Categories
travel

Daily Post Day 41: My Dream Vacation

I want to go on vacation in a place where the ocean and mountains both coexist. I love the sight of mountains because I feel so peaceful. Ocean waves hitting the shores = bliss.

The last vacation I took was in Las Vegas; sure, there are mountains in the distance from the city, but it certainly isn’t the same. Plus, the dry air of the desert does not please me at all.

One day I’ll be able to take my dream vacation, wherever that is.

Categories
travel

Daily Post Day 35: Teleport, now!

Teleportation is something I want to be reality so badly. I get a thrill out of traveling (who doesn’t?), and it’d be so much easier (and more affordable) to have teleportation around.

First place I’d go to? Where my heart is currently residing.

Next, Palau.

And then, wherever our hearts will take us.

Of course, teleportation should only be available to people who knew how to use it. But that probably won’t happen–it’ll eventually leak out to the masses. And that’s when chaos will occur.

Categories
prompt travel

The Daily Post 2011 Challenge–up for it?

On the way to Japan, 2004

I found out about The Daily Post via a friend on Twitter. I figure, why not? I haven’t been so regular with my blog schedule and really, their prompts so far seem enough to spark some writing juices within me. This year I will be more regular with my writing plans anyway.

The prompt for 01/01/11 (seems everyone is having fun writing 1/1/11) is: List three countries you’d like to visit, and why you want to go.

Well, gee. This prompt resonates with me because I am a lover of travel (currently, only in spirit). This April will mark 3 years since I was in Japan to visit friends for three weeks, and at this moment I do not have any set plans for going overseas before business school in the fall.

I do want to go to these places though:

1. Brazil – Had some friends from there and have met some wonderful students via my previous employer. I became interested in Brazil in 2009 when I was making plans for a long overseas trip for that year or last year. I’d still like to visit, preferably before the World Cup and Olympics hit (and that’s when tourism will go way up for the country).

2. South Korea – Same reason as above–friends from there, or former students. I briefly dabbled in the Korean language in late 2009, so it wouldn’t hurt to refresh my memory on the language again. Also, my great interest in Korean food…mmm.

3. Thailand – And…well, there was no real point to list off the countries separately when my reasons for going to all of them are relatively the same: the people I’ve met from the respective countries, the food, language, etc. One friend told me before that she would be able to help me get travel plans to Thailand whenever I’m game for travel.

Those three countries I have never visited; I’ve only visited China, Hong Kong, and Japan. I would like to go back to visit since my experience in this day and age will be much different than when I visited in undergrad. After graduation, I’ve been more open to other cultures and learning as much as I can about where people are from. Perhaps it’s a part of me that longs for that feeling of “some place different”.

Categories
change time travel

Travels Wrapped Up For the Season; Now What?

I’ve been back from Las Vegas since Friday, but of course it took me a few days to adjust back to daily life. It’s always like that after a vacation/trip: takes a few days to get over the exhilaration felt on the trip. A few ups and downs in moods due to the realization that “all good things must come to an end” and having to face reality again.

Summer is almost over (in a few weeks), and now that I look back on the past few months, I realize I’d done more traveling this year than in the past few years of living in San Francisco. Granted, quite a few trips this year were road trips, but still. I’ve had the opportunity to really see more of California and Nevada this summer.

But, as the title of this post suggests, I’m all finished with travels for now. And of course, the question goes…well, what next?

Sometimes things don’t go as planned…well, not sometimes, but most of the time. I find that that’s what I have been trying to grapple with this year as I keep walking along this path and noticing that many things are not going the way that I want them to. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I’ve had trouble trying to come to terms with this realization.

Doesn’t help when I start to wallow in negativity and telling myself “Well, gee, you’re not going to amount to anything since you keep dragging your feet.” Everything has a time and place though. I’m trying to be patient about everything and just enjoying life day by day. Isn’t that all I can do? Enjoy the present and let the future unwrap itself at its own terms?

I suppose we shall see.

Categories
American Culture driving travel

Desert Land & Reflections

Dusty, two-lane highways are quintessential to the American way. Up until this past weekend, I hadn’t really experienced the meaning of a “road trip”. Sure, I drove to campus when I was in undergrad, but that was just me traveling from Point A to Point B, several times per year. I wasn’t taking stops every hour or so to take in the scenery. Then again, I was the driver.

Over the weekend, I went to Las Vegas with some friends by car. Without stops, the drive would have been nine hours or ten, with traffic. But we took quite a few stops for gas, food, bathroom, coffee, etc. Along the way, I took many pictures of the scenery we passed by. It was different from what I was accustomed to in the past: dry, mountainous desert land.

On the way to Las Vegas, I felt intrigued by the landscape and watched it all pass by with a smile. On the way back to San Francisco, I felt a sadness emanating from the lands as we cruised on up Highway 5. The dryness of the area, the monotonous tones….I realized that I wouldn’t want to live in areas like this.

Just more thoughts to confirm what my landscape preferences are: mountains, oceans, lakes, forests, etc. Let’s not talk about cityscapes this time around. That’ll have to wait until a future entry.