Here is a comprehensive list of every singe blog post I’ve ever written. Happy Reading!
Trans-Siberian Railway: The Finale
The last part of Trans-Siberian journey through Europe was fairly rushed since we needed to be back in France by mid-July. After two days in Warsaw, we took a 6-hour train to Berlin, stayed overnight to celebrate France’s win in the World Cup, then headed for Strasbourg, our final destination….
Getting Russian & Mongolia Visa in China
Preface Xavier (French) and I (Taiwanese-American) were living in Shanghai at the time of this trip prep. I was staying in China on my Taiwanese ID, but will be traveling on my US Passport, so I needed to obtain Russian visa in Hong Kong. US citizens do not need a…
Trans-Siberian Railway: The Summary
12 trains, 115 hours, and 14,645km. This Trans-Siberian Railway journey took us 27 days. What an incredible experience, and it all went by in a flash. I could have easily double the time for this trip, and dig deeper into each of the places that we visit. If this trip…
2018 Year-in-Review
2018 has been an absolutely epic year. Recently, I listened to a podcast that describes how time can sometimes feel so slow, yet at other times feels fleeting. In essence, when our lives are filled with new experiences, our brain is busy processing all the new signals, and all that…
Farmhouse Experience in Uruguay with Workaway
2019 is the year that we would put ourselves completely out of our comfort zone. This journey began in January with a 3-week stay at a permaculture farm with an American family in rural Minas, Uruguay. We found this family on Workaway, and this was our first experience with an…
Workaway Success Tips for Hosts & Volunteers
After our successful first Workaway experience in Uruguay, we had two less stellar encounters in Chile. We left both of them early. The first experience, at a homa-culture farm near Curacavi, Chile, I came down with a cold on the first night, and needed to sleep through the first morning…
2019 Q1 Business Update
I’ve been blogging off and on (mostly off) for over a decade now. Things in the blogging world have changed, but my love for writing to pay-it-forward has not. Blogging has remained the only hobby that I can consistently work on for hours at a time. You know that “follow…
8 Days in Mexico City
Mexico City was such a surprising delight. Two years later, I can still feel the vibrant energy, remember the incredible cuisine, and appreciate the culture that permeates through its streets. Our family vacations together every year, and despite my sister and I’s globetrotting ways, we prioritize the yearly trip. Accommodation…
One Week in Charming Montreal
At the end of last summer, I was in Vermont for a wedding. Since Montreal is so close and I’ve heard so much about this charming town, it was necessary to make a stop. I booked the Greyhound bus that journeyed from Burlington Airport to Montreal Bus Station on Busbud….
Road Trip from Montréal to the Maine Coast
On the Road Again After a week of city wandering and filling our stomachs with delightful treats in Montreal, we picked up our rental car and head to Maine. From Skyscanner, I was able to find a reasonably priced car rental (National) that allows for cross-border drop-off. The border control…
Internet in China: Life Inside the Great Firewall
Less than a year ago, I bid farewell to my established life in Shanghai. Since, I feel like I live in two parallel Internet universe. My China life on WeChat, and the rest of the world on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram. There is very little intersection between the two worlds, and it has…
From Nomad Living to Ho Chi Minh City
We can read all about an experience, but until we’ve lived it ourselves, it’s just a story. Nomad Envy I have wanted to travel full-time for years. I read blogs and watched vlogs of people who trot around with their life’s possessions in a backpack (or a suitcase), and call…
Journey to a Changing Cultural Identity
Recently, someone on Twitter asked how quickly an immigrant loses ties to his/her heritage. The answer varies, but for me, it was within two short years. At age 12, my identity became hyphenated: Asian-American. Yet with an concerted effort to fit in, I quickly dropped the Asian part of the…
Float Spa: Weightless Body and Restless Mind
A friend recently gifted us certificates to a float spa here in St. Louis, at Float STL. I adore the gift of an experience, and float spa has been on my list of things to try. In accordance with my 2019 theme to step out of comfort zone, I went…
Saigon Chronicle – Week 1: Traffic. Noise. Heat.
After a year of globetrotting, we gathered our belongings, added a couple more bags, and headed for Saigon. By now, moving across the world has become rather habitual. My first big global move was from Taiwan to St. Louis at age 12. That was seriously major. Moving to Cameroon with…