Favorites, 2010 (Part 4, Friends)

What’s even better than getting to eat really well and see amazing sights? Getting to share all of that with your friends and family, of course. I was lucky enough to do just that this year …

Margery and I have traveled together twice—first to Israel in September 2009 and most recently to the Big Island, Maui and Oahu in March 2010. During our Hawaii trip I got to know Margery so much better and together we conquered a number of firsts, including our very first helicopter ride over the volcanoes on the Big Island. That, and also having to endure my crazy rental car driving skills on the Big Island—my apologies, Margery!

This year was also the second time that I got to travel with Daniel, one of my favorite PR reps ever. This year, he and Mariela (left) hosted me and a few other journalists in Mexico’s Riviera Maya, first in Cozumel and then in Playa del Carmen. Together, we shared many a margarita, rogue ocean waves and one very scary encounter with a wayward clown. This shot was taken right before we took a snorkeling excursion just off the coast of Cozumel.

Leslie is one of my dearest friends—we’ve known each other since high school. So, when I had an opportunity to cash in some vacation time and hoof it over to New York to see her, I didn’t let it pass me by.

Reuniting with my cousin Christina and her boyfriend Coco was one of the things I most looked forward to during my recent trip to Southeast Asia. Both of them, experienced world travelers that they are, are endlessly entertaining, funny, thoughtful and insightful. I especially loved this shot of the two of them, posing for a very regal portrait at Villa Sentosa in Melaka, Malaysia.

And finally, although I only traveled about 20 or so miles for this trip to the L.A. Times Food & Wine Festival, it’s a trip I’ll always remember for the company I kept with three of my closest friends—Justina, Tricia and Jennifer. I hope I’ll get to travel with them at a slightly further distance in 2011.

And while it’s been wonderful looking back on my travels this past year, I’m ready to start looking ahead to the next and I hope you’ll consider doing the same. So, here’s to a new year filled with unforgettable experiences no matter how near or far you go.

No Good With Faces

I have to fess up: Sometimes, I can be terrible at remembering people’s names and faces. I can’t help it. I try my best but sometimes, I just can’t place a name to a face or vice versa.

Having just written up a blog about an unexpected detour in Melaka, Malaysia, for work (“Not According to Plan”) got me to thinking, though … about all of the people I’ve met through each of my trips. I might not always remember their names, but I’ve certainly remembered their faces and the experiences I’ve shared with them.

If you happen to be one of my Facebook friends, your news feed has probably been inundated lately with photo albums of all the food that I ate while recently in Singapore and Malaysia. And not just once, but twice. And while I certainly savored all of the many—emphasis on many—amazing meals that I had, I think that what I really loved most were all of the experiences that I shared with friends, both new and old, and family, many of them over a good meal, too. Just take a look …

When you travel on a press trip, it's crucial that you have a good group of fellow journalists. Otherwise, it could easily wind up being a press trip from hell—or at least one with a lot of funny stories to tell afterward, I suppose. Lucky for me, our group was great, and we bonded easily over pints of Tiger Beer.

Another group bonding experience took place when we traveled to Singapore's Geylang district to try the ultra-pungent durian. Much props to Nick (below) and Kim who braved the smell to give it a taste, even if they didn't become fans of the "King of Fruits" afterward, like I did.

Taking care of us throughout our trip was our guide, Toon Hee, who also happens to be a busker on Orchard Road in Singapore. His speciality? Juggling.

Sometimes, just the smallest encounter can leave a big impression, too. Like when this little boy ran up to me as soon as I sat down to eat lunch one day in Kampong Glam, in Singapore. I think he might've been enamored with my food or my camera but, either way, my unexpected dining companion didn't leave my side until his parents dragged him home.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: dancing kids are adorable. These kids in Melaka, Malaysia, were performing for the Deepavali holiday at a local mall. So cute, aren't they?

What's even better than dancing kids? It might be senior citizens who like to rock out, like this man who literally stole the show at the Chinatown Night Market in Melaka. True rock star status, I tell you.

No matter where you go, nothing compares to reconnecting with family and friends that you haven't seen in quite some time. Seeing my cousin Christina again, following her whirlwind travels around the globe for English First's Marco Polo Project, was so much fun. I'd forgotten how much I missed traveling with her ...

... and with her boyfriend, Coco. Together, the three of us basically ate a lot—and often.

  
We even got to meet the chef who prepared an elaborate, five-course dinner for us at Suntec Singapore's Pearl River Palace restaurant.

While in Melaka, we literally stumbled onto Villa Sentosa during a long walk. Abdul Rahim Haji Hashim (below left), the owner of the house, was nice enough to give us a tour, and to analyze my handwriting (and personality) in the process. 

