In the last couple years I’ve really been ramping up my Travel game at home and abroad.
Every step I take while out of my comfort zone is a growing process, as many friends have impressed upon me.
My current destination of interest is East Asia. In particular, Hong Kong, China, and Singapore have been in my sights. Perhaps this is me making up for lost time and experience, growing up isolated from a large Chinese community in suburbian America... But that's for a different page in the blog ;)
I've booked my stay in Hong Kong for this March! Wish my ass luck.
I've got some friends that'll be there at the same time, but on a different venture, so hopefully I can piggyback off of their adventures for a night or two, alongside my own routine of going-solo and striking up conversation with strangers. (I have my dad to thank for that learned skill.
Until then, I'm using DROPS and Hello-Chinese to practice my Cantonese and Mandarin comprehension, not to mention watching a ton of HK, TW, and CN-media to boost the listening skills. And of course, asking my Chinese friends and family a word or two every so often.
NEXT STOP:
HK S-2019
Seoul, Korea 2018
A leisurely trip to East Asia
Over Thanksgiving Break 2018, I decided to go to korea to visit my Industrial Design friends studying abroad. They studied at Hongik Universtiy in Seoul for the first semester of Senior Year.
A few of them were kind enough to open up a space for me in their apartment. That was a life-saver for finding accommodations. Ryan, Jeremy and Danny were awesome hosts.
I bought round trip direct flights on Singapore Airlines… Let me just say, those were the best trans-oceanic flights I have ever taken. Excellent service, good in-flight meals and drinks, and of course in flight entertainment. Not to mention the airline’s flight attendants, both male and female, were pretty and handsome as they come. The ladies wore a unique and colorful pattern on their attire, more of a dress than traditional hostess attire.
It was my first time setting foot in Asia, so deep down I was quite excited and eager to experience what life is like in the East. I never expected that Seoul would be my first landing point on that side of the world.
Through cosmic coincidence, I ran into a university friend, Melissa, while going through immigration! She graduated linguistics and had come to teach English in Seoul! My friends who came to get me helped her find transport to where she was goin. I didn’t get the chance to meet here thereafter unfortunately.
Lots of things happened in Seoul…
Out of the 6 nights I was there, I went clubbing from 10pm-5am for 4 of them… They go hard over there… Makes for good stories… partied & drank mostly in the Hongdae area and went to Insa-Dong with the gang the night before my flight out.
The night-life is one of the things that makes me wish I had actually studied there…
Tried my luck with a few Korean ladies here and there… Emphasis on “tried”…
Walked through much of the downtown area and a lot of the popular tourist attractions and shopping areas… Maker City, Dongdaemun Design Park (designed by Zaha Hadid), Gyeongbukgung Palace, Bukchon Village, Seoul Tower, Namdaemun and Myeongdong… My legs were killing me by the end of the week… Maybe rocking my NIKE-AF-SF-1’s was not such a good idea…
The food was interesting, and I enjoyed the culture of eating and drinking with one’s peers often. I didn’t get a good grasp of the entire Korean palate, but I’m sure I’ll compensate through a few trips to K-Town in LA… I know some people ;)
My friends were kind enough to chaperone me through some areas of interest, as well as take me to their special spots around town. It was some long overdue quality one-on-one time with each member of the design crew there.
On the flip-side, I was especially excited to meet the characters they had become friends with while studying abroad. Needless to say they cliqued up with a cool crowd comprised of Koreans and Expats. All of them together dubbed themselves “the putti-club”, Spanish for “club of prostitutes”… Don't ask me how they got that name...
They come from all around the world, speak many different languages, and live different lives, but together formed one happy and synergetic crowd… One more reason I wish I had studied there.
A small glimpse into their lives abroad would be all I could end up getting!
The final night, we partied in Itaewon, a neighborhood famous for its night-life. We were at the opening night of a club called LIVIN... There was all kinds of drinking, dancing, drama, a somewhere in there, a birthday cake...
Slipped out of the apartment in the early morning to catch a train to the airport... A surprisingly beautiful ride, with low hanging and voluminous clouds, coupled with the blade-runner aesthetic of barren rice-fields covered in snow and abrupt and randomly spaced high-rises that seemed to sprout from the ground. A mesmerizing scene that I will never forget.
