Traveling 101: An Introduction :)

I like traveling.

Well, maybe that's an understatement. I love traveling. That's more like it.

Since I was a child, my parents took me on vacation trips to locations all around the globe. From places such as Seattle to Washington D.C., they took me everywhere they could. Well, domestically for the most part. We didn't travel internationally as often.

At first, I absolutely hated to travel.

I know, right? How could someone hate traveling?

Back then, I thought that there was nothing special about the locations we went to, and that we were only there to take photos that my parents would later upload on to Facebook for all my aunts and uncles to see. (Nowadays it's on sites like Instagram, am I right?)

I admit, I was even guilty of evading some family photos. I can assume that some of you are also guilty of the same!

One of the few exceptions for me as a child was the Hershey's Chocolate Factory in Philadelphia. If you're a big fan of sweets or chocolate, then this would definitely be a place for you! My favorite attractions as a child were the chocolate tour where a ride takes you through the process of making chocolate from cocoa bean to chocolate bar! I hear that there's even a place where you can make your own chocolate now, but I haven't been back to experience it myself.

However, things changed as I got older and grew to like the idea of traveling. When my family and I finally traveled off the North American continent, my love for traveling blossomed. I traveled to Asia and saw so many foreign yet amazing things. From the delicious yet inexpensive street food of my ethnic origin of Vietnam to the cultural beauty of Japan, I was captured by the experiences brought by traveling.

We all love different aspects of traveling, and that's one of the things I love so much about traveling! There's just so many things to do, right?

In Vietnam, I met so many relatives there that I never knew I had. I was even fortunate enough to travel all over the country, from Ho Chi Minh City and its delicious street food, to Da Nang with its beautiful sunsets and Dragon Bridge, and all the way up to Hanoi with its iconic take on Vietnamese food. 

I took the photo above back in Da Nang at the Dragon Bridge when I traveled there with my family back in 2018. It was absolutely breathtaking with the sunset and the city in the background, and apparently the dragon even breathes fire at certain times! 

I know there are some of you out there who are avid photographers, and would love to take photos in such aesthetically appealing locations such as Dragon Bridge. I admit, I am somewhat of a photographer myself, too! 

In Japan, I was able to enjoy so many different things that the country had to offer, from mouthwatering yakiniku (Japanese barbecue) to the beautiful temples to the massive arcades. There was always something to do when I stayed in Japan. Sadly, the big arcades I went to back in Japan recently shut down after 28 years of service, so I'm pretty bummed out about that. But anyway! 

There's a lot to do when traveling, so you'll never really be bored outside of the hotel (or even inside if you have a nice hotel). You could be ziplining, scuba diving, finding photo spots, or going on food adventures!

Okay, maybe I said a little too much. Yes, I am absolutely infatuated with traveling, and I want to spread the happiness that I get from traveling! I know traveling can be a pretty overwhelming topic even for long time travelers, and I'll try my best to make things easier to take in. I'm aiming to offer as much information and tips to traveling to the locations I have been to here on this blog. 

Yes, I may have not been everywhere, but I'll try my best to help you by providing tips from my experiences in certain locations around the globe!