Two years after we went to Japan at the tail end of the pandemic, I finally got around to developing and sharing my film photos from that trip with my wife.
(Read the full post and see more photographs at https://brown.exposure.co/japan-all-to-ourselves or view the embedded version below.)
Japan All to Ourselves by Kin Mun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure href="https://exposure.co" style="text-transform:uppercase">Exposure
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Signs you are not in Japan on holiday anymore but back in Singapore, post-2020/2021 edition:
1. You can use dustbins everywhere instead of your pocket.
2. You aren’t spraying disinfectant on your hands every time you enter a store or restaurant.
3. You aren’t given a “Mask Envelope” to put your mask in, when you’re dining.
4. People talking loudly on trains.
5. A public bus doesn’t come once every hour in the rural areas. Addendum: There is no such thing as a rural area in Singapore either.
6. You get up the bus from the front door where the driver is, instead of the rear door.
7. You don’t check the weather before going out anymore.
8. A bottle of Shōchū costs five to ten times more.
9. There isn’t a vending machine at every corner.
10. The restaurant staff don’t shout their greetings and don’t shout their thanks when you go in to eat or go out after eating.
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It has been more than two years since my last overseas trip. And my last WWDC was June 2019. So this trip to San Jose was very special. Flights were full and it took some finessing to get me there. My journey to Cupertino involved an SQ flight from SIN to NRT to LAX and then an Alaska Air flight to SJC.
The return leg was easier, SJC to LAX by American Airlines (who delayed my check-in luggage on the way home) and LAX to SIN by SQ. I love my National Airline.
San Jose downtown was quiet and you can see many shops and business closed due to the pandemic. The big Muji store next to my hotel was closed, sadly.
This is my room at the Signia by Hilton, which used to be the Fairmont San Jose (it went bust during the pandemic).
I had my coffee setup nicely in the room, my first time traveling with a drip coffee setup. I packed some Ethiopian Kilenso beans, a MUNIEQ Tetra collapsible flat and compact coffee dripper, some filter papers, a Timemore Black Mirror Nano, and a Timemore Chestnut Nano grinder for this trip, It worked beautifully.
The WWDC badges this year were cute and I pinned them on my Tom Bihn Paragon.
This was the first in-person event Apple held since 2019, I believe. We were very happy to be back after years of online events.
Tim Cook made an appearance after the keynote and he was swarmed. I am glad they enforced mask wearing at the event. Because the rest of the US had already become loosey goosey with the mask wearing since there was mostly no mask mandate anymore.
This is a row of the new 2022 MacBook Air with the M2 chip, obviously the star of the show. I got to play with it a bit, and I think it will sell like hot cakes.
So happy to see the Singapore gang again!
The best part of in-person WWDC is meeting up with my Apple Event BFFs like @Young-cho (서영초이) from South Korea.
This is my first time inside Apple Park. The event is outdoors this time! First time!
It was a sunny day in Cupertino. And a lovely way to spend my time in the US.
I went on to stay till Sunday, and visited friends. No hardcore touring or sightseeing, just good company and good food.
What a great way to ease back to my travels again.
(A rare photo of me, shared by Greg Joswiak SVP of Apple @gregjoz, on his Twitter account. You can also see Evelyn of Channel 8 with me.)
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This is us a few days ago, on our way to a Krabi family vacation with my younger brother's family. We were a party of 12 and it was like a tour group. It was a short flight but Faith has a fear of flying and major sensory issues on planes. We know it is always a challenge, but we Improvise, Adapt and Overcome. And we step out with faith, surrounded by prayer.
This short video clip will give you an idea of how difficult it is for Faith to fly.
Before this, she stopped twice — once outside the aerobridge, and once outside the plane door — refusing to board until we reassured and consoled her.
Her autism makes her particularly sensitive to the sounds, G-forces and ear pressure of takeoff and landing.
If this happened a few years ago, we would be holding her down as she had a meltdown, trying to remove her seat belt and leave her seat. Once, on another trip, she lay down on the tarmac of Kuantan Airport, just in front of the Firefly plane, and refused to budge. We took a long time to get her on her feet to board the plane.
Over time, she has learned to cope and brave the sensory overload.