I've also realized that, whether or not you travel with family, you eventually learn to make your own along the way. At least that's how I felt with Christina and Coco's dear friends, Li Sun and Christophe and their daughter, Sahra, at their Old Town Guesthouse in Melaka. They were so kind, and so welcoming, that I truly felt at home. And isn't that exactly the kind of hospitality you hope to find when you're so far from home?

Wish You Were Here

This is what I woke up to this morning:

Not a bad view, huh? Ocean views are definitely nice, but how often can you say you’ve booked a room with a volcano view?

Right now, I’m in Costa Rica, near the Arenal Volcano, on a press trip with a group of travel journalists from North and South America. We’re staying at The Springs Resort & Spa, which—I can assure you—will be added to my updated list of favorite hotels ever.

It’s absolutely stunning—natural hot springs can be found throughout the resort; the food is excellent (I highly recommend the ceviche); and the views, well, they’re simply breathtaking. Not only that, I’ve got hot water, a hair dryer, a telephone, a clock and complimentary hair conditioner.

Normally, I’d take the above items for granted but I was, in some instances, taken by surprise a few times on this trip. You see, the majority of the hotels I’ve stayed in prior to this one haven’t always included those amenities. In fact, one in particular reminded me of my European hostelling adventures back in college—albeit this one included lots of dead bugs. (Please see below for the photographic evidence.)

Nevertheless, I remained an optimist and, thankfully, it looks like that sunny outlook has finally been rewarded.

But although this place is really spectacular, it’s not exactly perfect. Even though I’m here, I really wish I could spend today someplace else, with someone else, instead. I’m not saying that my fellow journalists are incorrigible or unbearable—it’s quite the opposite, actually. But, truth be told, I’d rather be waking up to this volcano with my best friend by my side, or watching him blow out the candles on his birthday cake back at home.

If there’s one thing that’s not ideal about being a travel writer, it’s that you don’t always get to spend these kinds of moments with your closest friends and family. Sure, I can whip out my camera and show off my pictures, but it’s just not the same as sharing that actual moment with someone you truly care about.

Even though I can’t be with Eliot today, I know that in just a few days, I’ll see him once again. He’ll be the first to hear about my quetzal sightings; about the zipline rappelling course where I was put into a very compromising position with one of the guides (I still don’t understand why they told me I wasn’t heavy enough to go down by myself); and about the hot springs waterslide that made me feel like a little kid all over again. I can’t wait.

Until then, I’ll just keep wishing.

Favorites, 2009 (Part 4, With Friends)

As I’ve said before, one of the least favorite things about being a travel writer (if there is such a thing) is having to travel with people that you would never—ever—want to travel with. On the flip side, however, I consider myself to have been very lucky. Last year, I traveled with some of my dearest friends—and even made some new ones along the way.

In the midst of the H1N1 scare, my brother, Matthew, and I embarked on our first cruise ever, sailing from Long Beach, Calif. to Victoria, B.C., on the Carnival Splendor. We still had fun anyway, even if it was a lot rainier and cloudier than it would have been in Puerto Vallarta. (May 2009)

My friend, Jennifer, whom I’ve known since the second grade, was my travel buddy on my first-ever river cruise, sailing down the Rhine with Avalon Waterways. We snapped this photo in Heidelberg, Germany. (Photo (c) Jennifer Eriguel; August 2009)

Cindy and I cast a shadow on the shores of Achsiv Beach in Israel. (September 2009)

And, on the first night of our trip to Japan and Korea, my boyfriend, Eliot, and I enjoyed a feast at The Peninsula Tokyo’s Peter restaurant—just one of many great meals we savored throughout both countries. (December 2009)

That's What Friends Are For

It’s really rare to meet a fellow travel writer whom you’d actually want to travel with again (let alone one who’s sane, sometimes), but I consider myself to be extremely lucky—I’ve met so many truly funny, kind and generous fellow writers on my past trips.

As with other writers, however, travel writers are their own special breed with their own types, too. Some of the less-likeable ones I’ve encountered in the past include the creepy old guy, the diva, the kooky one and the elitist (and always loquacious) snob, just to name a few. I think most other writers would agree with me that we’re all a little strange and peculiar in our own ways—that’s why we’re writers, after all, right? I’m sure I fall into a category, too—whichever one it is, I just hope it’s not that bad.

But it’s even rarer to meet someone whom you can think of as one of your dearest friends and travel buddies.

Cindy is just that person. She and I first met on a press trip to Hong Kong and we immediately bonded over a noisy, multicourse dinner of gigantic Cantonese-style prawns and steaming-hot “ice” water. Since then, we’ve survived a sandstorm together in Jordan; we’ve gorged on croquettes in Amsterdam; and we’ve won a car rally knock-off of “The Amazing Race” in Israel. Throughout each of our trips—through good times and not so good times—I could always count on Cindy to make me laugh or have my back, no matter what.

So, today, on her birthday, I just want to say thank you, and that I hope we get to travel together again sometime soon! (Photo © TheSmallObject.com)