Ko Olina, Oahu

You know what I love about traveling? The discoveries I make. Yes, there are always the wonderful experiences with a new surrounding: the people, food and culture but I'm referring to self discoveries. I am not sure if it's because of the change in scenery or routine but I came to realize a few things.

Several weeks ago, I spent seven days in Ko Olina with my family. My mom, my brother, my sister and their families. I had anticipated missing my beau however I did surprisingly well. I learned that with love, if you have it to give, it flows so easily out and in return. I spent the whole seven days showering my niece and nephews with love.



We all stayed at the Marriott Ko Olina Beach Club in the same suite. Going into it I was excited about the idea but after the first night of being surrounded by the loud TV and too many people in my personal space, I found myself locked in the bathroom collecting my sanity and considering an escape. Then I realized the point of this trip was to spend time with my family. I reminded myself that in six days I'll get to go back to my lifestyle and be peacefully alone in my quiet apartment, miles from my family. I should appreciate this time with them. After my internal pep talk I changed my attitude about the temporary living situation and fully embraced it.

My days started at 7am with a workout. Maybe it was the easy access to the beach or the sunshine but getting up at 7am to workout each morning was surprisingly easy. No alarm was necessary. At the first awareness of the morning light I would naturally wake. It would be perfectly timed at 10 minutes before the Yoga class started. Enough time for me to freshen up. Which made me wonder, why was it so hard to get up early and workout at home? My snooze button receives too much love.

For my sister and I, workouts in the morning were a toss up between practicing Yoga or running. Meanwhile my brother and mother would go participate in the morning Tai Chi which we learned my mother enjoyed it much more than Yoga. While we were out the rest of the family would sleep in or watch TV. After everyone was done with their morning activities, we would all gather around the kitchen and make breakfast. Everyone pitched in to help. As each dish was prepared it was placed on the table organically setting it up. We all gathered around the table to say grace before enjoying breakfast together. I can't remember the last time I shared breakfast with my family. I'm sure my mother, as someone who dedicated her entire life to raising her children, was very happy. After seven days of this I came to the realization that having my family close by was so nice. Being able to spend time with them brought me so much joy.



In my daily life I am a self help junkie. One of the first things I do when I wake up is journal to set the intentions for my day and then I read something inspirational. Usually a book on my kindle. On the commute to work I have a handful of podcasts I rotate. Each day a different person provides me with tips and tricks to achieving my big dreams. With all my prep work, I muster all the positive energy and thinking I have and sprinkle it throughout my day. By the end of the day I'm exhausted.

What I noticed while on this trip was I didn't care for any of that. I didn't care to wake up and journal or read something inspirational. I was too busy living and enjoying my life. This was a big epiphany for me. Am I not living a life that is natural to me? Is all this self help stuff just a band-aid to something much more? Big questions I had and still have no answers to.



There were also some discoveries I made with Oahu. With my previous visits I've mostly stayed in Waikiki. The only other time I've been to Ko Olina was years ago for my brother's wedding. They were married at the JW Marriott which is now the Four Seasons. This side of the island I learned is typically drier in comparison to the rest of the island. While we were here a rainstorm came through causing multiple flash floods. We were lucky, we barely felt it. Some areas were not as fortunate as we were. Had we not drove around the island we would have not experienced the powerful rain.

In Ko Olina our hotel was part of a bigger stretch of resorts. The trail my sister and I spent mornings running stretched approximately 2 miles from the Four Seasons to the Marina. It was parallel to the water. Along this trail were four lagoons. These photographs are from a walk while watching the sunset. If I could even imagine how heaven would be I this place would be close. Beautiful, well manicured greenery all around. The infinity view of the ocean. Children playing happily. The sun shining brightly.

Ko Olina, Oahu | April 2018

A Quiet Morning on HaLong Bay

I stir awake drifting out of a dream. My eyelids feels heavy as I attempt to bounce them open. I see a streak of light pouring into the room. It must be morning. I reach out to the night stand blindly searching for my phone - 6:30am. It was morning and much earlier than I thought. I put my phone down and return under the warm sheets. As I lie in bed listening to the silence, memories of the previous day starting flowing: the four hour drive from Hanoi to HaLong Bay, checking into our room, visiting the floating village, the delicious five course dinner and squid fishing in the dark. I remember seeing other cruise ships anchored around us and asked our guide about it. She mentioned in the evenings all the cruise ships are required to anchor in this specific location. Remembering this, I slid out of bed to find out if we’ve moved.

I quickly freshen up, collected my photography gear and tiptoed to our balcony. I was greeted with scattered limestone islands, cruise ships and fishing boats. In the distance, the limestone islands were covered in fog but it was surprisingly warm and so quiet. All I could hear was the humming of the engine. I discovered we were no longer anchored and cruising at a very slow speed. I sat there appreciating the moment, the silence, the view and all that was passing by before picking up my camera.

Here are my photos taken on my Hasselblad on that very first morning I woke up on HaLong Bay.

Joshua Tree

It’s after dinner the dishes are in the wash and Ian and I have retreated to our respective corners in the condo. He’s working on his painting of Joshua Tree and I’m reflecting on the photographs I took this past summer. This household is thinking of warmer days on this fall evening.



Visiting Joshua Tree was Ian’s idea. He had gone last year to take photographs for the painting he’s currently working on and for some reason I was unable to go. On our last trip to LA we were going for an extended time and decided to squeezed in a day trip for me to see it.



The great thing about going somewhere new with someone who’s already been is knowing what to anticipate. The park can be explored by feet, bike or car. I picked car. It made for a leisurely drive throughout the park. Anytime we saw something interesting we’d pull over to have a closer look: a valley full of Joshua Trees, boulders (which we bravely climbed like mischevious children) and the panoramic view at Key View.

Joshua Tree | September 2017

Hawaii on Hasselblad

In March, my beau and I took a trip to Hawaii to celebrate our anniversary. It's insane how in a blink of an eye, four years has gone by! I'll share more on the details of our trip but for now here's a roll of film I took on my new lover, my Hasselblad. It was gifted to me by my beau this past Christmas after years of lusting over this beauty and renting it at Glazer's to the point where the people knew my name and why I was calling. No shame in being in love around here!

We stayed at the beautiful Royal Hawaii on Waikiki and on this magnificent morning I walked around the hotel and beach with my Hasselblad and my thoughts. I wanted to capture the details of the moment; the sound of the calming ocean, the wind in the palm trees and the emptiness of the beach and hotel moments before tourists like myself absorbs it all.