Top 10 Travel
Copying zhelana, here are the top 10 places I have visited.
* I didn't count any vacation that my parents took us on before I turned 18 years old.
* I didn't count any place I lived at that I loved, like New York City and Switzerland, so it had to be strictly a vacation spot.
* Some of these photos are mine, but not all of them. Some of these places we visited before the advent of the copious photography that we do nowadays, so I only have memories.
10. Chicago, Illinois, USA
A short 4-day vacation in November 2011, one of our firsts with Erika. It was to be my first of three trips to Chicago in 3 years :) I was truly amazed at what the city had to offer: we went to the natural history museum, the aquarium, the art museum, and the planetarium. We walked down the streets and marveled at the architecture and the fancy shopping stores. We weren't really fans of the deep-dish pizza but we sure had fun in this metropolitan city.
9. Shanghai, China
My parents were living in Shanghai at the time, while I had just started graduate school. I flew to visit them in Shanghai because I had never been. There was so much growth happening in Shanghai, skyscrapers were growing every day when we visited in December 2002. The food was delicious and it was great to see the historical cultural aspect of China. Went back in February 2005 for Chinese New Year with Brian when we were newlyweds.
8. Lang Tengah Islands, Malaysia
We went to Lang Tengah Islands in June 2004 as part of my 2-week honeymoon to Malaysia, and my parents gave this to us as a wedding present. The islands are remotely located off the eastern coast of peninsula Malaysia, and when we arrived in 2004, I think there were only 3 resorts. In the past 10 years, the tourism economy has boomed and I hear it is not as pristine and remote as it used to be :( I remember walking down from these oceanfront chalets to the beach and jumping right into the water, and seeing teeming wildlife right there in the water, swimming all around us. I saw sharks in the wild for the first time while snorkeling around the reef islands.
7. Orlando, Florida, USA
I know it's overly commercialized, and there everything is too expensive, and they rip you off at every turn, but the magical moment when your kid first sees a Disney princess--- a real princess!!! -- is priceless. We initially visited October 2005 and came back in December 2014 and on our second trip we only spent one day at Disneyworld, and the other days at Kennedy Space Center, SeaWorld, and just hanging out at the beach, but boy, this trip was full of wonderful memories, and Erika can't stop talking about it, even a year later.
6. Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
We tend to pick fairly remote locations for vacation spots, so this was an exception to the rule. Our vacation to 5-star resort Mayan Palace in Playa Del Carmen happened December 2009 when I was 7 months pregnant with Erika. I remember feeling nervous about traveling overseas while pregnant, while also being worried that it'd be the last time I would take a vacation in a long time (we heard horror stories from many parents about this... luckily, having children has not stopped us from traveling). We went with my sister and we stayed in a 2-bedroom fully-furnished room with a kitchen and living room area. We had so much fun eating the local food, learning Spanish, going to touristy destinations like Xcaret and Xel-Ha, but also taking a long ride down to Mayan ruins in Tulum, or taking the ferry overy to Cozumel. The locals were so sweet; the women would catch sight of my round belly and immediately smile, people would give up their seats for me and the locals were so quick to dote on this big pregnant woman.
5. St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
We took this vacation less than a month after we were engaged, in March 2003. There was obviously a lot of romance and excitement still going on. We went with my graduate school roommate and yes, all 3 of us slept in one room, because hey, grad students. We were so young and excited and full of life and hope for the future. We stayed at a hotel called Hotel On The Cay which is its own private island in St. Croix and you have to take a ferry to get to the mainland, which made it secluded and perfect. We had so much fun laying on the beach and snorkeling and drinking rum and having a good time, and looking at my new shiny engagement ring, and staying up late, and laughing with the locals, and having a great time.
4. Cayman Islands, BWI
I took both of these pictures above :) This was a vacation that Brian and I went with Brian's brother J.T. in March 2008. We got SCUBA Open Water diver certified on this trip, so we had a lot of time spent in the water with an instructor who could identify all the wildlife that we were observing. The resort we stayed at was oceanfront, and we opened our doors right onto the beach. We stayed in the quieter part of Grand Cayman along the East End, where at the time, there were only 2 resorts there (compared to the 30+ resorts located along Seven Mile Beach, which is located on the western side. When we weren't SCUBA diving, I would put my snorkel gear on and hop in. I think I ended up spending close to 6 to 7 hours a day in the water, taking breaks to suntan on the beach or to sample the local cuisine.
