Friday, 03 April 2009

• The Stamps In My Passport

  So my passport expired a little while ago. I thought it'd be interesting to list the international destinations I've visited over the past five years (starting March 12, 2003). The homecomings are italicized. The links are entries from when I was traveling.
  
  Bahamas, 17 April 2003
  we went to Paradise Island, where Atlantis is. It is an incredible resort. They have huge aquaria with awesome marine creatures. So many sharks and stingrays! It's really a very stunning place. 

  The famous Pegasus Fountain
  

  

  New York, 23 April 2003
  Hong Kong, 4 April 2004
  We went to Hong Kong for my maternal grandfather's 70th birthday party. They planned the party around our spring break especially. I performed a Grieg song on piano for the guests. We also went to Lantau Island (where the huge buddha is) and the temple where my paternal grandmother's ashes are kept.
  New York, 11 April 2004
  London, 1 July 2004
  We spent the fourth of July in London. My parents, who are in the fashion industry, shopped their asses off "for samples to take back to the company" (psh), while my sister and I explored the hell out of the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. There was a gay pride parade while we were there. My sister wanted to see the purple bus used in the Harry Potter movies but we didn't have time. We also went to Stonehenge, Bath, and Salisbury.
  New York, 5 July 2004
  Hong Kong, 9 August 2004
  Visiting the family. I learned taichi.
  China, 15 August 2004
  We went to Jiu Zhai Gou. The most beautiful place on earth! The translation means the Valley of Nine Villages. A minority group lives there, but the big attraction is the lakes and the waterfalls. So amazing. Beyond words.
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  Hong Kong, 20 August 2004
  We returned to Hong Kong for a while to touch base.
  New York, 1 September 2004
  Bahamas, 25 April 2005
  We went to Paradise Island, where Atlantis is. Again. This time with family friends.

  Sunburned...
  

  

  

  Apparently we never came home from this one... I cannot find the stamp in my passport.
  Hong Kong, 2 July 2005
  I spent a couple days with my grandfather, getting used to the time zone.
  China, 6 July 2005
  For three or so days, we traveled from Wuhan to Chongqing by boat on the Yangtze. We saw the scenery that you most often see in ancient Chinese paintings. It wasn't as inspiring as I expected. The water was the exact shade of coffee and the fog was not romantic. Neither was the flotsam in the river.
  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  Three gorges dam

  

  
  After landing in Chongqing, we visited my grandfather's old friend who he had not seen in 42 years. Then we flew to Beijing. I stayed there for one and a half months being a foreign exchange student. It was a life-changing time.
  

  

  my cousin swears I'm drunk in this picture... but I'm not. I'm just tipsy, I promise.
  

  

  We also went to Longmen Grottoes, the Yellow River, Luoyang, Shaolin (crazy kung fu!) and Xi'an (where the terra cotta soldiers are).

  A super weatherworn lion

  

  
  Bronze Pagoda
  

  

  
  Longmen Grottoes
  
  

  

  
  Soldiers
  

  

  
  Japan, 25 August 2005
  We stayed in Tokyo for a couple days. We also went to Fuji mountain and ate the delicious fruit that grew in the region (Think Totoro!). We also tried the hot spring baths. The guys got to try the real deal, but the women got a fake bath. I peeked over the wall and saw a boiler in the next room. Haha.
  

  

  
  Hong Kong, 29 August 2005
  touching base.
  New York, 30 August 2005
  Hong Kong, 16 March 2006
  My uncle's wedding! Eff yes. We had both a traditional and Western ceremony. I wore my prom dress... test run?
  

  

  
  
  New York, 20 March 2006
  Vancouver, 11 August 2006
  Our last trip before I went off to college. We stayed in Vancouver and visited family friends. Then we went to Victoria. And some park.

  salmon hatchery
  

  

  

  

  Beautiful Butchart Gardens
  

  

  Apparently we never came home from Canada either
  Aruba, 28 December 2006
  We spent the New Year in Aruba. Our hotel was awesome. They owned a private island and provided free shuttleboat service for hotel patrons so we could enjoy private beaches. We went paragliding snorkeling swimming jetskiing horseback riding and sailing.
  

  

  lizards everywhere

  

  

  our hotel

  

  
  never came home from Aruba...
  Hong Kong, 18 July 2007
  Visiting family.
  Phuket, 22 July 2007
  Family trip to Thailand! Our suite was crazy expensive but the money was worth it, because it was the most luxurious place I've ever lived. We rode elephants through a rubber plantation. We saw transvestites perform at a cabaret. We went to James Bond Island.

  Our backyard pool and jacuzzi combo...
  

  

  smellypants

  

  Tranny singing "I Will Survive"
  

  

  
  James Bond Island

  
  

  On our last day, we went to Bangkok and visited the Grand Palace.
  

  

  
  Hong Kong, 25 July 2007
  More Hong Kong-y goodness. We went to Disneyland HK. Awesome.
  

  

  

  
  New York, 7 August 2007
  
  And that is my international travel history over the past five years. This does not include domestic flights, which shot up in number after college. In fact, I'm so used to traveling internationally rather than domestic that I always take my passport to the airport now, even though driver's license would do just as well.

  Have you taken a lot of trips in the past 5 years? Where?
  

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