My dad has been a huge cycling fan for as long as I can remember, so when we made the trip to Bilbao, Spain, in 2023 for the Grand Départ of the Tour de France, it felt like a dream come true for him. After years of watching the Tour on TV, I thought I…

Our family trip to Greece in 2023 was unforgettable, especially the last five days we spent in Crete, near Plaka. This coastline is absolutely gorgeous, though quite developed with resorts. But what really captured my attention, just a short distance offshore, was the island of Spinalonga, with its incredibly unsettling past. For centuries, the Venetians…

It’s interesting how little my American friends know about my current home city of Singapore. It’s true, it is very far away from the U.S. and very small—so small, in fact, that it has the nickname “the little red dot.” It’s referred to as this because on a map, the dot is often all you can…

Living in Southeast Asia truly offers endless opportunities for unique travel experiences. In February, I went on an educational trip to Malaysian Borneo. I went into this trip looking forward to seeing the famous wildlife, and they sure did not disappoint. I saw the TikTok-famous Proboscis Monkeys with their distinctively huge noses, and several different…

Having visited Disney World (Florida, USA), Hong Kong Disneyland, Paris Disneyland, and most recently Tokyo Disney, I’ve noticed a theme: while the parks generally share a similar layout and many of the same rides, the real difference lies in the visitors’ behaviors. Our visit to Tokyo Disney on a Wednesday in October, despite not being…

Kyoto is hands down my favorite city in Japan. There’s something about it that makes it feel much smaller than it actually is. If Tokyo is the bustling, overwhelming New York, then Kyoto is definitely the charming, more manageable Boston. Honestly, it feels even more compact than Boston. As a tourist, that smaller scale is…

I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to some incredible places, but a recent trip to Bhutan in February truly stands out. I went as part of a school service trip, volunteering with Read Bhutan in a rural area of the country. While there, we also hiked to the picturesque Tiger’s Nest Monastery. The country is…

Over spring break, my family took a trip to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It’s a city that consistently ranks highly on the “most livable” lists, and having been there, I can see why. The surveys look at things like safety, education, healthcare, culture, and public transport, and I definitely experienced many of those positive aspects firsthand.…

As a sports fan, I absolutely love diving into the local sports scene whenever I travel. It doesn’t matter what the sport is, if the locals are passionate about it, I’m in. This past spring, during our trip to Australia, we had the fantastic opportunity to go to an Australian Rules Football game: St Kilda…

One of the most memorable trips my family took while living in Beijing was to Mongolia. We stayed near Ulaanbaatar and explored the countryside, including the Genghis Khan statue and other more rural sights. Two memories from that trip vividly stand out. I remember waking up in our yurt to find about six inches of…

I won’t forget the first time I heard the unmistakable sound of the ice cream truck coming down my street. Having just moved back to the US after growing up in China, this well-known American experience was new to me, and I became an instant fan. So, I was happy to discover that Singapore also…

During the Lunar New Year holiday, my family and I visited Luang Prabang, Laos, a destination where the history and architecture immediately impressed us. Less developed than nearby countries such as Thailand or Vietnam, the town possessed an unexpectedly small and somewhat calm atmosphere. Another thing of note was that the smell of polluted air…

Originally from the United States, we have spent most of our youth living in Asia due to our parents’ work. At this point, we have traveled to 35 countries and have had countless opportunities to learn about the diversity of the world. Of course, we don’t remember every detail of every trip; we are only…