When I travel to a new place, I try to go as if it’s my second time going, and not my first.

What does this mean.
When it’s my first time, I feel all kinds of pressure to check as many things off The List as possible. It’s stressful because I usually cannot check everything off. When I leave I have misgivings, plus I’m exhausted.

But the world is a big place, and I want to see a lot of it!

So then what.
When I accept that I cannot do everything and see everything, I start focusing on what I like. I like wandering down cozy alleys and into tiny shops with vintage treasures. I like turning a corner and finding a well-kept playground with a big swing. I like an early dinner at a small cafe with a slightly bored chef-owner who makes his own marinara.

Because why do I travel anyway.
To experience something new.

So then why not push further into the new.
The best kind of new is serendipity.

How do I get that.
I have to be ok with uncertainty.

What if I fail.
Most uncertain journeys have a fair amount of failure. It’s what makes the successes so much sweeter.

How do I move the odds in my favor.
1. I pick a neighborhood where serendipity is likely.
2. I look for quiet side streets off main drags.
3. I use Google Maps Street View to ‘drive around’ the neighborhood for visual cues of charm.
4. I pick a hotel or B&B next to a cute cafe. (I don’t care about stars; I do care about ratings.)
5. I don’t set a strict itinerary. I pick a handful of things I’d like to do, then let the days unfold.

It’s not a fail safe method, but it’s served me well and I hope it serves you well too.

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Picking dates to travel

Lately, I try to arrange my travel around events I cannot get where I live.

Lots of people do this of course. In the US, my husband and I have done our annual NFL road game, picking a good late season matchup, paying up for Club seats, hoping for a great close game, and staying at a hotel we can walk back to (if possible!). That’s a quick in and out kind of trip.

We’ve also gone to Coachella, the annual SoCal pilgrimage for music lovers. (I will never forget the sound of Muse’s Uprising taking control of the desert night.) Also an in and out trip.

I also try to use events to drive leisure travel. Last fall, we traveled to Kazakhstan, because I wanted to catch the wild apple season.

Did you know that Almaty is the apple capital of the world? It’s the region to which all modern apples trace their origin. And in the area, apples grow in the wild. They always have.

Wild apples are not like the Honeycrisps we buy at Costco. They are tiny to small, and they are flavored by the flora around them; they absorb the notes of the wild. I tried apples that taste like lemon, and others that taste like marjoram. One tree might have taken in the essence of the barberries that my daughters picked to naturally color their lips.

Wild apple season is so short. I felt so fortunate to catch it, in the company of my family and friends. It moved the odds of serendipity in my favor. I didn’t know whether we’d find good apples to eat, but I knew that there was a good shot in early September. The rest was luck and a good guide who knew her way around the national forests around Eastern Kazakhstan.

When you pick your dates—to Korea for a glow-up or anywhere else—I encourage you to pick dates when you’ll have the best shot at experiencing something wonderful and new. A glow-up goes well with a Seoul music festival where up-and-coming K-pop stars reveal the depth of talent in Korea.

Or Hwasa’s first ever solo concert last weekend.

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I’m not a botanist but…

When I went to Alishan, I saw this tiny branch with multicolored buds and was amazed that a whole mini bouquet could emerge from a single stem.

It reminded me of when my friend Mark’s dad (may he rest in peace) showed me a peach tree in his backyard that he had grafted four different varietals onto. It was amazing!

Last month, we took the kids on a walk to Stanford, and lo and behold! I saw a mini bouquet branch in the main quad. Are they the same bush??? TBD…