Summary
- As I promised in #3 of the 2024 Summer Travel Log, I decided to reflect on this trip.
- I’ll summarize key experiences and plan future actions.
Experience
※ Overwrapping places will be excluded.
- First time experiencing complete inability to communicate (China).
- First time in my life never using cash during travel (China).
- Tallest skyscraper, fastest vehicle (Shanghai).
- Countless examples of futuristic architecture (China).
- Visited HQs: Google, Apple, Salesforce, MIHOYO, TSMC (China, America, Taiwan).
- Visited universities: UC Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, Shanghai Jiao Tong (China, America).
- Visited world-class museums: China Art Museum, Computer History Museum, M+, Palace Museum, City Planning Museum, CCP Museum, The Getty, USH, Academy Museum, Petersen Automotive Museum, The Broad, LACMA, California Academy of Sciences, Exploratorium, SFMOMA, De Young Museum, Walt Disney Museum, The Grand Palace, The Ancient City, Archdiocese of Manila, Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, National Taiwan Science Education Center, teamLab Borderless, and more (China, America, Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan, Japan).
- Visited renowned heritage sites: Nanjing Rd, Longhua Temple, Tianzifang, Xifu Lake, Humble Administrator’s Garden, Suzhou Canal City, Couple's Retreat Garden, Wat Pho, Wat Arun Ratchawararam, The Golden Buddha, Golden Gate Bridge, SF City Hall, Little Tokyo, Las Vegas, Bellagio, Intramuros, Nan Loan Garden, Sir Ski Yuan Wong Tai Sin Temple, Tianyuan Temple, Jiufen Old Street, Shine Old Street, Lotus Pond, Beitou, Dihua Street (China, America, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan).
- Visited cultural sites: Night Markets (Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong), Pier 39 (SF), Pier 2 (Taiwan), Ximending (Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong).
- Visited futuristic architecture: Shanghai Tower, Lukong SOHO, The Bund, China Metro System, Shanghai Expo Site, PVG Airport, Siam Paragon, King Power MahaNakhon, Iconsiam, MSG Sphere, Fremont Experience, Bank of China Tower, The Henderson, The Center, West Kowloon Station, Gangxia North Station, Shenzhen Museum, (布吉, 大运, 大运中心, 黄阁坑, 双龙, 坪山围, 技术大学, 黄木岗), Bay Sports Center, Baoan Binhai Cultural Park, Huaqiang Electronic World, Ping’an International Financial Center, Yifang Center, K11 Musea, Glory Pier (Music Center Cruise Terminal), Dadong Arts Center, National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, National Taichung Theater, 陶朱隐园 (China, America, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand).
- Ate exceptional food: Xiao long bao, tacos, salad bowls, Taiwanese fried chicken (大鸡排), BBQ (Thailand, Philippines), mango (Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines), bubble tea, taro balls, peanut ice, pork floss, sweet potato fried balls, buns, egg rolls (biscuit), dan bing, lu rou fan, dried peach (Taiwan), porridge, soup (Taiwan, Hong Kong), 鷄蛋仔 (Egg Cake), Café de Coral (restaurant), Thai milk tea, pizza (Trader Joe’s roasted vegetables), clam chowder, mango sticky rice, chicken rice (Thailand), pad thai, passion fruit juice with seeds, Vietnamese spring rolls, pandan cake, suan bai tang, mung bean sweet soup (Suzhou), beef organ noodles (Hong Kong).
Achievements
- Visited most destinations I planned.
- Checked reservation requirements in advance and took action more than 1 month ago.
- Wrote a diary of 5K to 25K (usually 10K) characters every day. Didn’t have time for other activities because of it.
- Partially able to communicate in Chinese and able to read most of it.
- Kept costs minimal at around 800K JPY, which is insanely cheap considering the amount of experience.
- Able to instantly adapt to a first-time country, but needed help from my friend, especially in China.
- Optimized route planning, considering weather, opening hours, and location.
- Met some of my friends.
- Compare the culture and quality of life in each country.
- Experienced China's futuristic city planning and world-leading digital technology adoption.
Next Steps
- Create artworks inspired by different artistic styles from around the world.
- Reach HSK levels 4 to 6.
- Digitalize more things using my phone, inspired by the Chinese example.
- Inspired by the great public space design in Greater China, design an artistic and comfortable virtual space using Unity.
- Make tape LED neon. Learn from the superior lighting techniques in China.
- Regularly eat healthy food and herbs from Greater China.
- Improve quality to a competitive level, rather than just being unique.
- Make decisions based on return on investment rather than price. No gain, no investment.
Findings
- As I expected, learning something new during travel is uncommon. It’s best to research in advance before we go.
- China and America had countless exceptional experiences, but I felt Taiwan was my favorite looking back. I felt they are much more focused on human emotion and desire, significantly enhancing the experience of daily trivial activities. Additionally, the city was created by many small businesses rather than a nation or conglomerate, which offered an incredible variety of options and healthy competition for better quality.
- I had expected San Francisco to be a futuristic city, but it is rather traditional, similar to Shanghai and Hong Kong. In fact, it was much easier to access the latest technology from the internet rather than from real life. However, art is likely the foundation for their imagination, which we can explore by visiting museums.
- I anticipated expenses to exceed 1000K, but doing it actually turned out to be much cheaper. We should stop using money as an excuse for not pursuing opportunities, as such chances occur rarely, and what we spend will be time rather than money.
- I realized that saving money can actually lead to wasting money. I saw people wasting a lot of time and money due to under-investment in public infrastructure. I tend to think that spending money is the same as losing money. However, legitimate investments with an ROI of more than 1 mean we can gain as much money as we spend. We should decide based on return rather than price.