3. Costa Rica
This was our most recent international trip, taken April 2014. We were in the Northwest Coast region near Playa Hermosa. The wildlife that we saw in the jungle treks was really unparalleled. Iguanas, white-faced capucchin monkeys, howler monkeys, crocodiles, numerous bird species, coatimundi, and so much more. I was really impressed with the conservation efforts of the locals, and how important it was to them to preserve the wildlife. We managed to find remote beaches with absolutely no tourists, and the kids frolicked in freshwater waterfalls with clear waters, and we ate delicious rice and beans and seafood, and loved the sunshine.
2. Belize
We went for a 8-day trip to Belize in April 2007. We split our time between inland San Ignacio (4 days), where we went cave tubing, exploring Mayan ruins, and long jungle hikes. We went ziplining through the jungle canopy for the first time! Then we hopped on a 3-passenger airplane and flew to the island of Caye Caulker (4 days), where cars are not allowed at all, so there was a laidback feel of walking everywhere along sand-covered roads and laying out in the sun by the beach. I took both photos :)
1. Sipadan Island, Borneo, Malaysia
First photo is actually taken by me! Yes, this place is truly stunning. We came here for a 5-day vacation in August 2011. Each hut at the resort is on stilts, built on an atoll, in the middle of the South China Sea. To get to this remote location, we took a 3-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur Airport to Kota Kinabalu Airport, then we took a 1 hour shuttle van ride to a small seashore village called Tawau, from there we boarded a ferry boat that took 1 hour to get to this remote location; but it truly was paradise on earth. Each chalet was your own private residence, with a balcony that overlooked the waters, wooden huts on stilts and as you walked the pathways, we frequently saw many wildlife including tarpon and sea turtles come up to examine us. Because of its remote location, you really really had to want to come, and every tourist we met was extremely eco-conscious. The SCUBA dives we did here were phenomenol and unparallel to anything I've experienced in my life.
* I didn't count any vacation that my parents took us on before I turned 18 years old.
* I didn't count any place I lived at that I loved, like New York City and Switzerland, so it had to be strictly a vacation spot.
* Some of these photos are mine, but not all of them. Some of these places we visited before the advent of the copious photography that we do nowadays, so I only have memories.
10. Chicago, Illinois, USA
A short 4-day vacation in November 2011, one of our firsts with Erika. It was to be my first of three trips to Chicago in 3 years :) I was truly amazed at what the city had to offer: we went to the natural history museum, the aquarium, the art museum, and the planetarium. We walked down the streets and marveled at the architecture and the fancy shopping stores. We weren't really fans of the deep-dish pizza but we sure had fun in this metropolitan city.
9. Shanghai, China
My parents were living in Shanghai at the time, while I had just started graduate school. I flew to visit them in Shanghai because I had never been. There was so much growth happening in Shanghai, skyscrapers were growing every day when we visited in December 2002. The food was delicious and it was great to see the historical cultural aspect of China. Went back in February 2005 for Chinese New Year with Brian when we were newlyweds.
8. Lang Tengah Islands, Malaysia
We went to Lang Tengah Islands in June 2004 as part of my 2-week honeymoon to Malaysia, and my parents gave this to us as a wedding present. The islands are remotely located off the eastern coast of peninsula Malaysia, and when we arrived in 2004, I think there were only 3 resorts. In the past 10 years, the tourism economy has boomed and I hear it is not as pristine and remote as it used to be :( I remember walking down from these oceanfront chalets to the beach and jumping right into the water, and seeing teeming wildlife right there in the water, swimming all around us. I saw sharks in the wild for the first time while snorkeling around the reef islands.
7. Orlando, Florida, USA
I know it's overly commercialized, and there everything is too expensive, and they rip you off at every turn, but the magical moment when your kid first sees a Disney princess--- a real princess!!! -- is priceless. We initially visited October 2005 and came back in December 2014 and on our second trip we only spent one day at Disneyworld, and the other days at Kennedy Space Center, SeaWorld, and just hanging out at the beach, but boy, this trip was full of wonderful memories, and Erika can't stop talking about it, even a year later.
6. Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
We tend to pick fairly remote locations for vacation spots, so this was an exception to the rule. Our vacation to 5-star resort Mayan Palace in Playa Del Carmen happened December 2009 when I was 7 months pregnant with Erika. I remember feeling nervous about traveling overseas while pregnant, while also being worried that it'd be the last time I would take a vacation in a long time (we heard horror stories from many parents about this... luckily, having children has not stopped us from traveling). We went with my sister and we stayed in a 2-bedroom fully-furnished room with a kitchen and living room area. We had so much fun eating the local food, learning Spanish, going to touristy destinations like Xcaret and Xel-Ha, but also taking a long ride down to Mayan ruins in Tulum, or taking the ferry overy to Cozumel. The locals were so sweet; the women would catch sight of my round belly and immediately smile, people would give up their seats for me and the locals were so quick to dote on this big pregnant woman.
5. St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
We took this vacation less than a month after we were engaged, in March 2003. There was obviously a lot of romance and excitement still going on. We went with my graduate school roommate and yes, all 3 of us slept in one room, because hey, grad students. We were so young and excited and full of life and hope for the future. We stayed at a hotel called Hotel On The Cay which is its own private island in St. Croix and you have to take a ferry to get to the mainland, which made it secluded and perfect. We had so much fun laying on the beach and snorkeling and drinking rum and having a good time, and looking at my new shiny engagement ring, and staying up late, and laughing with the locals, and having a great time.
4. Cayman Islands, BWI
I took both of these pictures above :) This was a vacation that Brian and I went with Brian's brother J.T. in March 2008. We got SCUBA Open Water diver certified on this trip, so we had a lot of time spent in the water with an instructor who could identify all the wildlife that we were observing. The resort we stayed at was oceanfront, and we opened our doors right onto the beach. We stayed in the quieter part of Grand Cayman along the East End, where at the time, there were only 2 resorts there (compared to the 30+ resorts located along Seven Mile Beach, which is located on the western side. When we weren't SCUBA diving, I would put my snorkel gear on and hop in. I think I ended up spending close to 6 to 7 hours a day in the water, taking breaks to suntan on the beach or to sample the local cuisine.
3. Costa Rica
This was our most recent international trip, taken April 2014. We were in the Northwest Coast region near Playa Hermosa. The wildlife that we saw in the jungle treks was really unparalleled. Iguanas, white-faced capucchin monkeys, howler monkeys, crocodiles, numerous bird species, coatimundi, and so much more. I was really impressed with the conservation efforts of the locals, and how important it was to them to preserve the wildlife. We managed to find remote beaches with absolutely no tourists, and the kids frolicked in freshwater waterfalls with clear waters, and we ate delicious rice and beans and seafood, and loved the sunshine.
2. Belize
We went for a 8-day trip to Belize in April 2007. We split our time between inland San Ignacio (4 days), where we went cave tubing, exploring Mayan ruins, and long jungle hikes. We went ziplining through the jungle canopy for the first time! Then we hopped on a 3-passenger airplane and flew to the island of Caye Caulker (4 days), where cars are not allowed at all, so there was a laidback feel of walking everywhere along sand-covered roads and laying out in the sun by the beach. I took both photos :)
1. Sipadan Island, Borneo, Malaysia
First photo is actually taken by me! Yes, this place is truly stunning. We came here for a 5-day vacation in August 2011. Each hut at the resort is on stilts, built on an atoll, in the middle of the South China Sea. To get to this remote location, we took a 3-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur Airport to Kota Kinabalu Airport, then we took a 1 hour shuttle van ride to a small seashore village called Tawau, from there we boarded a ferry boat that took 1 hour to get to this remote location; but it truly was paradise on earth. Each chalet was your own private residence, with a balcony that overlooked the waters, wooden huts on stilts and as you walked the pathways, we frequently saw many wildlife including tarpon and sea turtles come up to examine us. Because of its remote location, you really really had to want to come, and every tourist we met was extremely eco-conscious. The SCUBA dives we did here were phenomenol and unparallel to anything I've experienced in my life.