Spent my last 10,000 Korean Won on ramen at the airport, where I was scrutinized more than once by airport staff and security for my baggage.
Came home just in time to get sick. All that Seoul smog did a number on my lungs. I didn't realize it until I came down with a cough the day after I got back... Next time in Asia I'll be like a local and wear a face-mask...
Portland 2018
IDSA Western District Conference
The Industrial Designer’s Society of America “IDSA” held their western district conference in April 2018 in the city of Portland Oregon. At first I was hesitant to attend, as all ID students had a HUGE deadline for our Junior Works-In-Progress show on April 11th…
I eventually concluded “fuck it” and pulled the trigger on getting a ticket. It would be a good opportunity to network and learn new skills and what the competition in the industry is like across the country.
I had been deathly ill the week before, with the worst cough I have ever experienced. I had to work in a machine shop full of dust while afflicted... Thank god for respirators... I had just got through the thick of it while grinding for that WIP Show deadline.
Around a half-dozen of us from the Industrial Design program at CSULB stayed at a Hostel near old Chinatown in Portland called “THE SOCIETY”… It was actually pretty nice… Bunk beds stacked 4 HIGH!!! Quite a unique experience…
Others stayed around town or with family.
The conference itself wasn’t too mind-blowing, although there were some good portfolio and resume building exercises. There was a high emphasis on Story-telling and letting your portfolio COMPLETELY speak for itself without your presence or narration. That was the big takeaway from the whole event. There were speakers from NIKE and ADIDAS… Students from the local Pensole group… Overall it wasn’t a life-altering, career boosting experience.
The afterparty was held at the WACOM store, (Wacom makes artist sketch tablets for digital media) and had a grand old time…
Got to know a HK guy named Austin, my friend Bex was kind of the Liaison between us, being a native HK person... The guy was from Pensole and now he's in LA posting his soccer games. I haven't reached out to him yet. Life's in the way I suppose.
At some point I remember going out to a club called WHITE OWL… The atmosphere and vibes there easily made that night the best by far. It was right next to my friend’s family shop… I remember approaching 2 different girls that night… both unfortunately, had come with boyfriends… Just my luck… Regardless, I felt proud that I “shot my shot” for what it was worth… There’s always more fish in the sea.
I will DEFINITELY hit that place up next time I’m in Portland!
No trip is without its pitfalls though…
For one, I missed my Fall 2018 registration date for studio and got stuck with the professor nobody wants… Such a classic, NOOB mistake of not watching the time and hovering over the button until the clock hits your registration time.
Next, and more urgent at the time, was the mishandling of actually getting to the airport to get home… The group of us didn’t very well understand the Metro system in Portland, and unknowingly boarded the wrong tram trying to get to the airiport… By the time we realized it, we were miles in the wrong direction… We tried to use the train to get back but we were cutting it WAY too close… So I called a lyft that ITSELF took way too long to arrive and find us… ANYWAY, we got to the airport and through security with seconds to spare! The gate was boarding when we were walking up…
Finally, the Uber home from LAX was a solid 50$ for 2 people… I ended up dropping my friend Jeremy off at his place in Seal Beach with my own ride.
One thing to note, is that there are 2 classes of 18 students in Design, forming 36 Juniors total… As a result of this trip, I think I grew closer to the students from the other section, since classroom boundaries were erased for that weekend…
We came in hot just in time for Junior WIP show. We were all working on our computers throughout the trip getting ready, making posters, doing CAD, etc.
Those 2 weeks leading up to the WIP show with IDSA Portland in the middle was excruciatingly stressful for everyone in the program, to say the least
Canada 2018
Vancouver | Whislter-Blackomb | Seattle
In 2018, I had the opportunity to go to Whistler, British Columbia to go on a ski trip with my dad… I had to find my own way up there and meet him, so I flew into Vancouver and took a bus up into the mountains. I skipped half a week of school to vacation for a long weekend.
Vancouver is Vancouver, tall glass buildings, trees everywhere… your ideal Pacific Northwest coast…
Whistler-Blackcomb is a 2 mountain ski resort with a gondola in the middle spanning the two mountains…
It was some of the hardest skiing of my life but ultimately fun… TONS of leg burn…
Met a guy named Andrew who my Dad befriended… He, his friends and my Dad tried to get me with some Asian chick at the pub we were all drinking at. I never saw her. Apparently she left… I stayed out while they went home & drank & danced for a while longer.
