{"id":33783,"date":"2016-11-09T16:58:45","date_gmt":"2016-11-10T00:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=33783"},"modified":"2016-11-09T16:58:45","modified_gmt":"2016-11-10T00:58:45","slug":"hanoi-diary-8-going-to-japan-for-2-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/09\/hanoi-diary-8-going-to-japan-for-2-weeks\/","title":{"rendered":"Hanoi Diary #8: Going to Japan for 2 Weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Singapore,
Singapore, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m currently at the Hanoi International airport, ready to go to Japan for two weeks, and wanted to give you a life update:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 6:50am, and currently enjoying my espresso \u00e2\u20ac\u201d still trying to wake up. I got up today at around 4:30am, rolled around a bit, had some eggs for breakfast, and waved goodbye to Cindy \u00e2\u20ac\u201d as I rode the taxi to the airport.<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, getting to the Hanoi international airport was easy. I got there, checked in (no luggage) in about 5 minutes, went through the gate (1\u00e2\u20ac\u201c2 people in line, took me 1 minute), and went through immigration (another 2 minutes). Easier to commute to the airport than to get to downtown Hanoi. Love how convenient and seamless modern life has become.<\/p>\n

Anyways, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m flying out to Japan for two weeks\u00e2\u20ac\u201d doing a street photography workshop in Tokyo this weekend, and another in Kyoto the weekend after (with my buddies Sean Lotman and Junku Nishimura\u00e2\u20ac\u201d two of my favorite street photographers, and good friends).<\/p>\n

It has been a while since I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been back to Japan. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m especially excited for all the great food in Toykyo \u00e2\u20ac\u201d sushi, kobe beef, and ramen. Not only that, but to catch up with my good friends. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m staying with my buddies Todd and Joel, who are flying over to Tokyo from LA \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and crashing with them at an AirBNB in \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcGotanda\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 (area where the workshop venue is).<\/p>\n

Not only that, but excited for Kyoto \u00e2\u20ac\u201d the place has always been my \u00e2\u20ac\u02dczen shrine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d super relaxing, peaceful, and meditative.<\/p>\n

Update from Singapore<\/h2>\n
\"Singapore,
Singapore, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I just taught a workshop in Singapore this past weekend, and had a phenomenal time. The students were all amazing (check out their great photos), and thanks to my buddies Callan, Dav, and Aik Beng for such a memorable time.<\/p>\n

Honestly, Singapore is pretty awesome to travel to. Love the food (chicken rice, and more), the friendliness of the people (super social), and the diversity.<\/p>\n

In terms of street photography, was a huge fan of Chinatown, Arab Street, and Little India. There are a lot of great subjects there to photograph. The narrow streets of Arab Street are good for juxtaposition\/layering shots, Chinatown good for portraits, and Little India to get a more \u00e2\u20ac\u02dclocal\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 vibe.<\/p>\n

Also while in Singapore, had the chance to test out the Leica M-D<\/a> (no LCD on the back) for 2 days. In short, I loved the camera. Probably the coolest camera Leica has put out in recent history, and certainly the most gutsy and innovative.<\/p>\n

Traveling for me<\/h2>\n
\"Singapore,
Singapore, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so blessed to have the opportunity to travel, see the world, understand new cultures, meet new people, and have new experiences. But part of me hurts leaving \u00e2\u20ac\u02dchome\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 now. To be away from Cindy even for a weekend is pretty painful. And not only that, but I feel like I no longer \u00e2\u20ac\u0153need\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to travel anymore. In the past, I traveled to escape myself \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I was miserable with my life back home, and I thought travel would be an end to my miseries.<\/p>\n

Travel did do me a lot of good in the past. It helped me appreciate home better\u00e2\u20ac\u201d because I realized after traveling, life abroad was (more similar) than dissimilar back home. Furthermore, I learned that you could live a happy and meaningful life anywhere you live (as long as there is a good wifi connection and good coffee).<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m excited to go to Japan for these two weeks, but also excited to come back to Hanoi. To me, Hanoi has become a bit of a fairytale\u00e2\u20ac\u201d like the Paris of Southeast Asia for me. I love how stress-free life is \u00e2\u20ac\u201d not having to worry about paying rent (super cheap compared to America), living expenses (eating out), all the wonderful cafes I can get caffeinated and do some meaningful work at, and also all of our good friends here. But I know I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not going to be in Hanoi forever\u00e2\u20ac\u201d sooner or later Cindy and I are going back home to the states. So I know I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get \u00e2\u20ac\u02dctoo comfortable.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/p>\n

