Country 19: Brazil | This post is part of my 30×30 series. Read more here! Rio de Janeiro is perhaps the most awesome city I have ever visited, with heavy emphasis on the awe. It is the very definition of urban jungle, with plenty of concrete and plenty more greenery. But tucked between the beaches and…
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Country 18: Singapore | This post is part of my 30×30 series. Read more here! My trip to Singapore was more or less a stroke of supreme luck—almost fairytale. An uncle I met on my trip to the Philippines happened to be stationed in U.S. navy housing in Singapore, and offered to fly me out for a…
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Country 17: The Philippines | This post is part of my 30×30 series. Read more here! One of the things I love, in principle, about America is that you can be any kind of American. Filipino-American, Swedish-American, Afro-American, Chinese-American. In theory, you keep the country of your heritage looped in with your identity as an American. My…
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Country 16: Thailand | This post is part of my 30×30 series. Read more here! Planning a trip to Thailand? There are two very Thai festivals that might pop up on your radar. One is Songkran, the Thai new year. It’s a riotous celebration with people flinging, shooting, dumping, and dunking water onto everyone and everything. There…
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Country 15: Taiwan | This post is part of my 30×30 series. Read more here! I used to hate long layover flights. Between the overused airport bathrooms, uncomfortable seating, and ridiculously expensive food and beverage options, there’s little to look forward to. It was only when flying into Taipei that I first appreciated the best way to…
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I visited Chichén Itzá, the ancient Mayan city in the Yucatan Peninsula, back in 2010. (so young! So tan!). It was the first time I’d seen something so ancient and monumental—made even more dramatic by a deafening thunderstorm that drenched the site for a solid hour during my visit. My two favorite spots within the…
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Tourists flock to Mallorca for the beautiful beaches, crazy party scene, and wild scenery. But it’s still possible to take in some of Spain’s food culture in a quieter, more intimate way—and try the best tapas in Mallorca while you’re at it. In Palma’s Sa Gerreria district (just east of the Plaça Cort and Plaça…
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Country 12: France | This post is part of my 30×30 series. Read more here! April 2009 — Paris, France Paris. There’s no other city like it—(perhaps because we keep saying there’s no other city like it). I spent four days in that city and cannot even begin to claim that I have seen it. My…
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Country 11: Italy | This post is both part of my 30×30 series (read more here!) and part of my travel traditions series (read more here.). “What a wonder it is! So grand, so solemn, so vast! And yet so delicate, so airy, so graceful! A very world of solid weight, and yet it seems …a delusion…
Read MoreCountry 10: Czech Republic | This post is part of my 30×30 series. Read more here! One of my biggest regrets from my trip to Prague was missing out on the Mucha Museum. Prior to visiting the Czech Republic, I’d had no idea that the artist famous for most of the French Art Nouveau pieces…
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Up and Gone 