My aunt’s Malay friend was also in the area. We skied with her a few days as well. Eventually my Aunt and a friend made it up to Whistler and we all had ramen at probably the only ramen shop in Whistler…
We drove back over the border to Seattle and stayed at my Aunt’s friend’s place. She has 2 mixed boys like me! They’re away to college though. I haven’t seen them in over a decade! Last time I saw those 2 boys was in Lake Tahoe, 2006 or 2007…
We went into town and saw the Glass museum there, in addition to the Space Needle, before flying home.
Someone recognized my design style sketching on the plane and gave me their tablet to draw on. Got home without a hit.
Journey from BUF to MD thru BOS & NYC
Boston & NYC 2018
At some point in the Summer, I ended up in the Boston area to visit one of my dad’s old friends. They’re livin it up on a big plot of land. Right wing people. They also had a hookah.
Anyway, we touched down in Boston for a day. Did part of the independence walk… lots of red brick buildings. Walked all the way from the central park area to Bunker Hill and back… There was some food-court area I forget the name… We all drew with paint and crayons on some scratch paper… Saw the Converse building… Yeah. Boston was ok.
From there, we headed down to New York City.
New York is a very busy city with a unique and hustling vibe. Not really my style, can’t say I’d enjoy living there… A little too fast paced, compared to SF. Too dense.
I will say that I loved the skyline experience. Central Park was surprisingly big, but also small? It’s a really long rectangle and that was weird to me… We visited the MET, MOMA… Rockefeller building… I believe we also did a tour bus.. yes yes… very basic tourist stuff…
The most memeorable thing was the last night, rooftop chilling. Did some sketching over some beers. I’ve got a taste for that aesthetic now…
Finally we left NYC for MD… Hung out for a bit with the fam... Flew home to LA.
Portland 2017 vol. 2
Weekend trip into the life of Ryan Genena
My friend Ryan Genena invited myself and another design friend Ben to visit his hometown of Portalnd in October… He was there with the purpose of picking up a new Toyota Corolla to replace his BMW that was becoming a money pit to maintain…
We set out from LAX into Eugene Oregon, there we were picked up by an acquaintance of Ryan’s and we went to Corvallis for a short while to pick up the Corolla. Over some Korean food, we talked about his role in the agriculture-technology industry on the scientific side of things… I can’t remember exactly his role but it sure wasn’t a farmer… We had tea at his place, toured Oregon State University, and set out for Portland.
We met with Ryan’s mom and stayed in her apartment on the river, quite an idyllic place to settle down. New building, upper-middle class residents, shops nearby and not far at all from downtown…
Ryan’s mother’s cooking was amazing… Lebanese-Mediterranean home cooking!
I can’t remember everything we did, but I do remember going to Powell’s bookstore, the Nike Employee store, where I didn’t find much interesting… We met a few of his friends here and there over drinks.
Eventually, we got around to the drive back to Cali… yes… we drove… 15 hours… I’ve done long drives before so I was fine… we took 5 hour shifts between the 3 of us…
Mt. Shasta was a grand sight on the way home.
Europe 2017
Paris>Zurich>Innsbruck>Salzburg>Wien>Prague>Köln>Amsterdam>Hamburg
Europe was a last minute thing. I had been on the fence for a while, especially since my younger brother had already been to Europe for his High School Graduation. I felt I needed to break out of my shell and go abroad. An avid traveler friend of mine introduced me to google-flights, a handy tool if you have never heard of it before…
I had originaly planned to stay a week in Vienna Austria, to dip my toes in the European scene… As a conversationally proficient German speaker, I knew I could survive, not to mention most Europeans understand English to some extent. I had invited my brother but he wasn’t very interested in going back to Europe.
Then came my Dad into the equation…
As an avid planner he ended up planning a GRAND TOUR of Europe that would last 3 weeks… initially to my dismay. Together we worked out which cities piqued our interest, eventually planning to move from Paris, to Zurich to Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna & finally Prague… Thereafter I would split with my dad and go my own way to Koln, Amsterdam and Hamburg.