Creative flourishing<\/h2>\n
\"Singapore,
Singapore, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I met up my friend Ryan the other day \u00e2\u20ac\u201d he was visiting from Saigon. He has been an English teacher in Saigon for about 4 years, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been loving his life. Only working 15 hours a week, and using his extra time to learn Vietnamese, pursue his photography, and other creative interests.<\/p>\n

Which makes me wonder \u00e2\u20ac\u201d in the states (and the rest of the world), we are struggling to make a living. We put in 40+ hour weeks just to pay the rent, and feed ourselves. What if we lived in a society where we only had to work fewer than 20 hours, and use the rest of our energy, time, and focus for creative work? How much more \u00e2\u20ac\u02dchuman flourishing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 would we see?<\/p>\n

Of course, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m speaking from the privileged perspective of an American \u00e2\u20ac\u201d earning western wages, while living in a developing country. Life is good for me, but still tough for millions of Vietnamese living paycheck-to-paycheck.<\/p>\n

Ultralight<\/h2>\n

For my trip to Japan, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m trying to pack as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ultralight\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as possible. I have my ThinkTank Perception 15 backpack, Ricoh GR II camera, smartphone, laptop (13\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 MacBook Pro), 1 pair of extra clothes (uniqlo airism mesh v-neck shirt, exofficio boxers, quick-dry socks, and uniqlo \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcultralight down\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 jacket). It is probably the lightest I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever traveled \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and it is liberating.<\/p>\n

I feel so much more nimble, agile, when I am moving around. Not having any luggage to checkin at the airport makes life 100% less stressful. Not only that, but I feel mentally lighter \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I have fewer concerns, stresses, and things to worry about.<\/p>\n

I also used to have this fear of being bored on a flight. Before each long flight, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d download tons of books, apps, games, movies, songs, podcasts, to keep me \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcentertained\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. But now, I have been able to just enjoy the flight\u00e2\u20ac\u201d to do nothing, to take a nap, to daydream, to jot down some notes and reflections, to read a little, and have a friendly chat to my neighbor, and occasionally watching a movie (if there is anything good on the flight).<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve written about this in the past\u00e2\u20ac\u201d but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been also trying to keep up a practice of uninstalling one superfluous app a day from my phone. I am pretty much at the minimum now\u00e2\u20ac\u201d but I have found another trick that works well: hiding apps.<\/p>\n

I use the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Nova\u00e2\u20ac\u009d launcher on my Android smartphone, and can hide apps that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t use often. This way, I am not always distracted to check something I might not need. Something you might want to try out, if you want to be less hooked on your phone.<\/p>\n

Living as an overseas American<\/h2>\n
\"Singapore,
Singapore, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cindy and I voted overseas\u00e2\u20ac\u201d (of course Hilary), and honestly, the process was a pain in the ass. We had to go to the embassy, fill out all these forms, hike up the stairs, down, getting another envelope, and the entire ordeal took nearly half a day. We were told earlier it was a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcseamless\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 process \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the case.<\/p>\n

Anyways, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m very glad that we voted and fulfilled our civic duty. I am in mourning with the rest of the world, seeing how Trump has made it into office.<\/p>\n

But honestly, I am still optimistic about the world. There are still millions of amazing people all around the world, with positive energy, spirit, and enthusiasm. I see it a lot here with the youth in Vietnam \u00e2\u20ac\u201d they are eager to start their own businesses, to self-teach themselves, and to make a positive change.<\/p>\n

Whenever shit looks down, make sure to look up. I see it pointless to overly distress over the negatives in the world. Because no matter what, there are always ways we can turn it into positives.<\/p>\n

Whenever life gives you shit, make gold.<\/p>\n

Information is everything<\/h2>\n