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Lily Wunders

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United States of America

I Traveled from Hong Kong to the USA During the COVID-19 Pandemic and This is What It Was Like.

December 19, 2020 //  by Lily Wu//  Leave a Comment

It’s 2:42 a.m. here in this Massachusetts town. I arrived at 5:30 in the evening, and this is currently the view from the Holiday Inn, one of three hotels in this little pocket of 30,000 people. There’s the flicker of Popeye’s tangerine-orange logo, and the looming hulk of the Showcase Cinemas I grew up going to as a kid – its neon sign now dark, and the entirety of its glass façade eerily …

I Traveled from Hong Kong to the USA During the COVID-19 Pandemic and This is What It Was Like.Read More

Category: Asia, Hong Kong, Longform, Musings, North America, Personal Life, United States of AmericaTag: coronavirus, covid-19, north america, pandemic, personal life, travel

ABC in Hong Kong: A Chinese American Story of Language, Loss, and Home

Girl standing in front of the IFC in Hong Kong

February 18, 2020 //  by Lily Wu//  17 Comments

For as long as I can remember, the Asian-American identity had existed in various forms before I’d even known that being an ABC (American-born Chinese) was a thing. It was fed to me in drops and trickles: first through the works of Amy Tan, where I related strongly to her child protagonist Ying-ying St. Clair in the 1992 book The Moon Lady,  the story of a headstrong and fairly obnoxious girl who …

ABC in Hong Kong: A Chinese American Story of Language, Loss, and HomeRead More

Category: Asia, Hong Kong, Longform, North America, Nothing to Do with Travel, Personal Life, United States of AmericaTag: Asia living, hong kong, hong kong living, memoir

The Best Food in the East Village, Manhattan: My Favorite Bites in This New York Neighborhood

a margherita slice at Scarr's Pizza, one of the best food in east village manhattan

January 7, 2020 //  by Lily Wu//  31 Comments

I plan an entire visit to a place around its food more often than I care to admit. This was especially true before I became Instagram trash (hey, click that Follow if you haven’t!), when the only photos I snapped were on my Samsung 5, and consisted nearly entirely of things like handheld jianbing or egg waffles stuffed with ice cream. Since my nearly-complete transformation into Instagram …

The Best Food in the East Village, Manhattan: My Favorite Bites in This New York NeighborhoodRead More

Category: Food, North America, Travel, Travel Guides and Tips, United States of AmericaTag: food, new york, New York City, usa

Lily Wunders 2019: My Year in Review in Travel and Blogging

Lily Wunders 2019 My Travel Blog Review

December 31, 2019 //  by Lily Wu//  27 Comments

In 2018, I flew out of Hong Kong for international trips 9 times. A year later, in 2019, both my style of travel (I affectionately call it “super light touch”) and everything else in my life caught up with me. I traveled less, but also wrote more. I launched my travel blog in October. I created a presence on two new social media platforms. I turned 26. 2019 Travels: Macau, France, New …

Lily Wunders 2019: My Year in Review in Travel and BloggingRead More

Category: Asia, Australia, Blogging, Europe, France, Macau, New Zealand, North America, Oceania, Travel, United States of America, WritingTag: blogging, Instagram, Pinterest, SEO, Social Media, travel, travel blogging, world travel

Do Italians like American Italian Food? We Eat in Little Italy in Boston to Find Out

Penne Gorgonzola with a red glass of wine in the background at Carmelina's in Boston Little Italy

December 23, 2019 //  by Lily Wu//  18 Comments

Have Americans destroyed Italian cuisine? Do the Italians hate us for it? Do I even know what Italian food is? Would bringing an Italian to Little Italy in Boston be carnage? My first experience with Italian food came in the form of boxed Barilla spaghetti. My dad meticulously listed grocery items on yellow Post-it notes and carefully attached them to our fridge door. One of them is still …

Do Italians like American Italian Food? We Eat in Little Italy in Boston to Find OutRead More

Category: Food, Longform, North America, Travel, United States of AmericaTag: American food, Boston, food, Italian food, little Italy, United States, usa

I’m From Boston. Here Are My Top Things to Do in Boston.

