travel

Fall Foliage in New England || VLOG & GUIDE

~ samanthatran ~ Leave a comment

Hey guys! I got to explore the Kancamagus Highway (112) in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, one of America’s most scenic byways to view fall foliage around peak times.

Here’s the video:

There are many stops along the 56 mile stretch you can take and I went to a few that sounded/looked good as we drove by.

We were stuck in 3 hours of traffic just going back down the mountains so I made a quick guide in hopes of helping people who come across this avoid the same fate while in these beautiful mountains.

  • Rocky Gorge off path
  • Rocky Gorge
  • Get this map if you can!
  • C.L. Graham Wangan Overlook

My Mini Guide:

– If you think you’re going early enough go even earlier! Make sure you have a FULL TANK of gas once you’re in the area and pack a meal/snacks just in case you get stuck too.

– Grab the map if you see it! We had no service the entire highway so it literally saved us. Ricky got it from someone in a visitor center rest stop on the way before Loon Mountain.

– If I could redo it I’d start by driving down to the far end toward Rocky Gorge then turn around to make the stops on the way back to Loon Mtn so if you do hit traffic it’s not as bad as later (and you can scope out what stops you’d like to do) *Also, don’t leave at 3PM, that’s how we got stuck just going back down for 3 hours!

– Avoid Pemigewasset Overlook, it’s beautiful but unless you get a roadside spot, the parking lot becomes a 1 lane in/out jam if it’s busy/getting full.

London Hidden Gems || Travel Vlog

~ samanthatran ~ 2 Comments

Hey guys! Right after graduating from University and receiving my degree in computer science, I traveled to London to visit a friend! Ngoc was studying abroad at the time which lined up perfectly for a chance to explore places together.

It was my first time flying alone out of the country and I’m grateful for the polite strangers who helped me navigate along the way!

Here are some pictures from the trip:

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Of course we had to go to the Tower Bridge! We also took a day trip to the White Cliffs of Dover which was such a beautiful site and world away from inner London which was only a 2 hour train ride + 1 hour hike away (one way.)

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A lot of the pictures are also included in my vlog, London was very instagrammable! Ngoc brought me to some “hidden gems” like God’s Own Junkyard, which was basically this place that collected neon signs & props from movie sets, strip clubs, and places that would have these.

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We were literally running around for 8 days straight–can you believe it?! As the grand finale for our adventures, we went to Sketch London for breakfast on the day of my departure. I’d been dreaming of going to Sketch for a few years.

londonberry (20)The rooms are just so aesthetically pleasing to the eye and don’t even get me started on the cool INDIVIDUAL POD RESTROOMS. I knew of it before my first trip to London with my university’s entrepreneurial student organization but it’s very hard to convince college students to drop ~$40 for breakfast or ~$75 for high tea just for the experience combined with our limited time to explore!

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Check out the video for a better look at the experiences!

New York City Girl ♫♪|| Weekend Guide

~ samanthatran ~ Leave a comment

Hey guys! Your girl had a weekend trip with her mans to NYC this fall and finally got to try and see some of the places on my bucketlist so here’s my mini guide!

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Heres a list of some things I did in NYC & scroll down for the deets:

  • The Vessel
  • Ichiran Ramen (Brooklyn)
  • Line Friends NYC
  • Tiger Sugar
  • Tim Ho Wan Hell’s Kitchen Dim Sum
  • Taiyaki NYC

Processed with VSCO with al5 presetWe made our way to The Vessel sculpture and it was a pretty interesting sight! We got to walk around it and the surrounding area but unfortunately we weren’t able to go inside and up around it because you have to book tickets in advance due to the limit of people being inside!

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Admission is free but it was a busy day so going in was booked out for a few hours. After some wandering and intense games of giant Connect 4 (where I defeated Ricky…once hehe) we got hungry and started our adventure to Ichiran Ramen!

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I recommend going to Ichiran Ramen in Brooklyn because it’s the bigger location which means the wait time is shorter. We arrived for our late lunch/early dinner around 5pm–there was no wait for us on a Saturday to sit in the individual booths next to each other. Since it was my first time (shout out to the recommendations from Theresia and others who have been to NYC) I ordered the “Recommended Set” ramen bowl. IT WAS PRETTY GOOD!! There was a special going on where you get complimentary noodle refills so of course we took advantage of that option too.