This trembling behavior you see in the video is both a form of stimming (self-soothing and modulation) and also the trembling of fear. We gave her a sweet to deal with the ear pressure, and my helper and I took turns to reassure her with touch, and joint compression. When the plane finally leveled out, she calmed down for the rest of the flight. She even took the Beats noise-canceling headphones off and returned them to me. She decided she didn’t need it anymore.
When we finally made it to the hotel, Faith had a huge grin on her face as she tucked herself into bed and rested under the compression of the blanket. That is her holiday bliss face. And her father also had the same grin seeing that happiness.
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*Shinkansen goes through tunnel*
Me: “Aiyah no internet.”
*Shinkansen leaves tunnel*
Me: “Yay got internet!”
*Shinkansen goes through tunnel*
Me: “Aiyah no internet.”
*Shinkansen leaves tunnel*
Me: “Yay got internet!” *clicks link frantically before the next tunne-
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Isaac and Joy are currently on a road trip with me in Japan. We discuss things on the long drives.
Someone sent me this note allegedly written by someone affected by the recent move by the authorities to ban PMDs from footpaths, a ban that was announced on 4th November 2019 and was effective the next day. It was announced by Minister Lam PMD Min.
The issue of PMDs is a polarizing one, with some calling for a ban, others calling for regulation but not ban, and yet others calling for the authorities to maintain the status quo.
I got my youngest to read the post below out loud. And then my two kids and I had a discussion about it during our long drive, covering topics like:
1. Should PMDs have been allowed in the first place without infrastructure and legislation?
2. Was the PMD issue handled with the right wisdom and speed?
3. The impact the ban has had on livelihoods.
4. The impact PMDs has had on pedestrian safety.
5. The importance of personal financial responsibility.
6. What is the Locus of Control? (People who develop an internal locus of control believe that they are responsible for their own success. Those with an external locus of control believe that external forces, like luck, determine their outcomes.)
7. Should the government help those impacted by this ban and if so, how can it help mitigate things?
8. What other options are there for food delivery employees?
9. Who should take the blame for this fiasco? The government? The errant users? The retailers who imported these devices? The companies who encouraged the use of these devices in their food delivery business?
10. The tradeoffs between working in a job that pays less but has more stability, and working in a job that pays more but has less certainty.
11. The viability, benefits, and risks of the gig economy.
12. The tradeoff between having CPF and not having it.
13. The cost of housing.
I had a good discussion with my teens on this matter. I trust there will be many views here too. Keep it respectful please. Thanks.
———
“I am an ITE graduate who previously work in office job, it paid me $2,200 every month, no 13th month, no bonus, 3 days MC.
Since Grabfood come along, with my trusty PMD, I earn $3,500 every month.
Now overnight, my PMD is illegal and I cannot use it for daily work.
With my $3,500 salary, I thought it was good time to start family, I can provide for my baby. Combine with my wife $2000 salary, we buy $250,000 BTO in CCK.
Now my income suddenly become zero, if I go back old job, it drop by $1,300 every month, I have baby that need diaper, need milk powder, need infant care, now my expense is more than my income.
Govt ask me to buy certified UL2272 PMD, I support and follow.
Govt ask me be careful while riding on the footpath, I careful. Never hit anyone or get into argument before in my 2 year as PMD rider.
Govt tell me to register PMD, I register.
Govt ask me to have stable proper job, I found one.
Govt ask me to have children, I agree and have kid.
I do everything you ask me to, but you still ban me from doing my job, a good job that pay me well. Now my children childcare fee how? Now their daily expense how? Overnight my salary cut by 30%, how can I be a good father to raise my children responsibly?
I want to be good citizen and help the country by being employ and by having children.
I want to help my country, but now my country don't want to help me.
Tell me what I should do now? With one speech now my income drop so much, if I am irresponsible rider, u penalty me I nothing to say. I am safe delivery rider but I pay price for those YP black sheep.
How I face my wife now, how I tell my children I cannot bring them go out enjoy some family excursion?
Sad to be a loyal Singaporean. I want to be loyal but there is no care for me.
