Here is a comprehensive list of every singe blog post I’ve ever written. Happy Reading!
Tet Holiday on Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam
After our year-long whirlwind travel, we were looking for a vacation. Not travel, but a vacation, where we don’t feel pressured to check out all the sites, and hanging out all day by the beach is perfectly acceptable. Five days on Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam checked the boxes. The…
Saigon in the Time of Corona
By now, you are probably so tired of reading about Covid-19, the novel coronavirus that has led to a global pandemic. I’m impressed if you even clicked on the link to get here. If you got here by accident, feel free to close the tab. My feelings won’t be hurt….
2020 Q1 Business Update
The first quarter of 2020 felt never-ending. Amid a global pandemic and a new job, I managed very little progress with the blog. I contemplated whether to continue these updates, since this blog, much like my new day job, is more a nonprofit endeavor than a business. Out of curiosity,…
Practice Cooking Meditation to Live Slower
Like many, I’ve been cooking and baking up the storm. But for me, this has been going on well before the global pandemic began. I’ve had some time to reflect on why cooking brings me so much joy, and why you, too, should practice cooking meditation. An Incapable Cook in…
Saigon Visitor Guide: Restaurants, Cafés, and More
Ho Chi Minh City, more commonly referred to locally as Saigon, is a vibrant and energetic city. The rapid urban development leads to an ever-changing city, balancing between the new and old. My favorite thing to do in Saigon, as is in any city, is to wander aimlessly, looking into…
Rest Better on Airplane Mode
Life in Saigon has resumed to normal from COVID-19 for several weeks now, and so has the city’s infamous hustle and bustle. This lively city felt suffocating after a month of calm. The Vietnamese government successfully kept the COVID-19 pandemic under control, in what felt like a flip of a…
US Midwestern Charm: Rediscover St. Charles, Missouri
In 1998, I landed from Taichung, Taiwan, to St. Charles, Missouri, as a 12-year-old awkward girl who didn’t speak much English. I was confused at the people-less streets. I hated the need to drive everywhere that took away my freedom to walk and bike places. A city girl somehow found…
US Midwestern Charm: Rediscover St. Louis, Missouri
After spending six of my formative years in St. Charles, a St. Louis suburb, I moved into the city. For four years, I discovered the city as an undergraduate at Saint Louis University. The idea of a college town didn’t appeal to me. I wanted to go to school in…
Engage in Sustainable Tourism from Your Couch
I’ve always loved traveling to learn about a culture and gain perspective on different ways of life. Typically, I dislike tours and prefer to be away from tourist traps. Somehow, I never connected the dots between my two passions: community development and travel. That is, until I met Ameer Virani,…
One Year of Around-the-World Travel on $55 a Day
This week marked a year since we concluded our one year of around-the-world travel. Over this past year, we’ve had time to properly digest all that we’ve experienced. Our itinerary has been retold dozens of times. People seem to have a great interest at how we had structured our route,…
Life Lessons from One Year of Saigon Living
In college, a four-month study abroad trip was life-changing. In my 30s, living in a new country for a year is a mere warm-up. Celebrating one year of living in Saigon has felt somewhat anticlimactic. In so many ways, I feel we’ve only just arrived in Vietnam. We seem to…
Things to Do in London for the Non-First Timer
London holds a special place in my heart. It’s the city that really kicked off my desire to live a global life. I’ve lived in the city three different times, totally nearly two years. The first time, on a semester abroad program, living in a dingy basement flat near Earl’s…
Things to Do in Paris for the Non-First Timer
One of the perks of having a French partner is the privilege to visit Paris on the regular. The luxury of being in a city not for the first time is the zero pressure to check out top sites. I’m free to roam the streets and do as I please….
The Practical Guide to Saigon Living
It’s taken me over a year of living in Saigon to finally feel like I have a decent grasp of life in this chaotic city. Even still, I’m learning about new spots that make life just a tad easier every week. I am paying it forward here with a list…
Saigon City Break: Cat Tien National Park, Nha Trang, Ho Tram, and More
In the 15 months that I’ve lived in Saigon, I’ve only managed a handful of weekend trips outside of the city. Mostly because during the first six months, we were still recovering from our year-long around-the-world travel and wanted to stay put. Saigon is chaotic and full of energy. A…