I wanted to take a break from the Cuba photos to share some personal, unpublished, pictures that I've been holding onto. These shots take me back to Asia -  to the summer of 2010 when, after a 5 year absence, I returned to my true hometown.

Every visit to Changsha is a special one for me. Although I have only been here a handful of times before, this city in southern China is the birthplace of my mother and home to her entire side of the family. On my last trip to the city, I left with a distinct goal – to visit my grandmother’s grave and to take part in the traditional Chinese customs of a cemetery visit.

On a foggy morning, a taxi took us away from the urban city centre and towards the cemetery where my grandmother is buried. When the narrow roads merged into eight-lane streets and the packed retail storefronts turned into sparsely located apartment buildings, I knew we were getting close.

Even after a long taxi ride, we had to walk another kilometer within the cemetery to the hillside where my grandmother was buried. My grandfather, who spent months here picking out the exact spot for my grandmother’s grave, leads the way.

Carefully planted trees and bushes provide shade and greenery among the graves. As we descend down the hill, I felt lost in the seemingly endless rows of headstones. Chinese cemeteries are located on hillsides since this is thought to improve feng shui - the higher the grave, the better.

Couples are buried together. The tombstones read vertically, with the left half dedicated to the woman and the right, the man. With each grave I pass, I stop momentarily to study the photographs of the deceased, imagining the life story behind each one.

When we finally arrive at my grandmother’s grave, I help my grandfather clean the headstone. Fresh flowers are set. Candles and incense are lit.

A pair of lions sits at the front of the grave. Lion symbolizes power and prestige in Chinese culture. They are also believed to have strong protective powers; thus, their presence guards the grave. In front of these guardian lions, my grandfather burns joss paper and prayer money, in order to provide my grandmother with sufficient income in her afterlife.

The cemetery is so packed that only a narrow path separate one row of graves from another. My grandfather places the burning joss paper into a metal bucket to contain the ashes.

When the last of the prayer money finished burning, my father arranges for firecrackers to be lit at a designated chute. It is believed that the sound of the firecrackers drive away evil spirits. As the firecrackers fell down the shoot, echoing as they did, I thought of all the Chinese traditions I have yet to understand and yet to learn. But somehow, when we left the cemetery, I already felt closer to my Chinese heritage.

Although I was skeptical of my first resort experience, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Cuba. Like so many fellow travelers had warned me before I left for the trip, it wasn’t my resort in Varadero that I loved, it was the province of Matanzas and the Cuban capital, Havana that captured my heart. You can read my guest post on exploring Matanzas on Enduring Wanderlust.

In the mean time, here are some of my most memorable moments from the trip:

1. Snorkeling at Playa Coral, Varadero

This is a beautiful scuba diving and snorkeling spot in Cuba. The water is incredibly clean and clear and the colorful fish swim right up to the shore. I swam between the corals, loving the feeling of the ocean on my skin and the fish playfully dodging my fingers.

2. Swimming in the Saturno Cave, Varadero

There’s nothing more refreshing than swimming in a natural cave. The snorkeling experience and the Saturno cave came together as part of a jeep safari tour that was recommended to me by a friend. Normally, my travels are been more focused on culture than outdoor adventure but I loved the jeep safari experience.



3. Spending a day on a sugar cane farm

I knew next to nothing about sugar canes before visiting Cuba so getting to stay on a sugar cane farm was a nice treat. Getting to slurp on fresh juice from the sugar canes and see how the juices are made was just icing on the cake.



4. Riding in a 1950’s Chevrolet Bel Air

The trademark memory from tourists who visit Cuba is the old cars roaming on the streets. Luckily, when I hired a taxi to go to Havana, I got to cruise around all day in a 1950’s Chevrolet Bel Air. The taxi, painted purple and white, had wide leather seats and a Mercedes engine. I felt pretty “fly” riding in the vehicle while other tourists snapped photos of the car everywhere we went. The driver and I joked that he should charge $1 peso per picture, like so many other Cuban owners of these old vehicles do.



5. Buying gasoline on the black market

The story with the cab gets even better. After a fulfilling day in Havana, on the drive back to the hotel, the driver pulled over to a gas station and had a nonchalant exchange with the guy at the pump to buy gasoline at a discount. When the quote was too expensive, we drove off to the next gas station where, after a similar exchange, my driver happily filled up the tank. When we turned onto the highway again, the taxi driver smiled at me and murmured in his broken English, “black market.”

Now, that’s Cuba.

For my Cuba trip, I decided to take a waterproof one-time use film camera just for kicks. It was the first time I had used one of those but since I knew I would be doing a lot of water activities, and didn't have a waterproof case for my DSLR, this was my alternative to capturing at least some of my underwater memories.

This time last year, I was in month seven of an 8 month long academic exchange experience in Europe. I spent one semester studying in France, and another in England. During those 8 months, I managed to travel to 19 European states, and I did it all on $40-$50 per day. The cost of tuition and living on campus while studying abroad was already so expensive that I challenged myself to save whenever possible. I purchased a student rate euro-rail pass which really did pay for itself (the total price of purchasing individual tickets almost tripled the cost of the pass), I flashed my student card at every attraction and got discounts at most places, I stayed in hostels that cost an average of $10-$20 per night, I ate street food instead of dining at restaurants, I stayed with friends and even friends of friends to save on accommodation costs, and I opted for self-guided or free walking tours whenever possible.

Being abroad was a great experience and, with plenty of research beforehand, I managed to visit all the places I wanted to and do it all affordably. Afterwards, I became friends with other budget travelers and felt like I found a place for myself within this travel niche. Despite this, a part of me imagined what luxury travel entailed. I browsed through my friends’ Facebook albums of cruises, all-inclusive resorts, and vacation packages with curiosity and, secretly, a bit of envy.


And I began to wonder, is the type of traveler we are defined by our disposable income, by our lifestyle, or by something else all too innate to us?