Written by: M Siva, Grabfood PMD rider since 2018”
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Below ground by Kin Mun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure
A collection of my street photography, and musings, made in the subways of Boston and New York City.
(Read the full post and see more photographs at brown.exposure.co or view the embedded version below.)
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the browns go to spain in Spring by Kin Mun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure
The Wife and I took a 13-day road trip from the south of Spain to the north, and back again. I reflected on my relationship with my soulmate on this trip.
(Read the full post and see more photographs at brown.exposure.co or view the embedded version below.)
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Singtel and HBO sent the wife and me to New York City to watch the gala premiere of Game of Thrones, Final Season, Episode 1. When we first heard from them, I was like, REALLY? We get to fly to watch the long-awaited final season of GoT??? Before ANYONE else on earth?
My wife is an even bigger fan of GoT than I am. And this was MAJOR brownie points. Even my second brother, who is a hardcore fan (he has watched ALL of GoT from Season 1 to 7 at least three times per episode) was jellies. He wanted me to pack him in my suitcase and take him along.
So we packed our bags in a hurry, grabbed the Singtel ReadyRoad SIM Card, and flew to the Big Apple for the Big Event. We visited the huge Iron Throne at 30 Rock and queued to redeem our tickets at the HBO HQ.
You can see how excited we both were. Like little kids off to see the circus. Of course, we had to go to the HBO store to get us some merch. I got my brothers some GoT tees, to share a bit of the excitement.
That very night, we got dressed up and went to Radio City Music Hall for the show. The wife asked, "Are we watching all six episodes of Season 8?"
"Er, no dear. You wish. Only Episode 1. I think the stars want to go home and won't be able to sit through more than six hours at the screening," I said.
A large number of the cast came, and they graced the stage to a standing ovation. It felt like forever that the series began in 2011, and to see the cast from the first season till now, made the hairs of my arm stand.
And the a hush came over the hall and the show began. We laughed, we cheered, we clapped. It was like a reunion with the show that took an almost two-year break from Season 7. And then, it was over.
We walked out of Radio City Music Hall with so many questions. So many feelings. I sent out a live video with my wife, to the fans back home. And then we walked past the red carpet area where the stars walked, as they dismantled the scaffolding. Then we realized we had to wait a few more weeks before we could see the rest of Season 8. Sigh.
Do sign up with Singtel and HBO if you want to catch the rest of the final season of GoT. It is with a mix of anticipation, at the conclusion of a story we have followed for years, and some sadness, that it was all going to end, that we felt as we walked home to our hotel in Broadway.
At least we still had a few nights left in NYC, to see some shows, to walk in Central Park, and to visit the MET before going home. It was one of the best trips the wife and I have ever had in the States. Thanks Singtel and HBO!
Going home is such sweet sorrow. It was such a chore not spilling the beans on what I saw at the gala. But mrbrown is no spoiler of shows. So my lips are sealed. That's what I do: I drink and I know things.
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The Streets of Tokyo with a little Fujifilm camera by Kin Mun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure
I found and developed a roll of Fujifilm Natura 1600 film I shot with in Tokyo, in 2011, and here is some of my street photography. I have to say, film gives me the feels.
(Read the full post and see more photographs at brown.exposure.co or view the embedded version below.)
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When three families travel together, things can get somewhat topsy-turvy.
I share these photos, partly to share the silliness and fun that usually accompany my family vacations, but also to share the tiny miracles that happen on these trips.
This is Family Trip Tiny Miracle #2 (for Miracle #1, I will share that another time). Note Faith posing for the photographs.
She hardly ever does this. We can’t even get her to look at the camera most times. This time, she not only posed when we told her to, she held her poses for quite a long time. She looked like she really enjoyed the Upside Down Museum. You can see a silly smile on her face.
Travel brings all kinds of surprises. Some good. Some bad. But many are good and life-changing.
It’s a small thing to others, maybe. But a 17-year-old young lady with autism who pretended she was holding on to a chair for a photograph: that was like seeing one of the Seven Wonders of the World to us.
So, I thought I’d share our little precious moment with you, as we give thanks to God for this tiny miracle.
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Hualien & Taitung: Hidden Gems by Kin Mun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure
Here is my massive photo essay (with a video at the end of it!) of my awesome time in Hualien and Taitung a few weeks ago.
