Travel Archives - Page 4 of 5

First Time On a Cruise: The Good, the Bad and Mexico

April 8, 2016 rubymary Comments 13 comments

Cruise

Way back in January, my boyfriend surprised me with a lovely present: a cruise vacation.

Richard loves cruises. Whenever I get my new issue of Travel & Leisure in the mail, he skips all of the articles and looks at the cruise ads. He’s already sailed on dozens of cruises from countless lines on various continents.

So it was no surprise that this cruise fiend was hellbent on taking me on a cruise.

Between his 100 hour work weeks and my limited vacation time, we were only able to go on a three day cruise to Ensenada, Mexico. It wasn’t my dream destination, but I was happy to get out of the house, go somewhere new and finally get some nice R&R time with my lovely boyfriend. read more

5 Steps to Hanami (View Cherry Blossoms) in Japan

March 20, 2016 rubymary Comments 12 comments

Ah, March. The prelude to Spring. The light at the end of a long winter tunnel.

Or in Japan, it’s the start of one of the most prized occasions of the year:

Cherry Blossom Season.

Whatever high expectation you have for watching cherry blossoms in Japan (or better known as ‘hanami,‘ which literally means ‘watch flowers’ 花見), Japan will not disappoint on this front. It’s a magical experience.

While many tourists envision their hanami experience like an anime opening (think wind blowing in your hair as sakura petals brush past your skin), the reality may differ somewhat. To get the kind of hanami experience you’re dreaming of, it involves more than hopping on a plane and finding a sakura tree–it will take a whole ‘lotta planning. read more

Visiting Japan? 5 Reasons You Should Go to Nagano

December 11, 2015 rubymary Comments 25 comments

Chances are, most travelers never heard of Nagano. Some people know it as that place in Japan that hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics–but other than that, Nagano, unfortunately, still remains widely unknown.

Nagano's right in the middle! — Nagano’s right in the middle!

Nagano is one of Japan’s larger prefectures located in the Shinshu region directly west of Tokyo (about a one hour bullet train ride away). It is one of the most mountainous regions in Japan and is known for its snow, great peaks and amazing forests.

Nagano is special to me, because it’s the first place I ever went to in Japan. I did a one month study abroad program here, and it was nothing less than magical. The mountains, the food, and most of all the kind hearts of the people in the countryside are what made me fall in love with this place–and convinced me to come back. read more

How My Vietnamese Mom Forgot Thanksgiving

November 26, 2015 rubymary Comments 16 comments

Growing up with my mom wasn’t easy, especially in rural, coal-mining Utah. My mother was the only Asian woman in the entire town, thus meaning we were surrounded by white people (and a few Hispanics and Native Americans).

Growing up in such a predominantly white culture, I was raised to believe and practice in American holidays. My classmates at elementary school gathered with all of their relatives at a big table, carved the turkey, and watched the Macy’s parade. They had large family gatherings with turkey, cranberry sauce, gravy–the works. read more

Cost of Living: Los Angeles vs. Shanghai

November 24, 2015 rubymary Comments 21 comments

One of my biggest forms of culture shock upon moving back to the United States was cost of living. It felt like everything in the United States was way, way more expensive than Shanghai.

In my previous post, I calculated and compared the cost of living between Los Angeles and Tokyo, and I found that living in Tokyo could actually save you 10,000 USD per year compared to life in Los Angeles. I’m a huge advocate for living abroad to not only broaden horizons, but to also save money.

So how does life in Shanghai fare when it comes to cutting costs? read more

Europe Highlights: Three Countries in Ten Days

September 27, 2015 rubymary Comments 20 comments

So I traveled to three European countries in ten days.

And I highly recommend you don’t do it.

I’m a firm believer in traveling slow and enjoying the sights, but since I’m American and I only get a whopping 12 days of paid holiday per year, I had my limitations–so I made do.

My plan was to head to Paris (for a bachelorette party), then Berlin (to see my good German friend) and, finally, Brussels for the wedding.

I only scratched the surface of each city/country, but here are the highlights: read more

How to Claim Your Irish Citizenship (by descent)

September 4, 2015 rubymary Comments 138 comments

It was a dark and stormy night in Shanghai. J and I were wandering the streets when the grey clouds rolled in and the rain started to pour. We were looking for an escape to hide from the cold and, hopefully, get a drink.

And like a gift from God, the Irish pub appeared in the distance.

We walked into the warm and cozy Irish pub and immediately waltzed to the wooden counter where we saw that familiar harp of Guinness calling our names. J and I grabbed our Guinness and clanked our glasses together in cheers. read more

America is Not The Greatest Country on Earth

August 24, 2015 rubymary Comments 24 comments

I remember in grade school we had to stand up, put our right hand on our heart, salute the flag and say the pledge of allegiance every single day. We looked up to the flag hanging near the chalkboard as our nation’s anthem echoed from the school’s loudspeaker and chanted the mantra of our great nation.

At school we were not only taught to be proud at the fact we were American, but grateful. While no one ever distinctly said it to my face, I was educated that America was the best country in the world. read more

The Perfect Weekend in San Diego

July 20, 2015 rubymary Comments 9 comments

As most of you know, I don’t really like Los Angeles. It’s congested, crime infested, inconvenient and expensive. It still boggles my mind why anyone would actually want to live here, but I guess we all have our personal reasons (like myself).

Sadly, I started to become disenchanted not only with L.A., but with all of California. My business trip to San Francisco was met with high hotel prices and countless encounters with aggressive (and dangerous) homeless people. Going to Orange County was a venture rife with traffic and expensive parking. read more

5 Ways Travel Has Changed My Personality

July 8, 2015 rubymary Comments 17 comments

Changin' through Travel — Changin’ through Travel

I know. I disappeared for a month.

I wish I could say that I did something cool, like randomly bought a one way ticket to Iceland and partied in Reykjavik for 30 days straight–but alas, my life is not that exciting. The last month was mostly sucked up by a web design class that taught me little, but did force me to build a website (I actually constructed a website for the boyfriend that should be up soon). I also spruced up The Ruby Ronin a bit in hopes that it will inspire and motivate me to write on a regular basis. read more

The Ruby Ronin

Connecting China, Japan, and the World

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