Here is a comprehensive list of every singe blog post I’ve ever written. Happy Reading!
US Road Trip: One Week in California’s San Francisco Bay Area
From geological marvels of the American Southwest, we headed west to San Francisco for a change of scenery, but continued the road trip theme in California. During my time at the fruit company, I had a few extended visits to the Bay Area and wanted to share this beautiful region…
Birthday Giving: Hair Donation in Saigon
Since turning 30, my desire for elaborate birthday celebrations has waned. Instead of large gatherings, I now prefer to retreat and reflect. Recently, there’s been a trend to raise funds for birthdays on Facebook, to support a good cause. This year, in keeping with the “being uncomfortable” theme, I decided…
Recognize Passport Privilege
One of my main goals with this blog is to inspire people to live globally. When contacted by the U.S. State Department to help promote its #BeginYourJourney campaign for Passport Month, I happily obliged. After all, obtaining a passport is the first step to living more globally. Recognize Passport Privilege …
Saigon Chronicle Month 3: 90-day Resettlement – Expats vs. Refugees
I learned on an episode of Sincerely, Hueman recently that the U.S. government’s refugee resettlement program lasts only 90 days. Refugees are expected to be self-sufficient within this time frame. This week, we, the privileged expats in Vietnam, approach our own 90-day milestone. The dichotomy of our experience versus that…
4 Days in Colorful Buenos Aires
On our full-time travel, we picked destinations based on our global set of friends and families. Xav’s brother lives in Uruguay, so we decided to escape winter and migrate down to the Southern hemisphere. We kicked off our three-month South America tour with a 4-day stay in Buenos Aires, visiting…
2019 Q3 Business Update
Q3 was filled with transitions as we settle into our new lives in Saigon. With Xav at work, I am left with ample time to catch up on this blog. Am I A Writer? Being in a new city, one of the most common questions I get is that dreaded,…
Northern Argentina Road Trip from Salta
After a few days of settling into Argentina in Buenos Aires, we flew up north to Salta to begin a whirlwind of a four-day Northern Argentina road trip. If we had more time, I would have doubled the length of this itinerary and spend two nights in each destination. Whenever…
Argentina Patagonia Part I: 4-Days in Ushuaia
Day 1: Travel from Salta to Ushuaia We concluded our whirlwind road trip in Northern Argentina and headed South to explore Patagonia. The first stop was to Ushuaia, a city located at the furthest southern point of the world, and thus claims its “End of the World” title. Argentina is…
Saigon Chronicle Month 4: The Saigon vs. Shanghai Battle
I’ve just returned from 10 days of visiting Shanghai. This was my first trip back to the city since we bid farewell in June 2018. Since arriving in Saigon four months ago, despite my best effort to be objective, I couldn’t help but compare this new home to Shanghai, a…
Argentina Patagonia Part II: 4-Days Around El Calafate
Day 1: Traveling from Ushuaia to El Calafate For part II of our Argentina Patagonia adventure, we took a short 70-minute flight from Ushuaia to El Calafate. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize the flight was delayed until we arrived at the airport. The short journey, unfortunately, took us 6-hours door-to-door. I’ve heard…
Argentina Patagonia Part III: 5-Day Road Trip from Trelew to Puerto Madryn
Day 1: Rental Pick-up & Overnight in Trelew From El Calafate, where we sighted the impressive glacier and the infamous Patagonia mountain range, we headed East to Trelew, where we begin another road trip to see penguins and other beautiful wildlife. Learn Manual Shift Driving Before Arrival We picked up…
Saigon Chronicle Month 5: Building a Community Abroad
Last month, before a trip back to Shanghai, I struggled to find my place in Saigon. Unlike previous moves abroad, the integration this time around feels slow. Partly, because I’ve adopted to living slower, but also I’m in a different stage of life – married and in my 30s. In…
Argentina 3-Week Itinerary Summary
Argentina is an incredible country, and we packed in as much to see as possible during our time here. I was never much drawn to wildlife sightings. Experiences like safari or whale watching were never of interest. Argentina changed all of that for me. My world has been opened, and…
Explore Montevideo and Coastal Uruguay
Journey from Buenos Aires to Montevideo via Colonia Express After three whirlwind weeks in Amazing Argentina, we headed to Uruguay. Xav’s brother has lived near Montevideo for over a decade and visiting his family for Christmas shaped our winter plans in South America. I had booked tickets only a few…
City Guide: Discover Cosmopolitan Santiago, Chile
We traveled in and out of Santiago numerous times during our month-long stay in Chile. I loved the artsy cosmopolitan vibe that the city exudes. If you get a chance to visit Santiago, here are my recommendations! Accommodation In total, we were in Santiago 3 different times, and we stayed…
