MY STORY

“I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

Hellloooo. My name is Choua. I am a dreamer, traveler (whenever I can), star gazer, and lover of food and wine.

I’ve always been fascinated with traveling. Though when I was younger, opportunity never present itself, and chasing it was far from reality at the time.

A senior in college and having completed all my classes, I asked myself “what better way to expose myself to the world, explore a new country and culture, and be worry-free?” I took a big step, and went to study abroad for a semester in Thailand. This opened my eyes to a whole different world, and I was infected with an incurable disease – the travel bug! Since then, I’ve tried to go somewhere new at least once a year.

Some things I’ve done:

• danced with flamingos, fed iguanas, and swam close to sharks in the Bahamas

• backpacked from Northern to Southern Thailand

• rode a moped for the first time ever (and in the rain) in Thailand; and fractured my toe

• walked the Great Wall of China

• explored cenotes and gotten natural fish pedicures in Mexico

• backpacked in Japan: Fukuoka –> Hiroshima –> Osaka –> Kyoto –> Nara –> Magome/Tsumongo –> Nagano –> Tokyo

• quick tour of Malaysia during 8hrs layover

• swam in the famous infinity pool at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore

• soaked in the famous blue lagoon in Iceland, twice, and will probably go back again

• climbed 500 steps – in 100 degrees Fahrenheit, high humidity, and zero wind – to get to the top of hang mua caves in Northern Vietnam

• traveled solo to Mexico and Thailand

• hiked the famous Path of the Gods trail on the Amalfi coast in Italy

• came face to face with a spitting cobra in the rice terraces in Bali, Indonesia

• hiked in the rain to Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica, and soaked in the famous Tabacon Hot Springs

• hiked at 17,000ft elevation to see Rainbow Mountain in Peru

• visited the four main islands of Hawaii multiple times within a few year's time; fell in love with Kauai

The world is such a big place, why not explore? When we leave this world, we cannot take our possessions with us; what we can take are our memories and adventures.

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you enjoy browsing through! I’m still in the process of posting about my trips, so more to come!

~Choua