The Adventures Continue: 2023 Year in Review
Normally, when I set out to write these, I first start by thinking of what was different from the previous year. After looking back at 2022, and re-examining 2023, I can honestly say this year has been much of the same. Normally such a classification would be met with disappointment or be evidence of a rut. But the year before this one was a remarkable year! In 2022 I visited six countries, biked a century, and visited friends all over the country. With pride and no remorse I say: This year much the same!
A Photo is Worth 365 Days
I did something new with respect to mapping out my year: I bought a wall calendar! The 70,000 miles of travel in 2022 made me realize that it was really hard to keep track of what was going to happen and when.
The calendar was met with some skepticism from outside observers. It wasn't attractive decor per se, but it did prove incredibly useful! We had fun "penciling" in events and trips, and it helped me organize what was coming up. And now, as I stand at the end of the year, it helps me reflect on what happened.
In fact, the calendar proved to be so popular that it is getting a big upgrade for 2024. Stay tuned to the end to learn more about that.
Image intentionally blurred 😛
And so it begins
The universe and I have decided to group most annual traditions at the start of the calendar year. The year always starts off strong and busy with the first month and a half containing my birthday, my anniversary, and Lauren's birthday.
My birthday was a memorable and good one. Lauren made delicious cupcakes for me to take to work. (A bit of free advice to my readers: by taking in a birthday bake to work, you can remind everyone it's your birthday without having to outright say it.)
She also made a delicious "trick" cake that had a surprise in the middle. I enjoyed sharing my birthday with Catie's boyfriend Zach as well!
For Lauren's birthday, we ate at her favorite Indian restaurant and then went to an escape room. We ended up escaping with only one second to spare. The facilitators said they've never seen that before! But hey, a win is a win!
COVID
Each year that it's been around, I've commented on COVID during the preceding year. Last year I got it, and...this year I didn't!
We really do seem to be emerging from the pandemic, which is good news. I certainly wore my mask less and less this past year (still putting it on in super crowded locations) and managed to not contract it.
Unfortunately, the lessening prevalence is mostly due to building up immunity the old-fashioned way and undoubtedly some luck during the cold and flu season. Luckily a booster came out right before winter (and Lauren's and my trip to NYC and a crowded wedding).
Still, it's hard to forget the disruption, suffering, and excess deaths the pandemic has brought and the risk it poses to those still susceptible. And we're starting to hear of more and more people getting sick as the colder months continue on for a few more months, so always best to be careful!
Moving 4,000 Feet
Lauren and I moved into an awesome new home in Mountain View right off of the downtown. Having previously lived in Mountain View, the new home is a mere 4,000 feet away from the first one (as the crow flies).
The home is a spectacular find, with all credit going to Lauren. It's a prime location on a quiet street a close walk from restaurants. And it's a super unique setup with two floors! And on top of that all, it was (shockingly) competitively priced.
The move was pretty smooth. We had super friendly and efficient movers who did a great job, and Lauren was instrumental in helping me pack. I still remember our first night when Lauren, her sisters, their boyfriends, and I sat on the floor in the living room eating pizza. It was nice to forget about all the unpacking to be done ahead.
Spring
In March, a happy coincidence occurred. My friend Eli was connecting through the Bay and added a long layover for his flight from Taipei. Meanwhile, my other friend Stella was visiting the Bay for an academic conference. So we got the gang back together! The last time the three of us were together was in November 2019 when Eli and I took a trip to Boston to visit Stella at MIT.
From visiting college friends in the Bay, next was visiting the college campus in St. Louis. Lauren and I traveled to St. Louis for my 5th reunion. It was fun to take Lauren there and show her the sights.
There was a bit of weather, it turned out, in the form of a Tornado Warning. The last time I experienced a tornado warning in St. Louis was the first week of freshman year, so I definitely succeeded at reliving my early college days, which—let's face it—is what reunion is all about anyway.
Lauren's and my first international trip of the year tested our packing skills to the max since it was actually three trips in one.
We first made our way to Palm Springs for my family vacation for the first week (very warm), then we went to Hawaii (even warmer) for the second week, before finally getting to Australia and New Zealand (cold).
And, if you can believe it, we both only packed a carry-on sized bag. Now that I've proven to myself that I can travel to multiple climates over multiple weeks with a small bag, I finally bought my first checked bag and I have no regrets.
Australia was probably my favorite country we visited this year (although I promise it's still worth reading on about my other travels!). I found Australia felt culturally similar to America, which was surprising since I expected it to more closely align with the UK. The people were friendly and the cities were captivating.
We started in Melbourne. From the outset, I can't emphasize enough that any trip you take to Australia must include a tripe to Melbourne. Much like Chicago, it's not its country's biggest city. But it's full of exciting things to do, good urban scenery, and is a bit more relaxed than a country's hub city.