(Read the full post and see more photographs at brown.exposure.co or view the embedded version below.)
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1. Go to the Budget Airline’s site.
2. Site is down because they are having a sale and the site cannot cope.
3. Come back to the site another day when the sale frenzy is over.
4. Find and book ticket.
5. Next screen: Airline asks you to choose their bundle.
6. Select flight only. Dowan bundle.
7. Next screen: Airline asks you to choose Luggage options. Skip luggage because you are Hand Carry only.
8. Next screen: Airline asks you to choose their overpriced food.
9. Skip food, it’s only a three-hour flight.
10. Next screen: Airline asks you to choose your seats.
11. Spend a few minutes looking for way to skip choosing seats because you don’t want to pay. Finally find the button. Continue without choosing seat. You will chance it because it’s only a three-hour flight.
12. Next screen: Payment Page. You notice your flight price is $20 more than you expected. You begin your CSI.
13. After a few minutes, you realize the extra $20 is the travel insurance. Which was automatically added without you selecting it. And you had to scroll down to find it. You deselect the Insurance option. Warnings of Hellfire and Dire Consequences are shown. You ignore said warnings because you already have your own travel insurance. You deselect the Insurance.
14. You notice a checkbox to get an SMS alert on your flight. It costs $2. You laugh at the sheer audacity of the airline to charge for a stupid SMS.
15. Payment Page again. This time the price of the flight is exactly what you saw when you first booked it. Nothing extra. Nothing more. Nothing less. You choose payment options.
16. Credit Card: $10 to $20 per person per flight.
17. eNETs: $8 per person per flight.
18. Post Office or SAM or 7-Eleven: $5 per person per flight.
19. You choose the cheapest option because you want to save money. Then realize you can’t because that requires you to book 14 days in advance. You can only choose the credit card option.
20. You give up and book a full-service airline out of sheer frustration because it sucks to be nickel-and-dimed, and to have things like travel insurance foisted on you without your knowledge. Also, you realize that often, the full-service airline is only a few bucks more by the time you add the options of a LCC Airline. And why do you have to pay to pay for your ticket???
21. Curl up and cry.
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Inspired by this article about a popular local photographer and instagram influencer, Daryl Aiden Yow, whose photos were found to look a lot like other people's, Kim Huat also decided to share his passion for his travel photography.
Kim Huat says he is Singapore's Number One International Travel Influencer and Photographer. He is happy to share his winning game in travel photography and can help you get your Instagram game on point. He spends many hours waiting to make these photos happen!
Kim Huat really really went to this Greece island call Mykonos. He feels like he shot it with a Sony A7RII camera!
Kim Huat spent hours waiting for this moment in Santorini! Then this charbor come and block his view! Chow turtle!
Kim Huat is a son of the beach and loves to wear his sexy beach wear and lie on the beach like those travel babes.
Los Angeles is where Kim Huat goes sunset chasing x.
Faroe Islands got so many houses like Lego Houses! Faroe is faroe faroe away!
Cherry blossom time inside Thailand. Or Japan. Or Taiwan. Kim Huat cannot remember which. Because Kim Huat travels everywhere and is an International Man of Mystery!
When Kim Huat was in New Zealand, he saw the stars. Kim Huat used a Apple Pencil to point at them. It was as if the sky was my blackboard.
Kim Huat went to South Pole and saw these cute penguins! It was so sunny there that he could just wear his favourite t-shirt!
Kim Huat loves the Mehlweg mountain near the town of Marktschellenberg in Bavaria! Such vastness reminds Kim Huat of just how little we are in this world! Do you feel the same?!
Kim Huat turns up the heat in the Sahara desert. His OOTD is on fleek here, because sleeveless is the way to go, when you are in the scorching heat of the desert. Hey, why the camels did not wait for Kim Huat??
Kim Huat can't get enough of Japan, and Shirakawa-Go in winter is his favourite place. Hey kids, why you don't tell Kim Huat where the toilet is?
No place is too far for our intrepid travel influencer. Not even space! Kim Huat is out of this world!
