I can be so awkward when it comes to an introduction. To start off, I am a first generation Chinese immigrant and the first to finish higher education in the family. After college, I started helping out at my family company doing website content management and recently started my own business. This venture has freed up a significant amount of my time.
I enjoyed traveling internationally at the age of 16 because of my first trip to Hong Kong and China. Being raised in the United States, I didn’t get to taste the yum yum and authentic Chinese cuisine I hear about all the time from families. When the opportunity came, I ate to my heart’s content in Hong Kong, the food heaven of Asia.
That experience leads to more travel plans throughout my 20s. One particular destination was a small island called Redang in Malaysia. It was my first time visiting an island with a long stretch of beach and pristine water. I wouldn’t be happier just sitting in my hammock looking out to the ocean, but that didn’t sit well with my sister. She forced me into doing a snorkeling excursion with her. I wouldn’t be more frightful at the time because of my lack of swimming skills. Much to my delight, I enjoyed snorkeling so much I almost forgot I can’t swim. Needless to say by the end of the trip, I came to love the ocean more than I could ever imagine.
I got open water certified three years later in Sipadan Malaysia. I couldn’t believe the ocean can be that mysterious and beautiful. The rich color corals, the diverse, and abundance of marine life is enough to lose myself in this oceanic world. Since then, diving has been the core of most of my travel destination.
Simply Lan 