Life List: Listen to 1,000 new songs: #30!!!!

This Korean boy band, JYJ. I love them so much!!!

Going on vacation!!!

In exactly 18 days I will be leaving to go on a cruise (not my trip of choice, it's my birthday present to my mom for her 50th birthday). Nonetheless, I am still excited.

I will be traveling to:
-Cayman Islands
-Isla Roatan
- Belize
-Cozumel

I am really excited about Belize!

Korea 2010

I think I reference the fact that I have been to Korea a lot, so here are a few (out of the 500+ pictures I took) of my travels to Korea:

Pre-Travel Assesment Part 1:

1. Decide what kind of a trip you'll be taking: Ethical travel? Pilgrimage routes? Cooking schools in Europe? Travel to trace family roots? Just plain wonderlust? Unusual travel destinations?

This trip is mostly just to satisfy my insatiable need for travel. However, I would like to take a language course in Japan, Korea Thailand and China, along with a cooking class, preferably in China, and some sort of martial arts, Tae Kwon Do in Korea, and a dance class in korea so I can learn a kpop dance.

2. Check your employment options: Can you get a leave of absence or will you have to quit?

Even if I did get a leave of absence, I would still quit. I'm ready to move on and change careers. I'm going back to school to study International Relations and this trip will also be a transition into that career. As far as schooling goes, I'm looking into online courses and universities.

3. Begin budgeting for your trip and start saving money:

In 2 weeks I will be taking my mom on a cruise for her 50th birthday. So I won't really be able to sit down and make a budget until after I come back on October 10th. And all the money I'm saving now will probably be spent on the cruise.

4. Decide whether you'll be keeping your living quarters if you're renting or what you'll do with your home if you own it:

I moved in with my aunt to save money, so that's all set!

5. Start thinking about where you'll go and checking out potential travel destinations:


Definitely: China, Japan, South Korea
High Possibility: Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, Macau
Maybe: India, Cambodia, Malaysia, Nepal, Vietnam
If I don't run out of money or I can make some money in my travels: Sky's the limit!!

6. Begin to tell your friends and family:

I only told my closest friends and family I was thinking about it. I'm not ready to tell them yet how serious I am. I mean, I didn't tell my mom I was going to Korea until after I bought the plane ticket, lol.

7. If you're planning on traveling in a single region, start looking into how to learn a language:

I will be im Asia, but that encompasses so many different language. I can speak a little Korean. I will look into learning Chinese and Japanese, and maybe just a few phrases for the other countries I want to go to.

8. Decide whether it'll be solo travel for you or whether you'll want travel companions:

SOLO!!! I want to get up when I'm ready, go where I want to go and do what I want to do. I figure, from reading other peoples blogs, that I will probably be meeting people along my journey and we may in fact travel for a while together, I don't mind that, but I don't want to be with someone the WHOLE entire trip.

My Life List

I got the idea from Mighty Girl. It's kind of like a bucket list, but I like the sound of Life List better.

1.       Learn to make a homemade pie crust

2.       Recreate 20 looks that are in my fashion folder

3.       Get fitted for a bra

4.       Buy a quality bra

5.       See the Pyramids

6.       Have a croissant in France

7.       Go to a black tie New Years Eve Party

8.       Be conversational in 7 languages

9.       Run 1 mile non-stop

10.   Get my TEFL certificate

11.   Teach English in a foreign country

12.   Live in a foreign country for 1 year

13.   Have professional pictures taken

14.   Have $5000 in the bank

15.   Have tattoo removed

16.   Learn to use my camera

17.   Throw 100 parties

18.   Listen to 1,000 new songs: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.
19.   Make 100 different kinds of pie

20.   Get drunk in an Irish pub in Ireland

21.   Learn to drive a stick

22.   Fall madly in love

23.   Find the perfect foundation

24.   Travel around the world for 1 year

25.   Photograph 10 big cities

26.   Take a photography class

27.   Throw away all my underwear that I would be embarrassed to be seen in if I got into an accident and had to be rushed to the hospital