Let me just say that that trip was as fun as it was stressful and exhausting…
Paris was quite a scene, exactly what I expected in many cases, definitely not a bad thing! Amazing architecture, atmosphere, vibes and sounds… Though some restaurants were uncomfortable for me to be in, I was paranoid that the servers and other guests weren’t fond of Americans…
The Museums and parkways were most impressive. There wasn’t any other city quite bustling like Paris was on that trip.
Crazy story though, the first time I ever heard my dad speak Mandarin was in a Chinese takeout hole in the wall near the Bastille… the woman behind the counter only spoke French and Mandarin… although my Dad’s mandarin was broken, I was completely shocked. I had never heard him speak it in full sentences, only ever speaking Cantonese in the restaurants and large family and friend gatherings in DC.
Zurich was awesome, quite a luxurious, vacation-y town in the mountains. You hear German, French, and Italian everywhere. Unfortunately Schweizer-Deutsch is hard for me to understand, so I spoke English most of the time.
I walked through the design school there. Saw some awesome ski-boots made from clay, as well as an architectural build right outside the school from wood that the students were building themselves! I had a quick conversation with them.
We also happened upon a hypebeast thrift session. Lots of vintage branded clothing. It wasn’t my style at the time so I passed it by, but now I’m all over vintage aesthetic!
The Journey through Austria was the most beautiful and picturesque phase of the trip. Gorgeous mountains and meadows, quaint and quiet little towns and villages, the whole European Alps was breathtaking.
Innsbruck’s mountains were wildly high surrounding the town. We had some trouble getting into our Air-BnB late at night. (lesson learned: never do a late-night arrival)
Theresien Brau Haus was amazing. Highly recommend! I even saw a friend of mine go there a few weeks later haha!
Austrian German was easier to understand and I was able to order food and ask directions well enough.
Next was the trip to Salzburg… and the dreaded Van…
The rental car company Budged ripped me and my dad and stuck us with a FAT ASS van, not a minivan, a fucking full blown 15 or so seat passenger van. Ridiculous.
We made it to Salzburg through Germany. Again struck with beautiful Bavarian countryside.
Not even gonna lie, the best thing about Salzburg was that Tiramisu at “Olympia” some Greek restaurant. I had to do the ordering since they didn’t know English, only Greek and German… Best Tiramisu EVER. OF ALL TIME. SERIOUSLY. I WILL GO BACK THERE FOR IT SOMEDAY.
Other than that we checked out the Hohensalzburg-Schloss to listen to some Mozart & have a sub-par dinner… oh and some crazy rude Chinese tourists… I couldn’t believe it… They really don’t give a fuck… it was as ridiculous as it was hilarious. Taking pictures and stuff during the performance. All the white people were mad-doggin’ them…. BUT I DIGRESS…
In addition to Hohensalzburg, we also toured Hellbrunn, a lord’s palace in the fields away from the city-center. Quite a fun tour with fun water-works and fountains… interesting water-powered-theme.
We trekked out to the Eisriesenwelt on our last day, a series of natural ice-caves high up in the mountains nearby. It was definitely worth the time if you’re into natural wonders.
After that, we gunned for 3 or 4 hours to Vienna.
The Hilton hotel my dad procured for us was my original plan to stay in. Vienna was much more industrialized that I had imagined in my head, but some older stuff still stands. The Danube was not as beautiful. In my head, Vienna was supposed to look more like Prague.
I learned what Aperol Spritz was in Vienna. A couple of bad experiences trying to speak German to servers made that discovery a somewhat negative experience…
Schönbrunn Palace was quite amazing. I’m always impressed by garden layouts and botany in general.
We took an hours long bus-ride to Prague.
At first, it looked like a dump at the bus station. I was worried that the whole city would look like trash. However, I was dead wrong. The center area of the city was beautiful. Cobblestone streets were everywhere, nice shops and vendors made it a total tourist destination. The bridges and castle were also amazing. We didn’t get a chance to see the mini-eiffel-tower though. We walked quite a bit.
We were running out of cash money in the local currency, so we didn’t end up getting much by way of shopping even though things were pretty cheap there… that wasn’t why we were there anyway… If I ever go back, I’ll take advantage of the low prices.
I did something special in Prague.
I left a small note for my friend Nikki who was going to be in Prague a month later…. I rolled up a tiny piece of paper and tucked it into a lamp-post panel in the Town Square… I took a video of myself hiding the note and the surrounding buildings.
