Category: Around the World
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Remembering a restaurant
A few years ago, my wife and I visited Tokyo together for the first time in December. We’d arrived inbound from Chiang Mai, with a layover in Busan. It felt like travelling from summer to winter. By the time we had settled into the hotel, it was the early evening, so we searched for a…
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A beginner’s guide to asking
Most of the time, it’s okay to be nosy. A more polite way to describe that is curiosity. If you make eye contact, wave, and say, “Excuse me,” you are off to a good start. Learn to ask indirectly. Feel out when to push and when to pull back. Know when to offer to put…
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Always ask
People can recommend incredible restaurants. They can bend rules for you. They can help make an exception or offer leniency. With their experience, they can suggest more expansive possibilities than you could have imagined. All you have to do is one thing: Ask. Always ask.
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Happy year of the fire horse
A few nights ago, I went to a lunar new year celebration at the Royal Ontario Museum, which was very energizing. Last year, I happened to visit The Met a few days before the lunar new year and saw the AAPI Jazz Collective play. When I realized this, I felt like it was a cosmic…
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Why people still ask for directions
Maps were one of the first technologies. The earliest map we know of right now was etched into a mammoth tusk around 25,000 years old. Maps have come a long way, from tusk, to paper, to software. Now, an app can offer a huge, interactive, map of the world in your pocket, down to the…
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Good things happen when you can be flexible with timing
A company holds its holiday party in March. The venues are cheaper. Holiday party fatigue is over. The team looks forward to it, especially if January and February were thrashy. If you want to save money on travel, your best bet is to be flexible either with where you want to go, or when you…