bit by the travel bug

i moved to san francisco in 2013 and have loved living in this beautiful and quirky city. as i'm starting to wrap up my time here, i wanted to write down some of my fav things about this wonderful city for those stopping by or spending time here. sf specific stuff alamo drafthouse (super cool old movie theater where you can order food - highly recommend) the emporium: a theater turned into a really cool arcade. nearby there is lots of good food and ice cream (see recs below)  see if there's a daybreaker morning dance party ( https://www.daybreaker.com/city/sf/ )  the market on market (super fancy but awesome market. they have good tacos and my favorite poke in town) church of 8 wheels (really fun roller rink)  ferry building: cute shops and food, very sf  mission bowling club (unique bowling alley) things to eat: the mill: super trendy coffee + thick yummy toast OR pizza at nighttime trouble coffee: lots of history breakfast/brunch at kitchen stor...

okay, so i don't get jetlag. it's my superpower, and it's pretty super. i don't mean to brag about it, but it's legit. and it makes traveling much easier. BUT i do think it's partially because i shift my sleep schedule and sleep on the plane, plus follow these MUST do tips below to ensure i can and will sleep when i need to and be awake when i need to. here's how i do it:  get a neck pillow. it really really makes a difference. if you don't like carrying a fluffy one around (i don't), get an inflatable one, that's what i use and it works just fine.  get ear plugs, and wear them. they make a HUGE difference on airplanes. i recommend these ones .  get an eye mask. they fuck with the lights and people might have their shades open, it's a crazy world out there and you need to be able to regulate the light. i recommend this one .  take tylenol PM 30 min before you need to sleep. if you've tried it before and it sucked, try it again...

can you fully know a city until you lived here? well i did. 5 full weeks in tokyo! things to note:  tokyo is a very cash based system. get a lot of money out of the ATM and don't expect to use your credit card too much. you can also get a suica card at the train station, which you can use for the train and many other bakeries, grocery and convenience stores. the best way to get into tokyo is by train. you can take the monorail or the keikyu line. google maps is great for public transit. taxis/uber can cost upwards of $100 if possible, fly in/out of haneda, not narita if you plan to travel outside of tokyo, get the smartEX app and buy your shinkansen (bullet train) ticket with your suica card. it's ticketless and SUPER easy to use and make modifications, if needed.  be aware of how and where people walk. everything is very orderly on the sidewalk/crossings and on the elevator, don't stand still on the right side people speak very little english in tokyo. learn ...

i guess i never imagined myself going to malaysia. no idea why, it just wasn't really on my radar. but now that i've been to 15 countries in asia... 31%, more than an other continent, by percentage, the idea of going to new countries is an adventure. i'm in singapore for four weeks as part of an asia work trip. four weeks in singapore, five weeks in japan and three weeks in seoul. so while in singapore, i decided to take the quick 1.5 hour flight to penang. i had heard great things, so i popped over for a short 48 hour visit, and really really enjoyed it. as i'm learning more about singaporean culture, it's important to note that the countries are neighbors, but also really different. it's like same same, but different. malaysia is a much more muslim country, and singapore's infrastructure is much more robust. so to put it blatenly, singapore is fancy, rigid and beautiful while malaysia is rustic, has character and is a bit more rough around the edg...

i took the bullet train to kyoto from tokyo to get outside the city and visit another part of japan. and i'm so glad i did! kyoto was beautiful, quieter, and i got to experience more like local japan life. i am traveling alone this trip. i haven't solo traveled for pleasure since i was transitioning between ventura and san francisco in 2013. back then i headed to the maldives, where i missed beau and was excited to start my life in sf. while solo travel can be challenging, it's nice not to have to make any decisions with anyone else and truly do what you want to do. no arguing over directions, deciding where to eat or feeling guilty about wanting to go to bed (story of my life). i spent my days wandering the streets, walking 10+ miles and trying lots of different foods. kyoto is FILLED with matcha everything. so many sweet treats and fun things to try. i definitely recommend matcha or black sesame ice cream and trying the foods from the food stalls and/or nish...

see hawaii as hawaii sees hawaii. with no leis, no luaus, no high rise hotels. just, plain, beautiful hawaii. molokai is absolutely stunning. and empty, which makes it feel like we're the only ones here. we flew in a 9 person plane over oahu to the tiny island of molokai. molokai is only about 40 miles long by 4 miles wide. it has very red soil and only one main "highway" that runs the entire distance. only 7,000 people live on the island. and while people say it's the unfriendly island, it's nearly the opposite. the town has been frozen in time... the buildings and storefronts are very old and inside are random stores filled with the weirdest shit, and the nicest people. there's like 7 restaurants on the whole island. stores close at 8. there's no zip lines here. no atv's. no swimming with dolphins. just land to explore. each beach with a different personality. either vast beaches with less than 10 people to be seen in either direction. or a s...

Tulum is awesome. It still has a small, beach-town feel and feels safe and authentic. There aren't huge resorts and you can get to a lot of cool nature near by. TO EAT : Tres Galeones El Camello Jr. (super good fish at reasonable prices)  Helado Buena Estrella (vegan ice cream truck - super unique and good) Celti (dinner) Kitchen Table (dinner) Ki-bok (for breakfast/tea/coffee) Pollo Bronco (some of the best chicken I've ever eaten in my life) Any street food  Burrito Amor (very gringo) El Tio taco truck  Matcha Mama (in town and at the beach)  TO DO : Dos Ojos Cenotes (cave water hole cenotes) Cenote Escondido (you can jump off the rock into the water) Gran Cenote (good for laying out, more a of a community pool vibe) Calavera Cenote (know for it's holes... looks scary but super fun for jumping) Cenote Azul (further from town but great rock jumping, beautiful water/greenery)  Mayan Clay Spa (expensive but SO worth it... get the mud m...