This is a 3-part series where I look back at the past 3 years (coming out of the pandemic) that just somehow seemed to whiz by.
I used to be really disciplined about reflecting back upon the year. I took a brief look back, and noticed I was quite consistent, publishing virtually annual, even publishing a series of reflections during my "peak" years of 2014 and 2015 (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014-1 2014-2, 2015-1 2015-2 2015-3, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021-1 2021-2).
And then suddenly *POOF* it’s 2025?? Where did my summaries for 2022 - 2024 go? The pandemic sort of killed all that discipline as I fell further and further behind in blogging, largely due to the long extended trips I was taking during that time.
I’ve since largely caught up, and hope to be completely on top of my blogging backlog by the end of this month! As part of this greater catch up project, I've decided to kick-start 2025 by writing up annual summaries for 2022, 2023, and 2024 in these first few days of 2025. (Phew!!)
January:
2024 began "quietly", without any major travel. It's always nice to have a quiet month to catch up from the intense festivities of the fall/winter. On New Years Day while jogging along the Wan Chai Harbour front, I discovered a decommissioned East Rail Line MTR subway train, right on the seaside! It was decked out in holiday decorations, and everyone could go inside, sit down, and enjoy the ocean views.
January consisted of hosting out of town friends, hiking, and work. I also took a short trip to Shenzhen to visit our colleagues & friends there.
February: Thailand
In February we visited Thailand for the first time since 2020. It was strange to remember the last time we were in Thailand (January 2020). We were just starting to consider wearing masks, though still not aware of how scarce and precious these resources would soon become.
Our visit this time included plenty of mango sticky rice, sunshine, and relaxing time with friends. We spent a whole day exploring Bangkok with a Thai friend who showed us all her favorite local spots.
March: Taiwan with Mama!
In March my mom went to Taiwan, so I met her there! We lined up at one of Taipei’s most famous soy milk shops to train their famed salty soy milk. It was fantastic, as was their shaobing youtiao (燒餅油條), fried cruller sesame flatbread sandwich. I also hung out in Taichung, my mom’s hometown, where I had some incredible street food, such as the best stinky tofu I’ve had in recent memory (filled with gobs of GARLIC!), amazing egg pancake, and insanely sweet and crisp jujubes, guavas, and rose apples (all are my favorites!).
March: Brussels + Paris + London
It was so nice to visit Brussels, Paris, and London again. In Brussels we went back to Bozar (which now has 2 Michelin stars) to enjoy Bryan's favorite pithivier. Interestingly, this classic pithivier (which includes duck, foie gras, and mirepoix) is no longer on the menu, but they did specially make one for us.
One of our favorite meals in Paris this trip was at Golden Poppy by Dominique Crenn. We also ate at David Toutain (which I loved the first time), but this time we were quite disappointed with the pace of the service, which took waaayyy too long (the tasting menu took over 5 hours . . . .)
My favorite memories from this trip involve walking around Paris, jogging along the Eiffel Tower, and meeting up with various European friends & business contacts.
April: Tokyo Cherry Blossom
In late March/early April we traveled to Tokyo to visit friends of ours who had recently moved there. The weather was unseasonably cold earlier that month. Despite it being April already, most of the cherry blossoms were still not out!
Thankfully, my favorite park for cherry blossoms (Shinjuku Gyoen) had plenty of cherry blossoms. I love this park because it has over 1000 cherry blossom trees that all bloom at different times. You pretty much won’t miss the season completely if you visit Shinjuku Gyoen.
Meals I enjoyed this trip included Sushi Suzuki, Shinjuku Hoshi No Naru Ki (kaiseki), and Tawanmarai (soba).
April: Chaozhou, China
We have friends in Hong Kong - a husband and wife duo - whose are originally from Chaozhou, China. Chaozhou (or Chiu Chow in Hong Kong), is especially well-known for its beef. They cut beef into so many different types of cuts that are completely different from US beef cuts.
It was SUCH a fun foodie trip, made even more special because we had locals take us around. Some of the most interesting bites we had included yougan citrus juice, char kway teow (炒粿條), freshly made rice rolls, and Chaoshan beef hot pot. We also visited a tea garden in the Feng Huang mountain area, and we tried the local Kungfu Tea. To read all about what we ate and saw, you can read about Weekend in Chaozhou Part I and Weekend in Chaozhou Part II.
May: Xiamen, China
Earlier this year, Bryan’s Granduncle messaged him and said, “I am coming to Xiamen in early May. Come and meet me there.”