A photograph of Acorn Street on Beacon Hill in Boston - top things to do in Boston

December 15, 2019 //  by Lily Wu//  33 Comments

The worst thing you can do if you're from Massachusetts is say you're from Boston if you're not. If you're friends with someone who is actually from Boston, they'll draw up a map for you. It's instinctual. It's like scratching when you have an itch. You just do it. You're not from Boston if you're from Springfield, OK? But I digress. In the travel world, where living like a local …

I’m From Boston. Here Are My Top Things to Do in Boston.Read More

Category: North America, Travel, Travel Guides and Tips, United States of AmericaTag: Boston, Massachusetts, north america, travel, travel guides, usa

Home for the Holidays: A Very Chinese Thanksgiving

A Turkey on Thanksgiving day

December 8, 2019 //  by Lily Wu//  17 Comments

Ostensibly, Thanksgiving is about the celebration of the coming together of the Pilgrims (who were a group of people who came over from England to, ostensibly, escape religious persecution). By ostensibly, I mean that this fact-of-sorts had been sort of softly hammered into my head since I was old enough to place a chubby little hand on a piece of brown construction paper and shakily trace a …

Home for the Holidays: A Very Chinese ThanksgivingRead More

Category: North America, Nothing to Do with Travel, United States of AmericaTag: holidays, home, north america, thanksgiving, united states of america, usa