Australia is the birthplace of avocado toast, a tasty treat that I love, so the first meal on our first morning in Melbourne was fittingly a delicious avocado toast. From there we gained a top-level view of the city by ascending 1,000 feet to the Melbourne Skydeck before walking through some shopping Arcades and the National Gallery.
One thing that struck me about Australian cities is that their business districts (what they call the CBD) are incredibly lively at night. Some American cities certainly get a lot of action after work lets out, but traditionally it's in a part of the city outside of where the offices are. Not so in Australia.
Separately, Lauren was able to satisfy her interest in prisons (try not to read too much into that) by touring many historical British prisons in Australia and I was able to satisfy my interest in aviation by getting to fly in a 737 simulator!
But what had to be a highlight of the entire trip, was our drive 40 miles outside of Melbourne to the Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park. There we did a small group tour of the sanctuary at night with a specialist. It was there we got to get up close and personal with Australia's most-notable animals. Our guide was quick to point out that the animals were free to come and go to the sanctuary as they pleased, but most were long-time residents and were therefore quite friendly and comfortable around humans. They'd eat right out of your hands and let you pet them no problem! We also got to meet a blind kangaroo who—thanks to the unwavering nightly routine—knew exactly where to go when she heard us for some yummy snacks!
Next we hopped on a plane for the short 90-minute flight to Sydney. Sydney was absolutely beautiful, and although both Sydney and Melbourne are nestled along a bay, it's Sydney who really embraces their waterfront. There was a bit of a snafu with the hotel—it was overbooked. After sitting in the lobby for a couple of hours, they finally rebooked us at a different hotel that wasn't as nice. But when we went back to the original hotel the next day, they upgraded us to a suite and gave us a free night! All was forgiven.
Despite the lack of sleep that first night, our first morning was the perfect introduction to Sydney. Lauren and I did the Sydney Bridge climb where you get to climb to the top of the iconic Sydney Harbour [sic] Bridge. As we made our way up the interior side truss, Lauren and I got our first glimpses at the iconic harbor and opera house. And it was spectacular! The weather was absolutely perfect and it marked a perfect introduction to the city.
Just like in Melbourne, we got a bit outside of the city too. We took a train two hours west to the Blue Mountains. For those spending more than a few days in Sydney, I highly recommend it. The scenery, hiking, and overlooks are absolutely stunning.
Back in the city we were in for an additional treat, Sydney's annual light show Vivid was going on. The scale of the installations was amazing—it truly took over the entire city. And it was the perfect evening activity after a long day of touring the city. Lauren and I ended up going to every installation in Sydney! Beyond that, we took in more sights and history, a quick lunch at the Google office, and before we knew it, it was time to go to New Zealand.
New Zealand required some flexibility. We left Sydney in the morning bound for Queenstown in the South Island via Auckland on the North Island. The 3-hour flight across the Tasman was uneventful, but the storms near Queenstown were growing. On our flight to Queenstown we began our initial descent, but about 15 min after starting our way down, the engines spooled up and we started climbing again. I had a feeling south was up. Sure enough, the pilot made an announcement that the conditions on the ground were so windy, planes were unable to land. The flight in front of us had attempted three approaches, and if the weather didn't clear up in the next 15 minutes, we were going to turn back to Auckland.
Fortunately within those 15 minutes, the plane in front of us made a successful landing, and so we were going to give it a shot too. As we made our way to the ground, riding some big bumps along the way, we successfully landed. But that wasn't the end of the story. We were planning on taking another small flight to Milford Sound to take in the fjord. Alas, we had spent our luck on the flight to Queenstown so we had to replan at soon as we got to the airport.
It was stressful to have to pivot at the last second, but well worth it. Lauren found a private guide who was willing to take us around Queenstown on 12 hours notice, and he turned out to be amazing! We started the day by soaking in onsen hot pools and then I actually got to go flying out of Wanaka Airport and admire the terrain from above before seeing the beauty from below.
From Queenstown we went to Auckland. Auckland is skippable. It's sort of a quiet business district, and although the views are pretty along its bay, when compared to the rest of New Zealand's majestic lands, it's not much. Near the university is a bit more lively and interesting though. We ended up doing the day trip to see the Hobbiton and the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, which was pretty fun. Neither Lauren nor I are huge fans of Lord of the Rings, but the story of how Peter Jackson picked that farm in New Zealand is interesting enough on its own (look it up!). The glowworms were also quite spectacular.
Fall
In the fall, Lauren and I completed our second bike century together! The century was my proudest accomplishment of the year, and that's not just because we finished it. I'm most proud of what happened before the century. The preparation that went into it. We prepared for the century much more intensely than the one we did the previous year. Essentially every weekend Lauren and I would give up an entire day to do our long ride. It was exhausting, and it cut in to our recharge time for the week ahead. But every weekend we'd dutifully plan a route, hop on our bikes, and roam the Bay Area roads. Our routes saw us completing a circle around the South Bay going from Mountain View, under the Bay through Milpitas, across the Dumbarton Bridge, and back. And also a ride from our apartment in Mountain View to the Ferry Building in San Francisco and back!