Bryan’s Granduncle is 88 years old (!!!) and was the person who showed us Bryan’s ancestral home in Xiamen the first time we ended up there (sort of happenstance). Granduncle Carl does not know if he will have the physical stamina to make another trip, so this was a very important trip. We knew we could not say no.
The trip was indeed special. We went back to the ancestral home to see what it was like post-pandemic. Sadly, it looked like it was in worse shape. We also heard there may be plans to convert the entire village into a historic preserved area, where the government would take over the homes and make the area into some sort of tourist attraction.
This time one of Bryan’s distant cousins took us around and gave us a really unique and very local street food tour. This cousin grew up in the ancestral home, and thus knows the neighborhood really well. We had all sorts of really great food, such as Fuzhou fish balls, Xiamen popiah (fresh spring rolls), deep fried baby eels, sea worms, and more. It was a really meaningful trip, especially seeing our Granduncle reunite with all his relatives after being separated for so many years due to the pandemic.
Revisiting Xiamen: Xiamen Street Food Crawl
May: Boston + Ohio
Later in May, I flew to Boston to present and exhibit at a patent conference. This time Bryan also came to Boston, so we made many different arrangements to catch up with lots of friends and relatives.
Of course we enjoyed all of our favorite Boston foods, like lobster sandwiches (Alive & Kicking Lobster), Trillium Beer, hot buttered lobster rolls + raw oysters (Row 34), and much much more.
Summer: Doraemon & Friends
Summer of 2024 was so fun because of the Doraemon & Friends event that was happening in Hong Kong throughout the entire summer! It started with an incredible drone show, followed by two excellent Doraemon exhibits (both outdoor and indoor) at Tsim Sha Tsui.
There was also a free outdoor exhibit, including a HUGE inflatable Doraemon that I could see from across the Harbour from my balcony window (on a clear day). Tickets were surprisingly difficult to get (selling out in seconds), so I was happy I was able to grab some tickets for late in the summer.
I totally got caught up in the Doraemon-mania and bought a bunch of swag myself, haha. There are still many reminders throughout my apartment of the fun Doraemon-filled summer of 2024.
June: Lijiang, China
In June a good friend of mine (the same one whom I met in Versailles!) told me she was going to Lijiang, China in the summer and invited us to join her. The stars aligned and we were able to coordinate our schedules to visit this beautiful city together, along with Bryan and one other friend.
Lijiang is a beautiful village in the mountains of Yunnan province. The area is known for coffee and tea. I was really surprised to find sooooo many excellent artisanal coffee shops in this area. In recent years - as the intense pressures of work and life have overwhelmed many Chinese people - places like Lijiang have drawn many due to its unhurried, simple life style.
July: Kunming, China
In July another friend from Yunnan Province invited me to visit her (and her family). This time, I traveled to Kunming, the largest city in Yunnan Province. I got to try the famous Crossing the Bridge Noodles 過橋米線, visit a minority village, and wander the fun night markets in the city.
Other local specialties I enjoyed included mushroom hot pot, high mountain flatbread, wild free range mountain chicken soup (soooo good!), and local “fries” (deep fried potatoes) tossed in local spices.
August: Shunde, China
Shunde (pronounced SHUN - Duh) in Guangdong Province is known to be the original source of Cantonese food. The top chefs came out from Shunde, and many of the dishes in their most original, traditional form, can still be found here. It’s known to be a very foodie city. Local friends offered to drive us to Shunde across the newly built Zhongshan Bridge (which drastically cuts the time it takes to get to Shunde from Shenzhen).
In Shunde, we feasted on so many traditional Cantonese dishes, such as roasted pigeon, clay pot rice, congee seafood hot pot, double skim (buffalo) milk custard, stewed beef offal, dim sum, and my all time favorite, raw fish salad (pictured above . . . soooo good!). To see everything we ate, check out the post that I wrote: Top Foods to Taste in Shunde, China
September: Taiwan
I flew out to Taiwan in September to see my Mom and Dad. It was my Dad’s first trip to Taiwan since 2019.
We visited my Grandfather’s house in Taipei, the one where my Dad grew up. It brought back memories of my visits as a kid (when my grandparents were still alive). I chatted with my 88 year old aunt who was living there, and was so impressed by her sharp mind, devotion to daily exercise, and an endless hunger to keep learning (she still attends Bible studies to improve her English and Japanese!!).
Of course I had to have my Din Tai Fung fix, this time together with all the other aunties and uncles. It was nice to see them all together, especially with my Dad, whom the relatives hadn’t seen in a long time.
September: Vienna
Bryan had a business trip in Vienna in September. I’d never been to Austria before so I decided to tag along. I also figured I could travel to Munich (headquarters of the European Patent Office) and do a bunch of business meetings.
