31: A Year in the Life

Completed 30 in SF. Treated myself to nitrogen infused ice cream. Flew to Korea on Christmas Day. Rang in the new year in Hanoi, Vietnam.

January: Went to India to share in an old friend getting married. Flew to Doha and missed my connection to JFK thanks to the confusion caused by Donald Trump’s first attempt at the Muslim ban. Eventually landed in JFK to see people passed out in the arrivals section with signs reading “Wake me up, I am an immigration lawyer and can help”. Faith in humanity: restored.

February: Two weeks back in the US and I itched to fly back to Asia. Spent a whole month in Bangkok — no flights in 30 days. My parents visited. A random person I met on Instagram visited from Oz. I was turning into a Bangkok local.

March: Flew to LAX. Went to Mexico. Ate real Mexican food. Decided to break my South American virginity — 6th continent. Medellin, Colombia is nothing like what Narcos portrayed. Flew to SF to spend my friend’s 30th with him. Left the next day to London.

April: Work trip to London. Flew to Hong Kong. Bought an Apple Watch. Flew to Bangkok. This place is starting to feel like home.

May: Went to Jamaica for the first time. It was hot. Spent a week in London. Met another random instagrammer who I crossed paths with in Colombia but never met IRL. We bonded. Flew to Michigan to live stream my friend’s wedding. Went to Guatemala — stayed in an Airbnb which was only accessible by boat. Did I mention that I hate water? Woke up to volcanoes. Our host claimed that he swam naked in the mornings, I forced myself to sleep in everyday.

June: Panama!! The canal is huge and cool! I am a nerd like that. Argentina, Chile and Uruguay were cool — Literally — their seasons are flipped around? Came back to NYC and SF give two talks. I pose weird in photos.

July: Flew my 600,000th life time mile on a plane. Spent my 4th in Bangkok. This is really starting to feel like home. Flew back to America. Went to Vegas. Real Vegas away from the touristy strip. Visited the Grand Canyon for the first time, damn, it is amazing.

August: Flew to Seattle for dinner and tried to plant roots in New York. Tried. Dined at the most expensive restaurant in the world — Masa. Had to go to New Orleans to celebrate my friend step into leaving the single life behind.

September: Flew to Singapore and Bangkok. Two days later had to get on a flight back to LA and NYC for the week — I was a single point of failure on a critical system at work. Lesson learnt. Flew back to Bangkok and swore to not get on a flight ever again. 30,000 miles in 10 days will do that to you. A week later got on a plane to Chiang Mai to visit an old friend.

October: Paris, I still have a love-hate relationship with you. Flew to Myanmar to connect with my maternal Grandma’s origins. Went to Nepal, took 2 weeks off work, stayed off the radar. Did not make base camp. Met some amazing humans in Nepal. Somewhere along the way, met the girl of my dreams, she will probably stay in my dreams.

November: Country #68, Laos. Luang Prabang was fancy AF. Decided to cut it short and go eat my heart out in Bangkok. Bangkok, my home? Stayed in Bangkok for a bit, picked up a ear infection. It was chronic. Flew to Sri Lanka, met strangers, made new friends. Struggled to find good coffee in a tea drinking country. Ear infection: fixed after 5 doctors in 2 countries.

December: Flew to Boston to spend my friend’s last single birthday with him. It was cold! New York was cold too. Our company holiday party served gigantic milkshakes. Received one of the best birthday presents on the planet, something not many will relate to or appreciate. Turned 31.

Its been a crazy yet amazing year. Cannot wait to summarize 32.

• travel