I am an avid procrastinator. Therefore I have not given this blog proper closure at all. My life since these adventures have consisted of successfully finishing my undergraduate career in music along with figuring out my future. Although my future is still not set in stone, I am extremely excited for the possibilities it holds. Check out adventuretimewithkeri.blogspot.com for more adventures starting at the end of Feburary/early March.
STATS
12 Weeks:
Home --> Niagara Falls (Canadian side) --> Home --> BMA graduation --> Home --> Oahu, Hawaii --> Big Island, Hawaii --> Oahu, Hawaii --> LA/Loma Linda --> San Francisco --> Sonoma Valley --> Portland --> Seattle --> Home --> PA Wedding --> Home--> Fiji --> Tonga --> Fiji --> Loma Linda --> Vegas --> Home --> Malaysia --> Home
20+ Airports/Plane rides
106 hours (or 4.4 days) spent in the air.
35+ hours in layovers not including getting stranded in HK for 27 hours which would put me at 62+ hours spent in the actual airport waiting for the plane.
60+ hours spent in the car with ~20 hours of it being the driver.
10 hotels and 4 houses.
Approx. 11-12 time zone changes.
Many firsts and lasts.
THANK YOU'S
A BIG thank you to my wonderful parents who allowed me to travel this much as well as to Auntie Beth and Baby for being wonderful travel companions during a good portion of my travels.
Thank you to the Lim family (and Sharien!) and Auntie Vernie/Uncle Kelly who opened their homes to us, fed us, and took us around. Thank you, Sharien, for coming with us to San Fran!
Thank you to all my friends who took the time out to spend time with me and thank you to the new friends I made while traveling!
Thank you to the Melashenko's for making Tonga a wonderful mission trip experience.
Thank you to Aku Apo, BGS, Big John, and SDC for letting me dive with you all. Thank you Kian for driving me around Semporna...even though we almost died a few times.
Thank you to everyone else that made my summer an amazing adventure!!!!
Before I officially put this blog to rest, I wrote down some lessons learned and fun facts of the summer:
- Don’t underestimate God.
- When you ask God to teach you patience, you’d better believe that He’s going to teach it to you.
- Summers make you change…especially if you travel and go out of the country. Your worldview will expand and you will learn a lot.
- Niagara Falls is very awe-inspiring.
- Always pack a change of clothes with you in your carry-on, just in case your little cousin spills their Sprite on you.
- There are only three highways on the island of Oahu. It WILL take you an hour to get from point A to point B at any given time.
- Herding around 14 family members is like herding cats.
- Don’t stay at an Embassy Suites with the Mau/Pua family. The fire alarm will most likely go off in the middle of the night. We’re 2 for 2 right now. And no, we did NOT set it off.
- Shopping is overrated, unless people are buying things for you. Then it’s not.
- Marry an islander b/c they’re tall, dark, and handsome.
- Waikiki has some of the best restaurants. Therefore, restaurant hopping is a must.
- Waimanola is absolutely beautiful.
- The wedding hairdresser might think you’re very intriguing even if you don’t think you are.
- Weddings are like mini-family reunions.
- If going to the Big Island, make sure you rent a car. Walking is not an option.
- Manta Rays are beautiful creatures.
- Paddleboarding is quite interesting.
- If making a left turn in LA, the only way to actually make it is to turn on a yellow-red light, especially if you’re following Ryan. I swear I ran 10 red lights in one day. At least.
- SoCal has amazing food.
- Driving 5 hours under the influence of a bad allergy attack and little sleep may lead you to feeling very drowsy on I-5 and you may need someone to take over for an hour or two.
- Speaking of I-5, it’s not very pretty.
- Driving a tiny car on I-5 in a high wind advisory area makes you feel as if you are in a matchbox car.
- Staying in a hotel right out of Union Square in San Fran is pretty convenient.
- Staying next to a fantastic Thai restaurant is even better and makes a great late night snack.
- San Fran streetcars take forever but the novelty of them never wears off.
- Driving on the hills of San Fran is quite terrifying but a tiny car makes it easier.
- Finding a small but steep slide in the middle of nowhere results in much fun to be had by all.
- Making a wrong turn at the Golden Gate Bridge may lead to you actually crossing the bridge unintentionally.
- Said wrong turn may also lead you to a really great spot up top.
- Sonoma Valley is really pretty.
- NorCal in general is really pretty.
- Just because you’ve driven 10 hours by yourself before doesn’t mean that 13 hours is going to be a piece of cake.