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📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (Lion Rock) ⁣ This was t 📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (Lion Rock) ⁣ This was the second time I’ve hiked to Lion Rock in Kowloon (the first time being over 3 years ago), and I still love the little Lego-pieces of HK’s buildings as far as the eye can see! ⁣ I’m not jn Hong Kong at the moment, but I’ve been telling my family here in the US that it isn’t all dense concrete and gray cityscapes, a huge amount of HK is literally just lush tropical wilderness. ⁣ Hope everyone is having a lovely start to their holidays! My family has never been big holiday people (don’t think they place a lot of emphasis or value on atmosphere), but we still got a little cat-proof tree tree at my insistence to spruce it up a bit. ⁣ ⁣ #ilovehongkong #homekong #hongkongphotography #hongkongphotographer #cathaycreators #hikinginhongkong #hongkonghiking #hkhikes #hongkonghikes #sheisfromhk #sheisnotlost #lionrockhike #lionsrock #hk_iger #travelgirlsgo #livetoexplore #hongkonglife #hongkonginsta #hongkongig #explorehongkong #discoverhongkong #awesomehongkong #bostonbloggers #bostonblogger #hongkongblogger #damestravel #traveldames #thedreamytravel #girlsvsglobe #girlsborntravel
📍Massachusetts (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ What’s th 📍Massachusetts (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ What’s the coldest place you’ve ever been to? ⁣ Can you smell how crisp the air is? It was also bone-shatteringly cold - 🥶 30 F (just below 0 C) feels just as fresh and stingy on my face as I remember! There are ZERO “Instagram spots” in the classical sense here - so you’ve got to get creative with Mother Nature! ⁣ Life has been funny lately. I’ve been in the USA for about 2.5 weeks now and I’ve finally settled into a rhythm and a routine. Part of that routine involves 3-4x weekly walks with my parents in a nearby “reservation” - big swathes of land with hiking trails, ponds, and lakes. I’m wearing leggings underneath jeans here, and could STILL feel the sharpness of cold air penetrating all the way through to my skin. ⁣ I’ve traded skyscrapers and haze for lakes and sunsets, and right now, feel super content. ⁣ ⁣ #ilovenengland #houghtonspond #newenglandsunsets #bostonbloggers #bostonblogger #newenglandphotographer #newenglandphotography #newenglandliving #newenglandlife #newengland_igers #newenglandfall #newenglandblogger #sheisnotlost #travelgirlshub #damestravel #dametraveler #sheisfromhk #agameoftones #cathaycreators #newenglandpictures #newenglander #ilovemassachusetts #masachusettsphotographer #massachusettsoutdoors #bluehillsreservation #hikingboston #newenglandhikes #massachusettslife #massachusettsmade #naturalmassachusetts
📍Boston, MA (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ This photo was 📍Boston, MA (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ This photo was taken last year in one of my favorite places in Boston, the Boston Public Library (where my dad still works!). ⁣ If I get my negative COVID result today, I’m finally out of my self-imposed quarantine! It won’t bring me much freedom, but I’m excited to meet the two new cats in the house and to finally be able to make and serve my own meals. Hope everyone is having a good week! ⁣ ⁣ #iloveboston #bostonpubliclibrary #beantown #newenglandphotographer #newenglandphotography #bostonma #bostonblogger #bostonbloggers #lifeofadventure #alwaysgo #wanderfolk #letsgosomewhere #exploreeverywhere #tasteintravel #instatravel #stayandwander #welivetoexplore #neverstopexploring #visualwanderlust #femmetravel #girlslovetravel #dametraveler #wearetravelgirls #ladiesgoneglobal #sheexplores #girlsborntotravel #theglobewanderer #traveldiary #travelphotography #bostonphotography
📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 ⁣ This summer, I met so 📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 ⁣ This summer, I met so many wonderful friends and formed exciting and fun friendships - as a result, I ended up on boats WAY more than any other HK summer, and still took place well into October. Now that I’m in cloudy and rainy and cold New England, I’m absolutely thinking about these sunny days, but being around my family is just as amazing. ⁣ I feel like I have so many books to read, things to write, yoga poses to learn, dishes to cook. My stories won’t be as fun as they are usually (a lot less booze and boats and a lot more books and cats) but I hope you guys will stick with me over these next few months! ⁣ #ilovehongkong #homekong #cathaycreators #outonthewater #imonaboat #sheisfromhk #hk_igers #hongkonginstagram #hongkongphotography #hongkongphotographer #hongkongig #hongkonglife #theprettycities #travelgirldiary #travelgirlsofficial #travelgirlscollective #travelgirlsgetaways #travelgirldiaries #travelgirlsvibe #explorehongkong #discoverhongkong #hongkongcity #hongkongview #hongkongharbour #exploreasia #travelgirlsgo #girlswhotravel #lifeinhongkong #hongkonglife #bostonbloggers