She found the note & posted it on Instagram ~
After Prague was where me and my dad parted ways. I would continue on to Cologne Germany and stay in Europe for another week, while he would head straight home.
I took a Plane to Frankfurt and rode the train for a couple hours to Cologne.
The Rhine River was amazing to see on the trip north. Grape-vines were everywhere, and old towers and ruins and villages on the river were evenly spread throughout the ride.
I stayed in the Downtown Hostel in Cologne, in the heart of the city. I roomed with 3 other girls, which was an awkward and paranoia full experience. Had to stay on my toes to be clean and tidy… One French, one Russian, and one German…
I met a nice Aussie name Sam, and spent a day or two hanging out with him. We walked around for half a day, went to the Cologne Tower, and drank at a pub with all the guys from the dorm that night. Nice dude. I hope to see him again & I’ve reached out to him over Instagram. He’s back in Australia.
I visited the Museum of East Asian art and the Botanical Garden… a design museum, and perhaps most importantly the DOM Cathedral.
I left for Amsterdam via train.
Amsterdam was crowded beyond belief. I don’t plan on going back because of the sheer ocean of people in the downtown area. I may be overreacting though.
I befriended a Kurdish gentleman named Hoshyar, a petroleum engineer… Wonderfully hospitable guy, although a bit odd, but that’s likely because of our culture differences. We visited the Van Gough museum, the Rijks Museum and also the Botanical Garden… We also hit the town at night through the red-light district following some other guys…. Neither of us really had a great time… I had an edible but I crashed before it even hit me. Slept right through the high… SMH…
Flew into Hamburg the next morning.
My long-time friend Samantha was in Hamburg studying that Summer. She took me under her wing for a couple days and showed me the city. Samantha and I actually go back to Middle School, and we learned German together from high school into college… Crazy to think about now that I’m looking back… She introduced me to her friend who was the bartender at the Hostel I was staying at!
Apparently Hamburg is a frequent docking spot for the RMS QUEEN-MARY-2, the sister ship to the QUEEN MARY, which is retired in the port of Long Beach, my hometown!
I met a guy named Axel at the bar in the hostel… He talked about his time in America as a kid, and had a very one sided conversation about “elektronische musik”… going on about Kraftwerk and others… He was a nice guy, I just couldn’t follow with anything as impressive in the conversation…
They played some Blur songs on the music playlist. The singer Damon Albarn is also the singer/composer for the Gorillaz, my favorite band… (I saw Gorillaz only months later for their new album HUMANZ)…
And so I left Europe, enlightened, exhausted, inspired, and humbled… I wonder when I’ll get the chance to go back?
Canada 2016
Toronto & Montreal
2016 was a crazy Summer Overall, but my trip to Canada with my Dad and 2 siblings was a nice journey.
It starts with the preface of being at my Mom’s hometown of Buffalo NY, we had seen a Frank Lloyd Wright house just days earlier, and did a couple other festive/local things too. We did see friends and my mom’s family of course. I think we went to Allegheny State Park too…
My dad had dropped in town to visit his best man for a few days. This happened separately from our visit... So we rendezvoused with my Dad and my mom went her separate way... (My parents are not together)
After Setting out from Buffalo NY, we hit Toronto, went up the Space Needle… Hit up a some kind of market area and had Jamaican food… I think it was some kind of jerked OX tail over rice… Went to Chinatown for dinner… Science museum... and also toured the Casa Loma… We stayed the night somewhere in between those things…
Then was a 4 or 5 hour drive to Montreal, Quebec.
Montreal is the more European-looking of the two cities I visited… very French influenced… It was a good precursor into what Europe would be like a year later…
We walked along the waterfront, Visited the Olympic Park, and walked around the Chinatown area to try what my Dad claimed to be the best “Dan-Tat” (egg tart) he ever had back in a Chinese volleyball tournament oh so many years ago…
The views and vibes were something I want another taste of… Better learn some French before I go back…
The Tour ended with us arriving in Maryland to visit my dad’s extended family for a couple days. We visited the National Air and Space museum in Virginia with my cousins.
(Enter funny story about my cousin Jeffrey being late to his GF’s birthday + stopping at Ritas for some Italian ice… )