Kim Huat has not just gone as north as Woodlands, he has also seen the Northern Lights! Kim Huat was absolutely awestruck! To quote many Singapore Instagram XMM, the Northern Lights "never fail to disappoint"!
As you can see, Kim Huat is a well-traveled influencer who makes awesome photographs. Just like many Instagram Influencers.
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I spent a few days with my younger brother and mom in Hong Kong, a city she loves but has not visited in decades.
It was in the twenties before we came but it became a balmy thirty-four degrees Celsius when we landed.
I was last here in 2013 when we were testing a new camera, and in 2016, where I hiked three mountains in seven days, with Ryan.
Not for mother the glitzy and touristy attractions. No, mom sought out the wet markets of Nathan Road, and made us take her to the grungiest, grimiest bits of Hong Kong we could find.
Mom grew up in Chinatown, Singapore, so she was in her element here. We helped to carry her marketing, like dried seafood. If she could cart fresh meat and fish past customs, she would have bought the entire wet market too.
She also insisted on visiting Wing On Department Store and even though the brother and I thought it was very OG, it turned out to be quite well-stocked with decent brands.
We made a side trip to Chueng Chau island, and visited my 堂兄 (paternal cousin) in Discovery Bay.
At Cheung Chau, they were preparing for the Cheung Chau Bun Festival on their Vesak Day. My brother and I purchased matching fedoras because we were vain. It turned out to be the best decision we made, because of the heat and sun.
We took a bumboat to see a temple there, because mom is a temple nerd. Every temple also must see.
Cheung Chau is very pretty and quaint. It is like time stood still here. And you can see a side of Hong Kong that you normally don't see. I was here some years back but it was too cold to swim. This crazy hot summer weather was perfect for a day at the beach.
Back on Hong Kong island, I insisted on taking the tram. It was slow and a corny thing to do, and my brother said he had never taken one before, so I insisted we all try, even though it added 30 minutes to our travel time back to our hotel in Kowloon East. I know, I know, the MTR was faster but I am a tram otaku.
In the end, mom said the ride was ok but "aiyoh so very slow" and "one time is enough". I guess she does not share my love of trams.
On the last day, mom wanted to see The Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery in Sha Tin. In the mad heat and humidity, we climbed the hill. Only to realize it was the wrong temple. It was the Po Fook Ancestral Worship Halls next door.
Guagua.
It was still a lovely view from up there, but down the hill we went, to look for the right trail of Golden Buddhas. We did find it, but halfway up the hill, I decided the heat and exertion would be too much for my 76-year-old mother to reach the top, and declared Exercise Cut.
So we only managed to see One Hundred Buddhas.
It was great for spend time with my younger brother and mom, but next time I’m going to come to Hong Kong in a cooler season. I shall end this post with some photos of the other thing we did a lot of in Hong Kong: stuffing our faces with food.
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I spent last week in Chicago, on the invitation of Apple, to check out their new education offerings. The event took place at Lane Tech High School in the Windy City, and we got to see a new entry-level iPad with Pencil support, in addition to the new school-based ecosystem that Apple made to make put Apple back into the classroom again.
Cheaper Chromebooks have made inroads into school environments, so this was a needful move on Apple's part. Besides making the Apple Pencil available for non-Pro iPad users via the cheaper new iPad, the Apple Schoolkit and other school apps aimed to make life easier for teachers to manage their classes, issue handouts, manage grades, and mark scripts digitally.
I will leave it to Kim Huat to give you the overview of the event via this video:
And since iOS 11.3 also came out soon after, here are the four new Animojis on iPhone X:
I had a great time in my short stay in Chicago. The Apple Store at Michigan Avenue is lovely, and I got to partake of the city's deep dish pizza, tacos, and blues music.
I also visited Cloud Gate at Millennium Park, a.k.a. The Bean. And took all the touristy photos one usually takes here. See if you can find me in the first photo above.
I wish I had more time in Chicago. The last time I was here, it was 2012. I did stop by in 2016, on Great US Train Adventure from SF to NYC but that was only for a few hours.
It was cold here but I had the right clothes. 0ºC to 2ºC at night, and surprisingly, 8ºC-12ºC during the day on the days I was there. Which is warm by Chicago standards.
