever sparks spontaneous international paparazzi.)

If I appear on WeChat today, please use the filter that makes me look like a K-drama star.