Category Archives: Travel

MY VENTURE INTO VIDEO EDITTING

Posted by BRYAN on September 27, 2013 in Stories, Travel

Are any of you guys fan of homemade videos? I am in love with it. I am super excited today to share some new videos that I have recently made!

1) Caroline Winata, has started a Photo Booth and invited me to one of their events while I was in Sacremento. Hope you are doing well, Caroline 😀

2) This video was made for during my internship with Mary, Very Merry Events for her online Skillshare Event Sketching workshop. Pardon for the last part of the video, it’s a little out of sync 😛

I have been creating video ever since my first solo trip out in 2009 to volunteer in Thailand. Looking back, that might the TRIP that change my life. In 2009, on the wave of being cool, I owned an expensive turntable set on the note that I would be a DJ someday. It turns out that I just like listening to music and I have other traits I would like to focus on. I put turntable up on a forum and a girl showed up with her mother, Debbie (supposedly her friend). I later found out that her mum runs a non-profit organization, Central Thailand Mission in Bangkok, Thailand. The project gathers resources from Singapore and Thailand and distribute it to different organizations in Thailand.

I am inspired go over in my holidays and Debbie has kindly offered her hospitality. Being the young teenager, I wanted company and started asking friends to join me on this adventure. No one could make it. I, fly over to a different country and stay with this lady I barely knew. There was a lot of uncertainty and I was hesitant. The feeling was like taking that first kiss, you know the time is right, the opportunity is there, but you are afraid. Afraid of what? of being rejected, of hurting your self-esteem, of losing your ego?

Long story short, I took a 13 days trip to Thailand and made a video to raise money for them. Now, I am 11th month into my travels. Baby steps.. right?

I strongly encourage everyone to start embarking on small adventures and make some indie videos. It could be just as easy as compiling photos and playing a song over it. 10 years down the road, it would be a memory well preserved.

Click more to see more video that I’ve done!

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TRIPLE BAKED POTATO

Posted by BRYAN on July 15, 2013 in Food, Travel

Its all about some good potatoes with your meat and I definitely love this version. Its called twice baked potatoe but I actually baked them 3 times. More than just that, there is Bacon and Pepper Jack cheese in it. If you want to impress your fellow American on 4th of July, this is the winner.

Click here for the recipe. Continue reading →

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8 TIPS TO SAVE MONEY ON THE ROAD

Posted by BRYAN on May 26, 2013 in Travel

If you are like on a long-term traveling plan where time is not an issue. The next important ingredient that would determine a successful travel is money. The more you save, the more amazing places you can visit. Of course, I am not telling to eat peanut butter and jam all day long (which I would glady do so – it’s delicious). Here are some tips to save those extra bucks and start traveling.

P.S. I have been robbed in La Paz, Bolivia. I will try to update the blog once I get a new computer.

1. Plan a budget
Welcome to business 101. A budget is to predict and plan your spendings within a timeline so that you can scrimp on things accordingly when needed. I divide my budget into 2, daily and monthly budget. Daily budget includes tours, food and accommodation costs. Multiply the amount by 30 days, add in transportation cost and you will get your monthly budget. Depending on the country, my daily budget is about US$20 to US$30 and my monthly budget would be around US$900.

A budget is there not to restrict your spendings but to be use as a guideline. For example, when I pay for a tour, I would try to save on food. If I spend lesser than budgeted, I could afford to treat myself to a big meal. Yay!!

2. Couchsurfing
This is a genius invention and also the reason why I can afford to travel for such a long time. Couchsurfing is a online community for travelers that wants to give back to the traveling community by offereing a couch or floor space for travelers for free. It is also what I love about travel – sharing, learning, and growing, the genuine generosity and warmth of someone willing to let a complete stranger into their homes, and more importantly, into their lives. This allows me to save money on accomodation and having the authentic local experience. The Couchsurfing experience focuses on sharing and giving. I always try to cook something or bring a small gift for my host – make them feel that it was a great decision to host you!

3. Ask the locals

I hate to pay Gringo’s price not because I cannot afford it but I am not Gringo, I’m Asian. haha. A fact to take in is that you will get ripped off sometimes because you don’t look like a local. Therefore, the best things to do is, ask. Talk to the your fellow travelers, they probably have done their reasearch and is able to give you some valuebale information that actually worth money. Nonetheless, the best person to consult on pricing is the locals hence learning the language is definitely something valuable. I remember once, taking the bus from Colombia to Ecaudor, figuring out that I paid 2 times the price for the same ticket, the person sitting beside me paid.

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HELLO PERU, FINALLY

Posted by BRYAN on May 11, 2013 in Travel

After 2 days, 2 buses, waking up the immigration officers, 4 combi, 1 taxi, 2 tuk-tuks, 1 night stay in a random town, I finally arrived at town of the cloud warriors, Chachapoyas. Blame my adventure self for choosing the not so popular border. I am now ready to visit some amazing Inca ruins.

Another Good news. I got my internship in Northern California with Very Merry Events this summer – super excited. I will be LA bound on the 14th June. I hoped the immagration officier have no problems with me this time 😀

VOLUNTEERING IN GUATEMALA

Posted by BRYAN on April 23, 2013 in Travel

For the past 3 weeks of my travels, I went the hottest part of Guatemala, Alta Verapaz and helped in a volunteer project in a local Primary school and experiencing the everyday life of a local farming community. When I was planning for my South America trip, Aline d’Ormesson introduced me to a friend who ran this a volunteer project, Li Ch’utam and it has since be on the checklist ever since.

After a few Skype sessions with the guys, I am to make a video for the volunteer project and help out with the teaching – I am super excited to arrive. Although already having some rough expectations in my head, it is never the same when I live the lives. I know that there are no real road but never expect that a bus ride will turn my hair dust white. I know that there will be some creepy crawly but expect knew I will be stung by a Scorpion. I know that it is not a safe country but never expect to be shot at.

(The Scorpion that gave me a love bite)

(After a 20 minutes bus ride – Dirt feet)

The experience had given me a glimpse of the local’s lives and the many issues they are facing on a daily basis. The people here live a very simple and modest live, speaking their indigenous language and very little spanish.

One day, we would arrived at school and no one was there because the teachers decided to go on strike without warning. This can almost happened on a monthly basis and sometimes up to a few weeks affecting the kid’s grade and hence needing to repeat another school year. On top of that, parent do not support the kid education as they would rather want their help them in the farms.

With the population boom, there might not be enough jobs in the local farming industry to support the future generations. Hence, the volunteer project is started to provide education support to school and equipped the students with skills they need to increase their job opportunities.