The actual century itself was pretty difficult. The wind pattern meant that there was a headwind the entire 100+ miles since the wind shifted 180 degrees midday. I can't think of a single moment the entire ride where we weren't being held back by the wind. Lauren also had a flat in the first 5 miles (as did a surprising number of other riders). Nonetheless, it made the finish that much sweeter. The Sacramento Century is in the books!
In October we made our annual trip to the East Coast where I met up with Arushi in Providence, Eli in New Haven, Leah and Nick in NYC, and attended Daniel's wedding in Connecticut.
Later that month I also went to Chicago where I got to reconnect with Seth and Hongda and enjoy some of the Fall colors!
Winter
And before you know it, it's time to wrap up the year. In November we made our way to Asia—my first time!
We started in Tokyo staying in one of the tiniest hotel rooms I've ever been in. But it didn't matter since we spent most ouf our day out and about.
We toured the Olympic Stadium, and because we were the only English-speaking members on the tour, they decided to give the tour only in Japanese. Still, it afforded us our first view of Mt. Fuji! We took a sushi-making class and even went to a cafe where we were served by robots.
We also went through the acclaimed Team Labs exhibit, and it was worth the hype before getting latte art with our faces made of foam in Shinjuku.
From Tokyo we took the Shinkansen Bullet train traveling up to 200mph to Kyoto. We only spent a night in Kyoto, but it was beautiful and scenic, especially the endless array of orange gates that comprised the Fushimi Inari Shrine.
Next stop: Taipei! Taipei was (spoiler) my favorite of the four cities we visited. We got incredibly lucky with the weather. It was a tropical 70+ degrees every day and uncharacteristically dry.
Our first night we went to hot pot and the waiter were so friendly. They gave us free food and exclaimed to us that "The Taiwanese love visitors!"
We hiked to the Elephant Mountain overlook getting great views of Taipei 101 tower before we got lunch at Google in said tower with sweeping views of the city and its surroundings.
To round out our Taiwanese cuisine, we drank Boba at the place that invented it—Chun Shui Tang.
Then to our last stop: Seoul. We basically went from 70 degrees and sun to 30 degrees and overcast. But Seoul has plenty of interesting things to distract us from the weather.
We started the next day at the Korean War Memorial, which gave a powerful and extensive walkthrough of Korea's military history. We also ventured to the DMZ on a day with great visibility peering easily into North Korea. The DMZ is a powerful example of history up close, and it can be surprising how that stark history continues today.
On our last day we went to a hole in the wall to grab a quick lunch. The restaurant seated about 5 people and it was freezing! It was there I had one of my favorite meals of the trip, an incredibly delicious and simple bulgogi and rice. Just beyond the restaurant was Gyeongbokgung Palace where we got a free English tour by a 14-year-old student. Her mom was so proud of her daughter, she had me and Lauren stand with her while she took a photo!
Still one last trip remained. In December Lauren and I went to Las Vegas. We did not come out ahead from the gambling, but we did come out ahead with good memories. We saw some great shows including David Copperfield, The Mentalist, and Cirque du Soleil's "O". The Strip was so crowded since it was approaching Christmas, and our Uber driver who dropped us off at the hotel told us it was the busiest he had ever seen it. We believed him.
Closing Thoughts
Now, a quick scoring of last year's resolutions.
- Bike the Sacramento Century ✅
- Visit Asia ✅
- Visit Chicago and NYC ✅
- Publish my Year in Review post on time (oof this year) 😬
- Maintain my friendships and make new ones ✅
- Turn 27 ✅
Honestly a great outcome, except for publishing this post on time. I was late this year, and I have a good excuse. My year started off with a bit of unexpected instability (it's all fodder for next year's post). But I have some things in mind to try to get next year's out on time like allowing myself to be more brief and having a better writing set up (right now I'm typing this post inside a code editor because I can't copy from a Google Doc into my site).
For next year I think I'll take a break from the resolutions and see where the year takes me. I have a few things in mind that I want to accomplish, but for now I'll consider re-upping my written commitments in next year's post.
Since I'm well into the new year already, I can at least tell you that there's plenty of fun things in store for next year's post. I hope you can read about them sooner than you could read about them this year. But it's also next year that I hope to share many of the moments that comprise the post with you all in person, so hopefully the wait for the documented version doesn't feel as long!
Oh, and for a special treat for your patience, below is this year's calendar (upgraded as described earlier)! But feel free to scroll past it if you hate spoilers!