- Portland is full of druggie hippies…well, at least the part we were in.
- Seattle is super cool, especially Pike’s Place Market.
- If you go to the top of the Space Needle, make sure you bring a pack of cards up there to waste time and get your money’s worth.
- Make sure you know where the wedding rehearsal is…..
- Weddings are also sort of like a mini class reunion. (Refer to #14)
- Don’t forget your toiletry bag at the wedding venue…b/c you will never, ever see it again.
- If you start getting emails and t-shirts saying you’re going to Tonga, chances are, you have a ticket to go to Tonga even if you haven’t paid for it yet.
- Prayer works.
- If you have a 12+ hour layover in LAX, make sure you call up your friends to come pick you up so you can eat yummy food.
- The creeper you keep on seeing in the airport MAY be part of your group, so be nice.
- You may know the creeper’s friend, which means you’re going to have to get to know the creeper…and it might turn out that the creeper is SUPER awesome.
- Not sleeping for over 32 hours whilst traveling will lead to exhaustion. Pray no one sits next to you so you can knock out for the duration of the flight.
- If you have a 6 hour layover in a tiny country, you should go exploring. You may even bump into someone you know.
- Tonga has no stop lights or fast food chains.
- Time zones/change can do wonders and might even make you a morning person.
- Mosquitoes in Tonga really like me. Especially my face.
- You can get to know people really fast while being in a small, foreign country as well as make lasting friendships.
- Working in an eye clinic can be both rewarding and exhausting.
- Tongans say thank you by stuffing your belly with too much food.
- Tongans have amazing voices.
- Air Pacific is a BUTT because they wouldn’t let us take our expensive carry-on’s on the plane b/c we had two of them and not one.
- Playing cards on the floor of Fiji’s baggage claim/immigration/custom’s area could lead to you getting kicked out…mainly because they’re closing.
- Pizza in Fiji is quite fantastic.
- LAX has a horrible set up and won’t let you dilly-dally after passing customs, making it hard to say goodbye.
- Sanamluang Thai restaurant is so good that you order so much food causing the waitress to force you to a bigger table. We’re such fatties.
- Ryan drives fast.
- Vegas has huge buildings and the underground level is super confusing.
- Buffets are dangerous and may cause you to eat too much. (You can attempt to walk it off, though.)
- Blue Man Group show is hilarious.
- Jet lag sucks, but it’s fun to Skype someone that’s jet lagged too.
- Always, ALWAYS carry granola bars with you when traveling. You never know when you’ll be stranded at an airport for 27 hours by yourself. A Kindle might save you if you’ve forgotten to bring an international adapter. Make sure all electronics are fully charged. Always be prepared!!
- Standing in line for 7 hours for a new ticket makes you feel as if you have a special bond to the persons next to you, even if you don’t speak the same language.
- Flying into your beloved motherland after being stuck in an airport for that long…there are no words to describe the feeling.
- It’s really awkward eating next to people that are observing Hari Raya.
- After not eating a decent meal for 30+ hours, pig out on Hari Raya food. It tastes even better.
- If you’ve spent a good amount of time on a particular island, chances are, people you don’t even remember will remember you.
- Diving will always be amazing even if the visibility is horrible because it’s typhoon season.
- “Big problem” doesn’t always necessarily mean big problem. It could just mean the guy retired, OR the shop is just closed during Hari Raya and not closed for good.
- Don’t drive with Kian if you fear for your life…he doesn’t actually have his driver’s license.
- Don’t always trust the divemaster’s directions, especially if you’ve been to that dive site many more times than him.
- Island life is fun.
- Malaysia food is my favorite and fresh grilled fish is the best.
- You WILL make a fool of yourself if you karaoke drunk. (This is not from personal experience! Just an observation.)
- My family knows how to party.
- Did I mention that diving is awesome?
- If you have friends flying in to meet you during typhoon season, make sure you check your email before you go pick them up. It might save you a trip to the airport.
- Sipadan is THE place to dive.
- Make sure you don’t open your mouth to say something if they think you’re Korean and you’re really not.
- Pray that your delays and layovers coincide.
- The KL airport is probably one of my favorite airports.
- Istanbul’s airport is confusing and you just might stand in the wrong line for a whole hour.
- If you didn’t buy the ticket yourself, make sure you have the credit card number with you. They might not let you fly if they’re mean.
- In the end, home is always the place to be after traveling.
Until next time!!
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