28.   Learn to play the guitar and piano

29.   Stop eating flour, sugar and dairy for 30 days

30.   Stop eating meat for 30 days

31.   Earn a degree in International Relations

32.   Have tea time in London

33.   Eat sushi in Tokyo

34.   Buy a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes

35.   Buy a “real” blazer and have it tailored to fit

36.   Memorize 20 inspiring quotes

37.   Have “real” Chinese food in China

38.   Take a cooking lesson in another country

39.   Get tattoo of feather or birds

40.   Get tattooed in another country

41.   Have a picture of me taken with Eiffel Tower in background

42.   Do something I LOVE for a living

43.   Fly 1^st class

44.   Own a perfect “Little Black Dress”

45.   Become CPR certified

46.   Travel cross country by train

47.   Lose 50 lbs

48.   Lose 100 lbs

49.   Stop wearing the same raggedy ass purse everyday

50.   Go to NYC Fashion Week

51.   Live in NYC

52.   Work for a non-profit

53.   Volunteer at an orphanage in Asia

54.   Buy a Louis Vuitton purse or luggage

55.   Buy a Chanel jacket, doesn’t have to be real

56.   Visit Montreal

57.   Fill my Juicy Couture charm bracelet

58.   Visit a beach with black sand

59.   Take a picture with a giant turtle

60.   Kiss a dolphin

61.   Rent a villa on some tropical location

62.   Have a Roman holiday

63.   Get clear skin

64.   Live in LA

65.   Learn to swim

66.   Adopt a child from another country

67.   Have a dream wedding

68.   Own a vacation home

69.   Own an Audi, like the one in Transporter 2

70.   Run in a marathon

71.   Visit Louisiana

72.   Ride a double decker bus in London

73.   Kiss in the rain

74.   Get really dressed up and go to the airport, ala Elizabeth Taylor in The V.I.P.s

75.   Take a cruise in the Mediterranean

76.   Own 100 scarves

77.   Learn to tie a scarf 20 different ways

78.   Get all the viruses off my computer and get a good virus protection program

79.   Attend Tomatine in Spain

80.   Attend a red carpet event

81.   Own a stock portfolio

82.   Take a pole dancing class

83.   Get 50 stamps in my passport

84.   Take myself on a date

85.   Feed an alligator

86.   Make a self portrait video, with one photo everyday for a year (started on September 2, 2011, re-start on October 17, 2011)

87.   Learn to play poker

88.   Learn to play chess

89.   Get a massage

90.   Get an acupuncture treatment

91.   Attend 5 exhibitions

92.   Pay off all my debt

93.   Have lunch at the plaza hotel in NYC ( Afternoon Tea Menu @ the Plaza Hotel )

94.   Find my tribe of girlfriends

95.   Go on a girls only vacation with said girlfriends

96.   Find the perfect red lipstick

97.   Adopt a puppy

98.   Celebrate my 30^th birthday with style

99.   Ride a zipline

100.                        Spend the night in a fancy hotel

101.                        Ride in a limo to nowhere special

102.                        Own a pajama set with footies

103.                        Cut my hair short

104.                        Learn self defense

105.                        Read 10 books about strong women

106.                        Wear all the sunglasses/earrings/necklaces/scarves I own, so that buying them wasn’t a waste

107.                        Go to the airport and jump on the next flight out

108.                        Taste the street food in Thailand

109.                        Own a café or bakery
110. Try 10 different homemade facial treatments
111. Try 10 different homemade hair treatments
112. Find a best guy friend
113. QUIT MY JOB!!!! This one is a biggie, since the only thing holding me to it is the money, otherwise I would have quit a long time ago.

Planning, Planning, Planning

So, I think I am doing thinks out of order, but I don't care, I do what I want, lol.


I have decided on a budget: $25,000. Where I did get this number? I pulled it out the sky to be quite honest. Actually, I follow a few blogs and I was looking at what they spent, giving more consideration to the people who have similiar travel styles as me or traveling to the places I would like to see. I then took an average and came up the magic number:

$25,000

Also, I decided I would be traveling from West to East, not sure if this is the correct direction, but seriously, is there really a right or wrong way to do this? There might be a better way, but to each its own.

This will probably be edited multiple times but here is where I am thinking of going, as of today:

• Starting in Los Angeles - by plane- to Tokyo
• Travel all over Japan by train
• Back to Tokyo -by plane- to Seoul
• Travel all over Korea- by train or bus
• Back to Seoul- by plane- to Beijing
• Beijing -by Train- to Shanghai
• Shanghai- by plane? (i don't remember, lol)- to Taipei
• Taipei- by plane- to Hong Kong
• Hong Kong -by plane-Singapore
• Singapore- by plane/boat/spaceship? (once again, I forget)-Bali
• From Bali back to Singapore
• Singapore -by carrier pigeon? (lots of kins to work out, lol)- Bangkok
• Bangkok-by scooter (yea, I should have wrote how I was getting to each place down, lol) to Bombay
• Bombay -by train/bus- to Delhi
• Delhi -by ...(i give up) - to Dubai
• Dubai - by plane to NYC (Home!!!!)

I know, I know. I have a lot of kinks to get out, but hey, this is just the beginning and I only got this crazy idea in my head like 2weeks ago. I also realize that I have somehow completely skipped Malaysia. Honestly, at this point I'm not really interested in going there anyway, but if it sparks my interest later on I guess I will add it.

I also got some price estimates for all this fun:
-Star Alliance: $6965, also added London for my trip for some reason
-OneWorld: $3285-$4500, added Dubai themselves

These are very rough estimates and I am only looking at RTW tickets for now.

Current Travel Songlist

These are the songs I listen to whenever I'm planning my trip:

• All Around the World- Boyz II Men
• Lust For Life- Drake
• Come Fly With Me- Frank Sinatra
• Konnichiwa Bitches- Robyn
• Live Your Life- T.I.
• Cinderella- Tata Young
• I'm Still Fly- Zico from Block B
• Touch the Sky- Jay Park
• Tonight- Big Bang
• Round the Globe- Nappy Roots

I love these songs and they are keeping me motivated while I am on this journey.