Vienna is a gorgeous city. However, the first several days the area experienced unprecedented rains. It was (frankly speaking) AWFUL walking around the city with the rain and winds whipping at your face. We were so cold! The flooding was so bad that for a couple days NO trains were going in or out of Vienna. My planned train trip to Munich fell through, and I stayed in Vienna for the whole week.
Thankfully, the sun came out later in the week, and we saw a glorious Vienna under full sunshine (which is SUCH a different experience!). I’m glad I got to see this side of Vienna before leaving.
We ate weinerschnitzel (of course), visited cafes serving coffee + cake, and soaked in the culture rich city. We also tried some excellent restaurants like Steirereck, Mast, and Meirer im StadtPark. Certain days we decided we were a bit tired of Viennese food, and opted for cuisines like Italian or Greek.
Stay tuned for the detailed posts about this trip!
October: Bali
I shared about Bryan’s unfortunately passport snafus last year that prevented him from going to Bali. This year, we finally successfully traveled to Bali, Indonesia together! We visited our friend who lives there, and together we spent time in both Ubud and Kuta.
We even re-visited our favorite night market, just to let Bryan try our favorite egg omelet made by this one street vendor. Yes, he was still there, and this year the line was so much shorter!
October: Boston + DC
In the latter half of October, I took my annual fall trip to Boston and DC (for work). The foliage was in full glory during my time in Boston, which was such a special treat.
My friends introduced me to a new restaurant called Amar in the Raffles Hotel. The tasting menu was excellent, and overall I was quite impressed.
I also revisited an ooooold favorite, the Afghan restaurant in Cambridge called Helmand's. I was thrilled the restaurant felt exactly the same, even after 20 years! Back then I loved their pumpkin kaddo bourani so much I tried to make it myself for a food blogging competition (which I won!) back in 2010.
I fell in love with the pizza from Joe's Pizza in Harvard Square, and also made sure to get a bite of grape nut ice cream from Tosci's.
My sister's family threw an early birthday party for me, which was really special. Living abroad, I don't get to see my family nearly as much as I used to, so I do cherish these times.
November: San Francisco and Napa Valley
I had heard that Waymo had rolled out self-driving taxis in San Francisco. I was soooo curious to try one, though a bit nervous about it at the same time. After trying it once, I was hooked! The cars are comfortable, clean, and it’s kind of nice not worrying about how to interact with a human driver. I ended up taking it several times!
It was also nice to spend time with several friends from college, many of whom I have not seen in years. I actually saw THREE of my previous room / apartment mates. It's such a funny coincidence that virtually all my past room/apartment mates move to the Bay area.
We also spent a week in Napa. AGAIN, we ran into some pretty heavy rains (I saw flooded vineyards), but thankfully had some sunny days in between. Wine tastings at Fialla and Spring Mountain were excellent. On my actual birthday, we had dinner at Auberge du Soleil.
December: San Francisco + Los Angeles + Ohio
I had almost a full month back in Hong Kong before it was time to head out again, this time to visit family for Christmas.
We did a mini family trip out to the Redwood Forests, seeing massive sequoia trees (something I’ve wanted to see ever since I was a kid). Alas, it rained AGAIN during the second half of our hike. Still, the trees were awe inspiring, and we very much enjoyed visiting the park.
We also got to do a really pretty hike at the Marin Headlands, right next to the Golden Gate Bridge. I loved the feeling of the vast expansive sky together with the (seemingly) endless rolling hills. The weather was cool, crispy, and sunny on Christmas morning, and thus hike was the perfect way to start Christmas.
After Christmas we flew down to Los Angeles to see more family before I flew out to Ohio to see my side of the family.
I hadn’t celebrated New Years with my sister since . . . maybe high school?? We taught her kids how to play mah-jong, and then just the two of us (everyone else had gone to bed), stayed up to celebrate the New Year (YES, with orange juice and milk!! - we couldn't find any alcohol at our parents' house, haha).
It was special to be together for New Years for once.
Now I am on the plane finally heading back to Hong Kong after a truly whirlwind year of travel! It'll be nice to slow down during the month of January. I do hope to catch up a bit on blog posts for trips I took in 2024, including trip reports for Vienna, Lijiang, Bali, Bangkok, and California.
Happy New Year!!!! Here's to 2025!
Related Posts
A Look Back at the Past 3 Years - Part I: 2022
A Look Back at the Past 3 Years - Part II: 2023
Eating and Travel Guides
Trip Reports
Travel Posts: by Location
