Leaped

I sit in a cafe in Mesa, Arizona while I enjoy a Macchiato and reflect upon this day and the past 8 1/2 years. My heart pounds with humility and pride. Looking back now, while traveling in our tiny minivan 🚙 along the west coast since August this year, hard to fathom how far we've …

Life Can Be Lonesome Out Here

I used to only dream about living a life full of travels. Now, after living 'the dream' for over 8 years having faced so many challenges, having jaunted from country to country, city to city, forest to forest, park to park, library to library, café to café and while it is no doubt a great …

Fourth Thursday of November

Yesterday was the fourth Thursday of November here in Asia. That which is a significant holiday in American tradition, Thanksgiving. On this fourth Thursday of November, we were cordially invited to a Nunnery to join the young Nuns and then to enjoy lunch there. I was not aware originally that we were invited for lunch. …

The Returns

Butterflies in my stomach. Lacking sleep during the previous nights, I cannot decide if I should cry or laugh out loud. So many mixed emotions filled with anxiety and excitement, at times, it feels as though I am unable to breath as easily. My heart is swelling from the time we've spent catching up with …

Reason No. %^&*!$& to Live with Abundance of Gratitude: Bike Ride to Nacpan Beach

Jack managed the motorcycle with the two of us in tow in what I think was the roughest terrain we've been in since moving to SE Asia in 2010. It was during our jaunt to the Nacpan Beach in El Nido, Palawan Island in the Philippines. I enjoy relaxing on the beach by the beach, …

Reason #@&$*!?€¢£¥ to be Grateful: What’s Happening in KL

I admit, my life is filled w gratitude stories from many corners. I realized I should share and write about them more. More often than not, the world is a friendly place. And I work damn hard at guiding my own child with that in mind. It's a balance. There have been times where I've …

Days of Our Lives While Traveling

Here's an example of what it's like to travel in our shoes! Note: The following details are similar whether we are in Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos or the Philippines or anywhere else in the world. We've traveled in similar fashion utilizing various transport modes including #11 bus, that's walking, all over Asia since 2010. So …

Taiwan tales – Coffee talk at a train station

Just another day, running from here to there, as we normally do, waiting for a train.  Aye noticed the senior gentleman grinding away with his stainless steel grinder at the table next to us, which prompted me to engage him with small talk.He was not killing time before his train, rather, he was waiting on …

I’m afraid of going home. There, I said it.

Living the expat life in Asia for most of past 7 years, we've always looked forward to our short trips back to the states, err, I mean, Texas.  Catching up with family, friends, and ooooh yeah, the food!   The meat, buffets, and oversized portions!  Stepping into Costco here in Taiwan is like visiting American soil …

Welcome to our old – ahem – new blog…

Note: I can't assume to speak for Aye, so I will try to break the 'we' habit and only focus on "I" in this post... I don't think anyone really noticed, or cared, that our gotpassport(dot)org blog went offline recently. We (as a team) decided, after many discussions, to let go of the URL, and …