My friends are getting married in two weeks.  They are hosting their wedding in Taipei, Taiwan.  I am so excited to be visiting Taipei for the first time in my life.  Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve heard so many awesome stories from my mom (who grew up there by the way), & I’ve always hear from my relative about how mind-blowing incredible the food is.  I’ve been eating Taiwanese influenced food my entire life, so I’m really pumped up to be trying the real deal while I’m over there.  Also, I’m so extremely excited that both of my friends are finally getting married…& that I get to go on an epic trip with all of my closest friends!

[ I remember my friends’ proposal like it was yesterday.  Our whole circle of friends went to the San Diego Comic Con in 2011.  In the spur of the moment, our male friend (the fiancé) had asked us to help him stage the proposal on the beach.  We only had a couple of hours to pull the whole thing together, including: 1. helping him write her (the fiancée) a letter/message in a bottle, 2. get an empty wine bottle to stage a scene on the beach where they would randomly find said bottle, & 3. (the most tricky part of all) film the whole proposal with a friend’s Pro photography camera without her knowing they were being filmed.  We somehow managed to make it work with our extremely limited resources, & voila!  Our friends are finally tying the knot. ]

Not only will this trip be for our friends’ wedding, but it will probably be the last major trip my husband & I will take for a long time because after this, we are going to anchor ourselves down & get the ball rolling on continuing the family tree (if you know what I mean). [Bow-chicka-wow-wow!]  After our friends’ wedding, my husband & I are going to stay in Taipei for a few extra days, then jet off to Tokyo, Japan to visit an old friend of mine as well as my cousins & my last surviving uncle (from my dad’s side of the family).  Before we head off to Tokyo, we’ve got quite a bit of sightseeing to do in Taipei, since it’ll be our first time traveling there.  I am definitely planning to take a lot of pictures, which I hope I will have time to upload on to this blog. *Fingers Crossed*  Also, my mom has given us a laundry list of things to do on her behalf (e.g. take a picture of her alma mater college, visit the national museum, have lunch with one of her friends…whose nickname is Little Horse in Mandarin. I kid you not.)

After our little excursion in Taipei, we are off to Tokyo.  This time we are going there with two of our closest friends (my husband’s best friend & his wife…who is a close friend of mine as well).  We are all very excited to visit new neighborhoods & try new things this time.  However, as per my usual routine, I must visit at least one or two of my cousins & I must visit my grandparents in their final resting place to pay my respects.  Also, I will be meeting up with a longtime friend of mine (whom I’ve known since Kindergarten), & I couldn’t be more thrilled to see her after 5 years.  We’ve both been very busy with work & family, so it’s been difficult for us to keep up regular contact with each other.  This time in Tokyo, we are going to take it easy, go slow & really soak up all of the fun.  I’m usually more of a fast-paced kind of girl when I’m on vacation.  I want to cram in as much things to see & do in one day as I can, but this time my husband has convinced me to just slow down & really enjoy my time…for this may be my last overseas for a long time.  Like always, I’m going to be taking photos galore in Tokyo, & like I said before, hopefully I’ll be able to upload them when I can.

I am so excited for this trip, I can hardly wait.