📍Boston, MA (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ I flew from Hon 📍Boston, MA (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ I flew from Hong Kong and landed in Boston on Sunday night, after sitting on two very, very, under capacity flights. I posted a lengthy few stories about my flight experience from HK, but the entire thing was wrapped in my bafflement and dumbfoundedness that not a single soul asked me about anything COVID related once I landed in the country. There were no temperature checks. No questions. No requests to see my signed doctor’s form stating that I was negative for the coronavirus. ⁣ At any other time, I would’ve loved to stroll the streets of Boston proper again (like this shot of me in Beacon Hill at exactly this time last year), meeting with childhood friends (miss you all so much and wish I could eat and drink with you), while enjoying my time with family. But today, I’ll be staying away and I really hope that the US gets its shit together soon. ⁣ #bostonbloggers #bostonblogger #iloveboston #newenglandphotos #massachusetts #beantown #beaconhill #acornstreet #bostonpride #bostonliving #bostonian #bostonphotographer #ilovenewengland #newenglandliving #newenglandlife #newenglandphotographer #newengland_igers #newenglandstyle #newenglandfall #massachusetts_igers #massachusettsphotography #massachusettsphotographer #iloveautumn #autumninnewengland #autumninboston #fallfoliage #foliagelove #foliageoutdoors #newenglandpictures #newenglander via @preview.app
📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (Sai Ying Pun) ⁣ Here’ 📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (Sai Ying Pun) ⁣ Here’s a colorful photo of Hong Kong during the best ever weather - breezy and cool - perfect for outdoor activity! ⁣ In other news, I will be going home to Boston soon to see my family for a while and am absolutely terrified. After having lived in Hong Kong, with very few transmissions of COVID a day, I can’t imagine going back to a place (albeit my hometown) where people aren’t taking things seriously. ⁣ Anyone who has been traveling in or through the US, or even living there, your advice is GREATLY appreciated! I would live with my two parents, and can’t take any chances - none at all. ⁣ ⁣ #homekong #ilovehongkong #hongkongers #hongkongig #saiyingpun #artlane #travelbloggers #bostonbloggers #urbanartphotography #urbanartwork #lifeofadventure #alwaysgo #wanderfolk #letsgosomewhere #exploreeverywhere #visualwanderlust #welivetoexplore #adventurethatislife #travelgirlsgo #theprettycities #theprettyplaces #thewanderess #urbanartworld #adventurevisuals #liveauthentic #finditliveit #ilovetravel #aroundtheworldpix #agameoftones #cathaycreators
📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (North Point) ⁣ City vib 📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (North Point) ⁣ City vibes and things ~ plus, I voted this week! 🇺🇸 I read somewhere that Hong Kong’s tourism arrivals have fallen 99.7 % since last September. With the protests and now coronavirus, I’ve almost completely forgotten what the city was like when I moved here for the first time in 2017 at 23, excited and bright-eyes (and scared to go to a local restaurant for fear of being made fun of for my godawful Cantonese). ⁣ I’ve upgraded the Cantonese to reasonably conversational/survival level, but I’m loving the city more and more the longer I stay. ⁣ Have you ever lived abroad? What’s one thing that surprised you about your new city? ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #ilovehongkong #homekong #journeyofgirls #northpoint #hk_igdaily #awesomehongkong #hongkongphotography #discoverhongkong #explorehongkong #hongkongtrams #eggwaffles #urbanphotography #travelgirlsgo #dametravelers #travelgirlsdiary #theprettycities #passportexpress #tasteintravel #instatravel #stayandwander #welivetoexplore #neverstopexploring #visualwanderlust #femmetravel #girlslovetravel #wearetravelgirls #ladiesgoneglobal #sheexplores #girlsborntotravel #theglobewanderer
📍USA 🇺🇸 (Boston, MA) ⁣ Last week, my w 📍USA 🇺🇸 (Boston, MA) ⁣ Last week, my work gave me the option of going home to see my family. I texted my mom, way too excited to tell her the news, only to get a “dont come, it is not safe here now.” I thought about the precautions I’d take as soon as I stepped foot onto an airplane (i am totally a hazmat suit/face shield/sanitize everything kind of girl), and was seized with a kind of uncertain paranoia about it all. I wouldn’t see my friends, probably - just my family. I’d do quarantine for 2 weeks there, and 2 weeks again back in Hong Kong. ⁣ I miss my family so much and can’t believe my last visit to them to my hometown, Boston, was last November. Here in Hong Kong we live in a relatively safe bubble, where life trudges on gingerly but stably. Schools are open, I go into the office, we can dine out. Cases remain in the single digits per day. ⁣ Would you go from a decidedly safer place (from a COVID perspective) to one decidedly not? Have you traveled? Were you nervous and what precautions did you take? ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #bostonmassachusetts #usaroadtrip #beantown #bostonblogger #bostonbloggers #bostonphotographer #boston_igers #bostonpubliclibrary #bostongram #bostoncommon #bostonphotography #exploreboston #iloveboston #journeysofgirls #librariesofinstagram #bostonlife #copleylibrary #newengland_igers #newenglandarchitecture #newenglandliving #wearetravelgirls #damestravel #travelgirlsgo #theprettycities #travelgirldiary #travelgirlsofficial #travelgirlsdiary #hongkongbloggers #hongkonggirl #sheisfromhk
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