Website Update #8: Two Years of Blogging!

My first trip as an adult was one of the most disorganized and unplanned trips I have ever taken. It also happens to be one of the most memorable I've ever taken.

Pacific Coast Highway, or PCH for short, is one of the most iconic highways in the world. Since reading "Road Trip USA," I got hooked on driving along this road.

I unwittingly invited myself to tag along on this trip with my friend's sister. I was supposed to be translating but ended up discovering a part of Mexico City I knew nothing about.

Another time where our ambitions were more than we could handle! We wanted to go from Los Angeles to New Orleans and back. While time wasn't a factor this time, mother nature had other plans.

The 2007 Road Trip to Vancouver piqued my interest in this wonderful city and after this trip, I was all but ready to move here. I have said it time and time again: Seattle is the best city in the US.

At 23, I was a recent university graduate not ready to get into the 'real world.' The opportunity to join this trip was too tempting to pass up as the chance to have a real Philly cheesesteak was just too great.

No job yet and school was finished, the time to go was now! What better way to spend a summer than with one of your closest friends in Yellowstone National Freeken Park.

Mexico City had been so fascinating a year ago, I just had to visit again. This time, I went to visit some of my extended family in Guadalajara, but also ventured out into adjacent states.

When I decided to leave the US for a year in Korea, it was time to say goodbye. It also happened to be Sarah's birthday, one of my best friends and a San Francisco local.

I finally got a job to start teaching Kindergarten in Korea. I didn't expect to like working with little kids, but it turned out to be my calling. It helped that I had some of the coolest coworkers in the world in Vicente, Mariana, David, Trina, and the best, Natalie.

After debating whether or not it was wise to go on a trip abroad after being employed for a mere month, I took Vicente's advice and went for it. The main stop? Xi'an's Terracotta Warriors.

Despite the troubles, I was determined to return to China. This time, it was to experience Chinese New Year's in the country's capital. Of course, I wanted to see Forbidden City, The Great Wall, and my friend from the previous trip.

We came to Cambodia without knowing much about the recent history. What we learned about the Khmer Rogue and Pol Pot within days of being in Phnom Penh made our stomachs turn.

Christine invited me to spend some time with her in Vietnam. I jumped on the opportunity knowing she is a native speaker, and could show me a side of Vietnam very few can experience.

After a year in Korea, I decided to come back home and took a trip with Sarah. We hit up an old roommate in Phoenix, and checked off one the biggest items on my bucket list.

My longest and most fiscally irresponsible trip to date. I decided to go back into Mexico with my first DSLR camera and a newly acquired sense of adventure. It was time to blow all of my savings from Korea Year 1 in six weeks.

Originally, the idea was to spend a single year abroad and then come back to the US to start life in Seattle. After the most incredible year of my life, I just had to go back to the land of the morning calm.

Korea often overrates some of this most famous attractions which initially made me hesitant to visit Jeju Island. Fortunately, this is one place that actually exceeded expectations.

There was really no surprise here. As part of the three year plan to pay off debt, I decided to stay in the same job and forgo returning home. Far exceeding fiscal projections, I was able to explore Korea a bit more this year.

I managed to secure a little over three weeks off work, so I decided to go the entire length of Italy with my mom. I hadn't seen her in over a year and a half, so it was great to meet on her first true traveling experience.

Originally, I wanted to have a long layover with maybe even a day or two in Moscow. The Russian embassy got difficult so Amsterdam it was. Between the Heineken Factory and the Canal System, I think I made the right call.

The travel bug had caught on again and was in full force. After being back from Italy less than a month, I set off on my first solo trip. Despite warnings of how expensive it was, I decided to give Japan a shot anyways.

We got a good deal on a three way flight Seoul > Taipei, Taipei > Macao and Macao > Seoul so we jumped on it. Taiwan offered a fantastic fireworks display off Taipei 101. HK and Macao, kind of a bust.

Having visited Japan less than 6 months ago, I still wouldn't shut up about how awesome it was. Such high praise is often difficult to match, but Okinawa proved that my last Japan trip, was no fluke.

The final year of my three year plan came and went too quick. From a professional point of view, it was my favorite as I learned that preschoolers are simply the most awesome bunch to teach. I miss them every single day.

The only other place I had ever dreamed about visiting in the US as much as Yellowstone was the Everglades National Park. While I don't usually consider a layover a trip in itself, this one was very special to me.

The Everglades were a nice start for this trip, but a much bigger price lay ahead. Together with Sarah, I headed into South America for the first time to see the ancient city of Machu Picchu.

Travel within Korea is a double edged sword. Go in the middle of the week and you get a killer deal. Wait for the weekend and you better have deep pockets. For Sid's birthday, however, it was time to bite the bullet and show her around paradise island.

Yet another welcome layover, I was excited to explore China's most populated city. Shanghai's 100 degree weather had other plans for Sidney and we ended up looking for cover most of the day.

Three years ago, the BBC special "Life" got me obsessed with going to Komodo Island. I talked about it with my friend Matt for ages, but prices were always prohibitively expensive. In the summer of 2013, I just went for it.

Korea's biggest holiday is a three day private family celebration. What does this mean to a foreign teacher in Korea? Three days off in the middle of the fall! This year was extra special as it resulted in a 5 day weekend.

This four day weekend right after Chuseok was another excuse to see a part of Korea I had not visited in a while. We headed towards the old Shilla capital of Gyeongju, and saw the traditional village of Hahoe.

My good friend Marlon, a fellow Japan lover, met up with me for this trip. Tokyo had always been on my to do list and like always, Japan lived up to even my highest expectations

Besides a the 21 hour layover in Miami the year before, this was my first time home in 3 years. I came to appreciate America's natural beauty more and went on this solo road trip of the western US.

Would you believe that the Channel Islands National Park is America's third least visited NP? Despite being an hour boat ride from LA, this amazing park is as isolated as they come. Oh, I almost forgot, there is a tiny fox species that inhabits the islands too!

Marking one of the few times I have ever returned to a place I've previously visited, I came back to the Kansai region of Japan. I wanted to show Sidney what made me fall in love with this country, but made sure to do things a bit different this time around.

After bumming around the US and Korea for two months a piece, I finally started my dream trip of backpacking around South East Asia. On this first portion, I was solo, so I decided to head on to the southern islands for some R and R.

After Sidney arrived, we headed toward Koh Chang on the eastern side of Thailand. With one day to spare before my visa expired, we headed to Cambodia to surprise my old friend Barang THE MAN Hang... oh yeah, and to see Angkor again.

Sidney started recovering, but we had a choice to make. Follow the 'pancake trail' into Don Det in Laos, or take the road less traveled and venture into Myanmar. Sid and I agreed and Myanmar it was. This was probably the best last minute travel decision we have ever made.

To wrap up a South East Asian adventure that took three months and a half, we headed towards peninsular Malaysia. Sidney had some friends who showed us around KL and treated us to the best food around.

This layover wasn't forced, but I took the chance to visit two UNESCO World Heritage sites. Unfortunately, neither the Sydney Opera House nor the Australian Prison Sites were impressive. Can't win em' all I guess.

We finally made it to New Zealand! This our first choice to start a Working Holiday Visa for a year so expectations are kind of high. Will NZ deliver, or will it join the list of 'over-hyped destinations.'