A Note on Trip Planning

Voluntary or not, planning a trip starts the moment that you let your wanderlust take over for even a second. You begin to imagine the types of places you want to go, the things you’ll do, the experiences you’ll have, what you’ll eat. You begin to plot out the sites that you couldn’t live without missing, and how your very Instagrammable AirBNB would sit in the perfect spot. Suddenly you start to notice hints of your dream destination everywhere; it invades your thoughts, your dreams, and your conversations. Until one day everything changes…because after months of dreaming and hoping you’ve FINALLY gotten your ticket.

At least, that’s how it went for me. Two years ago Tokyo was barely on my radar. It was just a city that I saw in photos and on TV shows. It was the birthplace of a style we’d learned about in Intro to Fashion called Harajuku; it was the setting of many magical Miyazaki films that I’d watched with wide eyes. Until I moved to the West Coast, traveling to Asia didn’t even seem like a moderate reality. You see, living in the Southeast meant that Europe was a convenient travel destination—it felt accessible, airline tickets were more reasonable, the time difference was manageable. Even closer than that was Mexico, but Asia? That shit felt far. Too far.

A couple of months after I moved to Seattle two of my coworkers went to Japan for a month. They returned with stories that sounded made up, fantastical souvenirs, and many tasty candies. It was then that I began to feel thirsty for Asia. I started to see bits and pieces of Japanese culture everywhere. Slowly (and hungrily) I began to familiarize myself with different kinds of Japanese cuisine in Seattle; I made friends with people who had been there before and were under the “I love Japan” spell that I’d grown accustomed to hearing about. My Netflix queue gradually went from Kimmy Schmidt and Planet Earth to Anthony Bourdain and Jiro Dreams of Sushi, and my Amazon wish list? …I’m sure you can imagine. Exactly a year from my friends’ return I exited the tab where I’d just finished watching Lost in Translation, got on Kayak and booked a flight for six months later.

(Maybe it was the sparkling, panoramic shots of Tokyo at night that tantalized me, or maybe it was ScarJo. The jury’s still out).

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Choosing a destination for travel is only the first step in planning your trip. The next step, in my opinion, is identifying why you want to go there. What’s driving you to go to this new place? Is it the historic sites? The culture? The serene beaches? The pancakes? Identifying the reasons you want to go somewhere new will help you shape your itinerary for a supremely custom travel experience. It will be more memorable and enjoyable for you than one that simply covers the bases of that new place (especially if, frankly, you just can’t be bothered to care about some of those bases).

As many of you know, I get more excited about food than I do about most things. The opportunity to try new foods using cooking methods that have been honed for many generations, feeling it’s cultural and historical significance, it’s so life-giving to me. It’s why I’m going to Japan. I may miss some of the statues and the temples, but I certainly won’t miss Chanko Nabe in Ryogoku or “Ramen Street” in Tokyo Station.

Pro tip: An important question to ask yourself is, “When I get back, I will regret if I miss…” what? Answer that question for yourself before you leave so you know that you’re prioritizing all the things you really care about.

Once you’ve determined the WHY of your trip the rest of the planning should come fairly easy. If you’re finding it hard to come up with ideas, do some research. I think travel blogs are a really reliable resource. Take inspiration from some of the adventures the bloggers had, things they ate…but don’t be afraid to  follow their lead and seek out some of your own travel secrets. Also, check out Youtube for video travel diaries and insider information.

One of my favorite travel blogs, Cup of Couple,  just went to Japan, check out a video from their trip below:

IMPORTANT: As much as I preach about curating my own travel experience, I have a pile of books in my room that I’ve been pouring over for the last few months. Not only do they offer insight into things to do, but some also include cultural information and maps. V HELPFUL.

Some of my favorite Japan resources:

• Rice, Noodle, Fish 
• Pretty Good Number One 
• Monocle Guide to Tokyo 
• Creatives Guide to Tokyo 
•  Lonely Planet – Japan
• Japan Guide 
• Food Sake Tokyo 

*Don’t be afraid to reach out to people who know a lot about what you’re interested in (Authors, Restaurant Owners, Etc). They can often offer up the most unique, fearless travel advice.

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Traveling to a new place doesn’t have to be a checklist of obligations and tourist traps.  Make your trip memorable by making it your own, and even making it up a little as you go. A little spontaneity never hurt anyone—only made things more exciting.

One week left until take off!

Sayonara

(I’ve been practicing)

Amsterdam Photo Diary

Weaving between the canals and narrow side streets of Amsterdam was one of the more surreal things I’ve ever done. It looked like a painting and it smelled like pancakes. Always.

While we were frequently warned about how crazy Amsterdam is and to proceed with caution (especially if we dared go to the Red Light District) I was mainly concerned about my safety because of the incomprehensible amount of bicyclists. Being from a not-so-big city, I tend to cross streets a little more haphazardly than, say, a New Yorker. Knowing that, it should come as no surprise to you that the meanest thing a dutch person yelled at me was, “AAAAAAAAAH MOOOOOOOOOOVE.”

Somehow, though she was yelling, she still sounded like the nicest person I’ve ever met. Everything in that language sounds bubbly, so I all I thought when I heard the wail of warning was: Das Koot.

Yes, that does mean exactly what it sounds like. Perfect, I know.

I think if I were to compare Amsterdam to a city in the United States, it would be San Francisco. The city is a an architectural artwork created in hues of blues, grays, reds, and browns with intermittent color on every block.

Past the walls are the roofs, each shaped as unique as the city they look over and often trimmed with ornate, sculpted detailing. The buildings are dotted with almost as many windows as bricks, and light is welcomed into the homes of those who reside in them.

For me, this means that people would become all too aware of the amount of pastries I’d be enjoying and dutch television whose subtitles I would be enthusiastically reading aloud. What channel? The food network. Come on.

After all is said and done, I think I’ll be going back to the Netherlands. If not for the scenery, the museums, the culture, the markets, the colors, the people, the flowers, the beer, the painted clogs or the food…

Then I’ll at least need a second visit back to find and apologize to that happy-angry lady who just wanted an interruption-free, city cruise on her bike.

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All photos taken by me. To see more photos follow me on instagram at @lacunningham

Fashion week catch up 2 coming soon! Also, more pictures from Europe.

Speak to you all soon!

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