So what did 2012 look like? to me this was a year focused around academia. After settling down into the PhD program and generally figuring out what my research directions are, my travels were mostly around the places where my academic journey has led me.
Since I’m always behind on my blogging – now more than ever – and the 2011 summary ended in November , I’ll start with wrap-ups of 2011 up to November 2012.
Wrapup of travel in 2011
- Beautiful Xiamen : Trip Summary & Suggested Itinerary
- Seoul Trip Summary : Korea
- Southern Philippines Island Trip : Summary & 7D6N Itinerary
- From Ann Arbor to Washington DC : US/Canada Road Trip Summary
- Washington DC Trip Summary & Suggested 5 Days Itinerary
Wrapups of December 2011 in HK
- Clockenflap : Nova Heart – Helen Feng
- Clockenflap Music Festival 2011 : Hong Kong
- Sai Kung Peninsula, Geo Park & Hap Mun Bay : Boat Trip
- Sheung Yiu Folk Museum : Sai Kung
- Pak Tam Chung Nature Trail : Sai Kung
- Hong Kong Street Fashion : Face Hunting with Jin Wong
January 2012
In Shenzhen:
- Lizhi Park : Shenzhen
- Israeli Restaurant in Shenzhen : Ahava
- Shenzhen – China : 6 Days Travel Itinerary
in Hong Kong :
February 2012
Was TAing in a course…
in Hong Kong :
March 2012
Not much travel on March. Too much going on at school, I guess.
April 2012
My father comes for a visit in HK and we venture off to China
In Hong Kong
Nanjing & Suzhou
- Nanjing Xuanwu Lake at night
- Gate of China : Nanjing
- Confucius Temple : Nanjing
- Nanjing Purple Mountains & Botanical Gardens
- Lion Forest Garden : Suzhou
Beijing
May 2012
Taught an intense summer course at HKUST. Busy, very little time for anything else.
In Hong Kong:
June 2012
I went for the APS conference in Chicago
- University of Chicago : Campus Walk
- Museum of Contemporary Art : Chicago
- Blue Bars : Chicago
- Wicker Park : Chicago
- Chicago Museum of Science and Industry
- Cloud Gate "The Bean" & Crown Fountain : Millennium Park
- Museum Campus : Chicago
- The Gorgeous City of Chicago : Skyscraper Architecture Tour
- Lincoln Park Zoo : Chicago
More to come on Chicago…
July 2012
In Hong Kong
- Harbor Grand: HK Fireworks
- HK Museum of Medical Sciences : Sheung Wan
- The Sheung Wan Magic : Hidden Temples in HK
In Shenzhen
- Dafen Artist Oil Painting Village : Shenzhen
- Spectacular Shenzhen Views from Kingkey 100 Saint Regis
August 2012
Spent a few weeks in Israel to visit my sister’s first born.
Then headed over to the US for a research exchange with a stop at Boston on the way
- Visions of Boston : Instagram
- Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology : Harvard University, Boston
- Harvard Campus : Boston
Still have A LOT coming up from that trip…
September 2012
Moving into a new country, settling down in Tallahassee and starting with Florida State University took longer than I expected.
Still, things worked out eventually, and even got to see a few things …
October 2012
Mostly in Tallahassee, with a trip to a conference to Gainesville and a bit further around eastern Florida.
- Museum of Florida History : Tallahassee
- Downtown Festival & Art Show : Gainesville
- Saint Augustine Beach
Still have A LOT coming up from that trip…
November 2012
Puerto Rico - Visions of Puerto Rico : Trip Preview
Still have A LOT coming up from that trip…
In Tallahassee:
December 2012
Visited New York City to see my dear sister and meetup with my parents flying in for a Christmas & Newsyears visit : Visions of New York City : Trip Preview
Still have A LOT coming up from that trip…
Other
Also managed to squeeze in a a short visit to Taiwan…
- Xingtian Temple : Taipei
- Puppetry Art Center of Taipei : Small Museums in Taipei
- Museum of Drinking Water : Water Park – Taipei
- Museum of World Religions : Taipei
- Taipei Treasure Hill Artist Village
- Treasure Hill Temple : Taipei
Still have A LOT coming up from that trip…
Overall 2012
Overall, this year I’ve been to China (Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Beijing, Shenzhen, Xiamen), Taiwan, Israel, United States (Chicago, Boston, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Orlando, Daytona Beach, Saint Augustine, Pensacola, NYC) and Puerto Rico. A relatively humble year compared to my 2011, 2010 and 2009, but it somehow still feels like I’m moving around all the time.
What else in 2012?
- Finally got myself a decent mobile this year (Samsung Galaxy Nexus), which led to starting an Instragram account (~110 photos, ~55 followers).
- Kept going with the Management and Social Psychology blog (Twitter account here, ~110 followers).
- Started Acadecomic (~55 Tumblr subscribers).
- Started a research WIKI.
- Closed Chinalyst (now redirected to It’s Hong Kong). Had no time to maintain or upgrade it, and there are much better alternatives.
- Fili’s World has ~1150 followers on Twitter (daily digest here) and ~240 followers on Facebook. Not much growth, but that’s expected.
Other travel-unrelated thoughts :
- Doing a PhD : Costs & Poverty Line in Hong Kong
- Travel Numbness & Decreasing Newness : My Perspective
- Sh*t People Say to PhD Students
- Sh*t Hong Kong People Say to White Guys
- Sh*t People Say to Bloggers
- Shit People Say to Expats Visiting Back
- General update : From Hong Kong to Florida
Happy new year! Have a great 2013!
I can’t believe you sometimes.. how energetic and passionate you are for doing all with academic, traveling, writing and community-building.. for all those years. Your blog has been a good friend to me, and now I feel the friendship is kinda old (in a good way, in case it isn’t obvious) Still have a lot to come up eh? 🙂 That sounds so awesome and lively. Have a great one, NYE and the year 2013.
Happy new year. 2012 was great, thanks for everything you did in HK and Florida. Its wonderful trip.