The kids have been asking me for a pen-based device to draw and create stuff on. The iPad Pro was too pricey to be given to the kids. And a Wacom tablet would mean being tethered to the iMac at home. This new entry-level iPad with Pencil support came at the right time.
Now if only I can get over the jet lag sooner. Shuttling between Singapore, Austin (for the Ready Player One premiere at SXSW), and Chicago in the space of three weeks really wore me out. I will share the Austin photos soon, but do go watch Ready Player One. It is a fun little movie by Steven Spielberg.
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In early January, I visited Tohoku to experience all the best that Iwate and Miyagi prefectures had to offer. I was given missions to complete. From dining, to onsens, to snow activities and more. You can check out my experience there in the link below.
mrbrown Go Tohoku Page: http://tohokusnowexperience.jp/mrbrown-in-tohoku/dj_tohoku/
This is the introduction to my journey.
My first mission was to experience the culture. And I did that in an onsen while overlooking some of the best views ever! And also checked out Geibikei in Iwate, one of the most beautiful gorges in Japan!
Then check out Mission 2, where I get to play in the snow of Appi resort and entered Chusonji Temple and Motsuji Temple, filled with centuries of history.
My legendary feat of consuming all those bowls of Wanko Soba in Morioka is also in this video. I really ate all the bowls you see in the video. No editing tricks were used. I thought it was going to be just for show, and I would be asked to eat a few bowls only, but they kept refilling my bowl and kept on filming.
In Mission 3, I was made to try the gourmet delights of the region, and I did not resist! The beef, oh my goodness, the beef. And the sake!
And no visit to Miyagi is complete without a boat ride around the Matsushima Bay.
I also visited Sendai Castle, to see the famous statue of the first daimyo of Sendai Domain, Date Masamune. You can see Sendai's cityscape from here too.
Do watch the videos of all the other folks from Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand, who also visited Tohoku too.
As for me, you know it won't be my last time. I will return!
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At the Wet Market with Mother by Kin Mun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure
Following my mother to her usual trip across the Causeway to the wet market.
(Read the full post and see more photographs at brown.exposure.co.)
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This has been my home for the last few days in Porto. Yes, I chose to stay in a hostel. I think I'm the oldest fella in this hostel. I came by train from Lisbon, where I attended the IFA Global Press Conference. Check out my review of the Sennheiser AMBEO Smart Headset that can record 360° sound, on YouTube.
I've got two power sockets to charge my myriad of tech gear, a small light and two small shelves for my knickknacks. And a big drawer below to hold my Tom Bihn Aeronaut 30 carry-on and Synapse 19 daypack. I'm a happy camper.
When I find the time between walking tours and hanging out at the laundromat waiting for my clothes to be washed and dried, I'll share more stories about sleeping in a bunk bed with other folks in the same room, at my non-millennial age.
Now I'm busy sitting in the public lounge area watching Season 2 of The Expanse, one of the best science-fiction tv shoes in a while.
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I'm on a road trip with mom through South Island, New Zealand.
It's not our first trip together. Among other trips, Mom and I have done Mount Bromo and Mount Ijen in Surabaya, trained our way from Tokyo to Hokkaido and trudged through lovely Japanese snow (including our favorite town of Higashikawa) and now we driving though the south of New Zealand.
From a very young age, my two younger brothers and I have been travelling with my parents and we learned to do it without joining a tour. Pa was airline staff and we got free tickets yearly but hotels and the rest were not free. So the only way to do it affordably was to rent a car and drive the brood through places like the islands of Hawaii (we covered pretty much all the islands) and the Grand Canyon.
And to save more money, we stayed in dodgy motels, or apartments with kitchenettes so that mom could cook, instead of us eating expensive overseas food (the US dollar was three Singapore dollars in the old days, and one Euro was more than SGD2).
There was a no-popcorn rule when we went to Disneyland as kids. We didn't understand why back then but look, a tub of that stuff was USD10. Which was SGD30. Which was a small fortune in the 1970s and 1980s. So, no popcorn. And meals were Mom's fried rice in a Tupperware, freshly cooked that morning in the hotel room with a Sanyo electric hotplate cooker.
