Peace out, India.

Three months passed by both quickly and slowly. For as much as I've traveled, I actually don't like traveling in the traditional sense: vacationing and sightseeing. What I do enjoy is being in another country and living there as if I'm a resident. I decided to take the subway and collect subway cards at each place as a keepsake and also as a little badge of being a local.

From left to right: Delhi, Seoul, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei + SIM cards

Of the little sightseeing that I did, I must say that the Taj Mahal truly was beautiful and amazing and well worth the 4 hour drive. And I'll also definitely miss having "real Indian food". Kudos to Ankit, my HKUST classmate, who invited me to his place in Delhi for a family bbq.

BBQ smoker!

Ankit and Andrew

Must say that to be truly on your own for a such an amount of time has been fun in its own way. Not  depending on others for company or having avenues to vent made me confront and come to peace with a lot of things. I'd imagine everyone has memories they suppress because of immaturity or embarrassment or even shame, but with all this time to myself I've found the learning points or silver linings in those (by the way, Silver Linings Playbook was excellent!). As I've gone through my 20's, I'm happy that I make fewer excuses and take more ownership over life's events.

I'm certain that I will miss having the simplicity of not having social pressures or deciding what to do on a Saturday night. With that said, I'm ready to unpack my suitcase and start calling a place home again. I'll be in Hong Kong for a few days, then to NYC for two weeks, and finally back to Hong Kong to figure out where home will be.

Don't know who said it, but it applies:

To travel is better than to arrive.

It's been a good run; I'll remember these past two years fondly. On to the next.