Recent footage of the killing of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery is shocking and disturbing, and rightfully sparked explosive conversation and action regarding police brutality, gun control, and racism in the US. Police killed 1,099 people in 2019 and Black people were 24% of those killed despite being only 13% of the population. But the... Continue Reading →
Drooling…a food appreciation post for South Korea
South Korea, for me, was the country where the food got better with every meal.
Hiroshima
Kobe --> Hiroshima. As an Iranian-American, born and raised in the United States, I felt it essential that I visit Hiroshima while in Japan. I needed to see the city that my country demolished...where for the first time in human history a nuclear bomb was dropped. I arrived in the evening and went straight to... Continue Reading →
Kobe
Following Osaka, I decided to take advantage of my JR Pass and made the short train trip to Kobe (pronounced koh-bay). I'm not an incredibly carnivorous person, but I'll admit, I only stopped here for the beef. I dropped $90 on one meal but there is no other time (at least for a long time) in... Continue Reading →
Hello, I’m still alive and well in Asia
Hello! Sorry for the brief absence. It's difficult to keep up on blog posts while traveling. I go through waves of writing motivation and then periods where I prioritize being present with the people around me, creating experiences. But I'm back and catching up! New posts for Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia... Continue Reading →
Fukuoka
Following Hiroshima, this would be my last stop in Japan, and happened to serve as more of a pit stop than a last "hoorah." I arrived late in the evening, and the most exciting part of my night, post check-in, was my visit to the Japanese laundromat. An excerpt from my phone notes during my... Continue Reading →
Osaka
The Nara to Osaka ride was smooth. We made one slip up (it's typical) and passed our train stop but we managed to switch to a new train easily and get to our destination...Spadio!! With all sincerity, this is one of the weirdest but coolest nights of sleep of my life. Scratch the sleep part,... Continue Reading →
Oh baby! 9 month check in
September 4th marked exactly 9 months of travel. It feels likes I’ve just gone through the gestation period of my own personal growth...birthing new energy and a deeper understanding of myself. My experiences and relationships in Asia have taught me a lot. Here are some of the lessons I’ve gathered over the past few months.... Continue Reading →
Nara
Nara was a simple and extremely amusing stop. As I mentioned in my Kyoto post, I took the train with two new friends from my hostel. Matcha ice cream for breakfast wasn't enough for our bellies so finding food was the first priority. We spent a couple of hours trying new 7-11 beer flavors with... Continue Reading →
Kyoto
Traveling all afternoon from Mt. Fuji, I arrived in Kyoto in the evening and had just enough time to walk to Nuji castle and see the sakura light display. In the morning I walked all over town, starting with the Nishiki market. There I bought my first set of chopsticks and had them engraved with... Continue Reading →
Hakone (Mt. Fuji)
*disclosure...I'm finally writing this post months after I've left Japan. But I need to catch up at some point so here we go. From Tokyo I took the Romancecar (an old train that winds through the mountains) to Hakone, the city near to Mt. Fuji. I stayed at a hostel that had an onsen (japanese... Continue Reading →
Bridge Over Distance 