This was the time before GPS and the Internet, mind you. So my old man drove, and my mom navigated the American continent or the Australian Outback with paper maps, and a lot of arguing. The entire family all developed the ability to adapt. After all, you can't google your way through your travel problems, or book a flight or a hotel room with your phone in those days.
Travelling solo with my mother in the recent years is still as fun as travelling with my parents and brothers back then. She is 75 years old now, and here are some random things I learned travelling with her.
1. Always be prepared for sudden toilet breaks. Old people need frequent toilet breaks. Myself included.
2. Always pack random food items. I'm an ultralight traveller and refuse to overpack. But I have to say, my mother's stash of 2-in-1 coffee and cup noodles were lifesavers when we were too tired to go out and eat.
3. You are never too old to play with ducks.
4. Destinations are just points between which you stop for New Zealand flat whites.
5. It's not where you go, it's who you go with. I am blessed to have a mother who is an awesome traveller. Traveller, not tourist.
6. Hotels or motels must have a television. No TV? Minus four stars. TVs provide ambient sound as you go about your business. And also become a source of shared entertainment as you both try to answer the questions on quiz shows together. Or laugh at local cop shows showing the mild crimes that highway cops deal with.
7. You can talk to any stranger. Mother has the amazing ability to befriend anyone on the street. Be it singers at the Oamaru Sunday Farmers' Market, baristas in a coffee shop, or an elderly German couple who are on a seven-week camper van road trip through New Zealand. Or birds. I suspect that is where I get it from, because I talk to strangers on Twitter and my Facebook all the time.
8. Always ensure you've downloaded your Oldies Spotify playlist before embarking on your next long road journey, so you can both sing along to Frank Sinatra and Andy Williams. And reminisce about the singers and songs my late father loved.
9. Don't let Mom enter a supermarket. She will buy enough to last you two zombie apocalypses.
10. Do let Mom enter a supermarket. And let her buy what she wants. Because she know how to buy the best fruits, and snacks, and breakfast items at the best price. And you'll be thanking her when you tuck into the ham and cheese sandwich in the morning.
11. Your iPhone 7 Plus may be able to pull down travel and map info on the fly, but Mom's National-Library-borrowed Lonely Planet dead tree edition works without batteries or the internet. And works even when you're out at Milford Sound with no mobile coverage (shame on you, Vodafone).
12. Don’t ask your mother where small jars of jam, small cakes of butter, and the random banana come from. Just eat.
13. You never know when you might need these bottles of branded hotel-sized shampoo, conditioner, body gel and body lotion. Good for the kids when they go swimming back home. Good for the crappy hotels you may stay in, down the road, that may provide lousy unbranded toiletries. You might even want to start a shop with the collection one day.
14. She makes jokes about your snoring drowning out the TV she is watching at night. You make jokes about her morning farts.
15. “This looks like a nice little town on the map.” usually results in a drive through some off-road countryside, across several rivers, that leads to a town with just one building. Or the edge of Paradise.
16. You learn where you picked up the travel habit of washing your underwear and hanging them wherever there is a place to hang something.
17. Just when you think she has filled her one luggage, she whips out a folding bag made of the indestructible China/Thai plastic/cardboard that can take about 45 litres of shopping.
18. Travel with your parents while they are still mobile. They won’t be able to travel forever. Age, and two fractures in the ankle and knee from hiking in Vietnam a few years ago, can slow a mother down. Even the strongest trees grow old.
19. When she decides she really wants to have Indian food in the middle of nowhere in South Island, she will find it. And it will be worth the search somehow. That was some yummy Chicken Madras and Chicken Tikka Masala, man.
20. You can take the Geography and Art teacher out of the school but you can’t take the Geography and Art teacher out of your mother. And you appreciate the geography and beauty of New Zealand even more in her company.
21. It is ok to drive up the steepest road in the world, and acknowledge that your old knees aren't going to take you up Baldwin Street.
22. And above all, stay curious, open and always willing to see and learn new things.
[All images made by me, mostly with a Panasonic Lumix GH5 and Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm F2.8-4 lens, a Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm F2.8 II lens, and an iPhone 7 Plus sometimes.]
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