It’s An Honour!

The Liebster Award has been making it rounds to various blogs. While less of an award and more of a way of recognizing other bloggers, especially ones new to the blogging world, the Liebster Award is an opportunity for everyone to share a little about themselves! Liebster is a German word that roughly means “dearest.”

The rules are simple:

• Thank the person who nominated you and link back up to his/her blog.
• Answer the 10 questions which are given to you by the nominator.
• Nominate other bloggers for the award.
• Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer
• Let the nominees know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them.

Thanks to everyone that nominated me: Anastasia of Gallivant Girl, Calli and Travis of Have Blog Will Travel, Anna of Slight Astray, Amber of Rant and Roam and Paul of Have You Packed The Camera? Go and check out all their blogs. They’re all fab people and I’m so honoured that you all thought of me. I’m always surprised to hear that others are even reading my blog, and to receive so many nods is such a shock.

This is my 100th post and it is only natural that I share a little more about myself. Because I’ve received so many sets of questions, I’ve cobbled them together as best as I could, putting similar questions together into one and picking questions that no one has ever asked me before.

Why did you decide to start a blog? How did you choose the name of your blog?

I started my blog for a couple of reasons. I’ve always enjoyed sharing stories and talking about my travels. Friends and family had started turning towards me for advice on what to do in various cities so I thought a blog would be a good place to refer to them. Another major reason I started my blog was because I was in the process of going through reverse culture shock and writing about my travels was my way of connecting my previous life to my current life – a form of self medication if you will.

How did I come by my blog name? I love words, and this particular title is a play on words depending on which word (to / too) you use. Often whenever I tell people about my next adventure, one of the first responses is a joke for me to pack them into my luggage. While, I’m not opposed to people coming along with me on my adventures, I don’t think the airlines would appreciate them in my luggage, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t come along for the ride virtually.

What’s your favorite mode of transportation when on the move?

I love road trips and stopping at interesting roadside attraction along the way. You get to really see a country by driving it and can appreciate just how big (or small) it is. However, I hate driving, so unless someone is willing to drive me, I don’t go on them very often. Otherwise, I really like train travel, especially on the fast trains through Europe. I love watching the countryside rush past the window and knowing that in a couple of hours, when I disembark, I’ll be in a completely different country.

What’s something that you are afraid of, have a phobia for, or would never do?

I really do not like heights. I get vertigo just by looking at photos over the edge of something. I would never go bungee jumping or skydiving. No thank you. I am tempted to try zip-lining though. It looks so much fun despite the height!

As travelers, most of us try to be budget conscious. But what is something that you would absolutely splurge on?

I love food so I’m always willing to splurge on a fancy meal. The most expensive meal I’ve ever had was at a Michelin star restaurant in Budapest. It definitely was an experience and one I’ll only repeat occasionally.

What is your best travel memory to date?

It’s so hard to pick a best memory! Travel has given me so many fantastic experiences and I can easily think of a handful off the top of my head. I love being able to see the things I read about in my history books so seeing Berlin was incredibly cool as was visiting all the historical sites in Rome. Getting to visit Angkor Wat and helping out at school build site in Cambodia was eye opening as well. But tying it all together are all the people I’ve met. There was the fantastic AirBnB host I had while on Crete in Greece or the random group of backpackers I met on my first solo trip. Then there was the group of friends I had while living in Budapest many of whom I still keep in contact with today.

What was the most bizarre food you have ever eaten on your travels? If you could only eat one food item for the rest of your life what would it be?

Coming from a Chinese family there isn’t anything that would faze me too much food-wise. A lot of things that others may find crazy and weird, is pretty normal to me. A few of the things I ate while in Hungary were strange like cold fruit soup and some kind of weird (but apparently traditional) candy my boyfriend tricked me into eating. That was really revolting. He also made me eat salmiakki which is a salty licorice from Finland. That was gross. Sorry Finns, I just don’t get it. Lesson here? Don’t accept candy from my boyfriend. Ever.

If I could only eat one food item for the rest of my life, I’d go with noodles. I can never say no to those delicious carbs and this way, with noodles, I get the best of both western and Asian cuisine (is that cheating?). When I went to London, I had my first bowl of proper noodles after a year and it was heaven.

What is an absolutely indispensable item you must take with you (not including laptop/phone)? What’s the most useless thing you’ve packed?

I always need a pair of flip flops, especially if I’m staying in a hostel. I hate getting into showers barefoot. The most useless thing I’ve packed are probably guidebooks. I don’t know why I still insist on bringing them with me. They’re heavy and take up so much space and I never read them. Plus, I’ve been becoming more and more spontaneous on my trips and don’t plan things out as much.

Share with us one fact most people may not know about you.

I’m a classically trained ballet dancer. I started when I was young and ultimately quit when I went to university. The practical side of me kicked in and told me to go get a degree and to not dally in the back of a corps de ballet somewhere. That was a big change for me. I went from spending 30+ hours in the studio to just a couple hours and then almost none. I definitely miss it though! Despite being an introvert and hating any sort of attention on me, I loved being on stage. I still take the occasional class, but the same intensity isn’t there anymore.

If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go? Why? Is there a city/country that you would LOVE to live in one day?

The correct answer would be to both go to and live in Budapest so that I could be with my other half. In a perfect world, if he were with me already, I would like to go to Japan! That country complete fascinates me and I could get my fill of delicious sushi and ramen. If I had to pick a place to live in, I’d probably go with either London or Berlin (ahem, a sign of things to come perhaps?) because they’re two of my favorite cities and I love the vibe in both.

What’s your biggest passion besides traveling? Do you think you will ever stop traveling, if so, what will you do instead?

I love food – cooking, eating and just experimenting in the kitchen trying out new recipes. If I didn’t have a travel blog, I’d have a food blog. I sort of do, but since I took the dive into this blog, the other one is only halfheartedly updated (I even bought a domain name for it!). Maybe one day I’ll go back to it. I’m thankful that my day job involves food and I get to read, write and work with food all day.

Where are you off to next?

I’m headed on a road trip to Portland and then down along the Oregon Coast with a couple friends. I’ve heard so many great things about the region and I’ve never been. Have you been? Share your tips with me!

My nominees:

Megan of Wanderlust Megan – Megan has been making her way around BC exploring what the outdoors has to offer. I’m in awe of her bravery in going solo camping!

Henry of Fotoeins Fotopress – I am a massive fan of Henry’s writing and his ability to transport me to wherever he may be writing about. Another Europe lover, he has stunning photography to gawk at.

Jackie of Boy and Girl Globetrot – I’ve been really enjoying the stories from Jackie as navigates expat life in Taiwan all while exploring the island. It makes me want to go to Taiwan ASAP.

Tamika of No Time for Tea – Tamika writes about her life abroad and exploring Vienna. Every time I check out her posts I’m sure to learn something new about one of my favourite cities in Europe.

Lila of Foreign Feasts – A recent discovery but a gal after my own heart. She loves food and travel so what can go wrong?

My questions:

1. What is the story behind your blog – why did you start it and why that name?
2. What kind of things excite you the most while traveling?
3. How do you decide where to go?
4. Where is the strangest place that you’ve slept?
5. Which country do you think has the best food?
6. Who is the most interesting person that you met on your travels?
7. When you’re not traveling, what do you spend most of your free time doing?
8. If I were to go to your hometown (or where ever you are now), what would we see and do? And most importantly, what would we eat?
9. What advice would you give to someone who is looking to travel around the world, or live in a foreign destination?
10. Share a photo or a post that you’re most proud of.

Thanks for playing along everyone!