to london

to london

To london, and my past selves that walked its streets. fall 2022

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One Day in Chongqing

One Day in Chongqing

I just came back from a trip to China filled with family time and good food. While physically tired, I feel mentally refreshed because there’s no better reminder of what life is is all about than returning to your roots. I spent my childhood in Beijing, but the longer it has been since I moved away, the more Chongqing, my dad’s hometown, feels almost just as much of a hometown to me. This time I visited Chongqing for about 3 days, primarily to spend time with family members and celebrate my grandpa’s birthday. However I was still able to carve…

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York, England

York, England

This post is long overdue as it’s officially been over half a year since my 2016 Christmas trip to the UK. There’s no shortage of posts about that trip – I’ve shared Christmas in London, a winter look, a roundup of my favorite parks in London, the hotels I stayed in England, and a some snaps from East London. Just because there’s already been somewhat of an overload of UK travel posts, however, does not mean that York doesn’t deserve its own special write-up. York is quite literally the UK counterpart of New York (get it??) – well maybe it’s already…

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A Brief Walk in Bronx and Brooklyn

A Brief Walk in Bronx and Brooklyn

I’ve been to New York City in 2008, 2012, 2015, and also a couple times when I was little, of which I barely have any memory. What I have absolute no memory of is venturing into any borough that’s not Manhattan. During this trip I made it a point to explore outside of Manhattan. This was made a bit easier by the fact that my best friend now attends medical school in the city. For the first time I get to visit from somewhat of a local’s perspective. On my first day here, we decided to go to the Bronx…

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Flying Solo in NYC

Flying Solo in NYC

I’m currently sitting in front of a window at Newark Airport listening to calming music in order to drown out the inescapable hustling noise that comes with airports, because guess what, my flight has been delayed 3 HOURS. My unwillingness to accept the my bad luck and the fact that the delay is the exact same length as the time difference between NYC and LA caused much confusion and dismay, but I’ve accepted it because after all, this was one of the best trips I’ve ever been and I won’t let a small hiccup stop me from remembering it that…

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Snaps from East London to East LA

Snaps from East London to East LA

First of all: a disclaimer. It didn’t take much digging on Google for me to realize that the definitions of “East” London and “East” LA are highly debated subjects that touch on ethnic histories and class struggles. The “east” that I’m referring to in my blog title, however, is much more personal than geographically accurate. I pretty much just mean places in London and LA that are generally on the east side, especially compared to the places that I’ve lived. While London and LA can hardly be any more different as cities, I noticed a lot of similarities between some…

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