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Line friends NYC was also on the list and I finally got to see the giant bear! This time he was decked out in a cute not-so-little halloween costume.

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Processed with VSCO with hb2 presetWhen I asked Theresia for her must-try or must-have NYC boba she said it’s gotta be Tiger Sugar! In the pictures it might look intense (a little less than usual tho since we walked around before this pic) but the drink is actually pretty refreshing and lighter than you would expect. It’s still sweet but that’s what I love. Sadly that is where our first full day in the city ended because I got a stomachache right before we ordered our drinks so we headed back after. I’d imagine we would’ve tried to explore the Oculus.

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Speaking of sweets, we o-fish-ally got to try Taiyaki NYC! We almost walked past the storefront until I noticed colorful sprinkles on the sidewalk in front and thought to myself “we must be near it now!” You get to choose the filling, ice cream, and toppings. Processed with VSCO with hb2 preset

One of our last meals in NYC was dim sum at Tim Ho Wan Hell’s Kitchen. I recommend checking in/making a reservation through the Yelp app because the estimated wait time for 2 was basically an hour. The baked bbq pork buns (top right in the pic) are a must. Crispy and sweet on the outside and the usual on the inside. Ricky recommends the spareribs because they’re not too greasy. Surprisingly the only vegetable on the menu was steamed lettuce but it was good with lightly drizzled soy sauce.

And that concludes my short guide to NYC for now!

Stay tuned for more by following this blog or following me on IG @Sambarrassed, or check out my YouTube channel.

The BEST of TEXAS || Travel 2018

~ samanthatran ~ Leave a comment

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Hey guys! Sarah and I flew down to Texas to visit our cousin Daniel in Dallas for a week this past summer. We also road-tripped to Austin and declared BUC-EE’s or bust.

I guess things really are bigger in Texas… we pit-stopped at the World’s Largest Convenience store! It had 60+ gas station pumps as well.

To see more of the BEST of Texas, check out my vlog and feel free to subscribe for more!

Some featured things or places we went:

IMG_9600Go Ape Ziplining & Adventure
Mitsuwa Japanese Supermarket
Pecan Lodge
Summit Climbing, Yoga, & Fitness
Melt Ice Creams
Ronald Kirk Walking Bridge/Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge
Ramen Tatsu-Ya Austin
Mozart’s Coffee Roasters (by the lake)
Lady Bird Lake, Austin (Rowing Dock Stand Up Paddle-Boarding)
Watching the bats from Congress Ave Bridge
Shinjuku Station
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
—If anything you want to know isn’t listed yet just ask!

 

Washington D.C. 2018 | TRAVEL VLOG

~ samanthatran ~ Leave a comment

Hey guys! Over spring break I had the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. as an advocate for my university in a Student Leadership Program.

Check out my video:

Some things I did/places I saw included:

  • The Capitol Building
  • March for Our Lives
  • Union Station
  • Tour of the White House
  • Congressional Offices
  • The Supreme Court
  • Washington Monument & surrounding area
  • The National Gallery of Art
  • Watched the Wiz at Ford’s Theater
  • Tried my first Krispy Kreme donuts
  • & more!

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I’ve been able to see so much more than I did the other times I traveled to D.C. and am looking forward to coming back again some day.

To watch my video from 2016:

The Teenager’s Guide to Traveling on a Bus for 6 Days

~ samanthatran ~ Leave a comment

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Taken while our bus was departing New York City.

Hey! It’s been a while and I’ve finally decided to look over my journal entries from the summer and put them online. This is the 1st part out of my 6-part traveling series, do you have any more bus experiences to add on to mine? The next one will be about why Canada–the second country I’ve ever been to–was cool to explore!

DO

-use the restroom at every stop or whenever you can because something may happen and who knows when you’ll be able to see another one (plus avoid the bus bathroom, I’m so grateful I never needed to use it but others told me it smells) 

-not care about how stupid you think it looks when you’re wearing it, a memory foam neck pillow is your best friend if you’re going to sleep on long rides… I mean, unless you like a sore neck

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My makeshift drink holder.

-bring an ebook device, get a head start on your summer assignments, or read that new dystopian book you’ve been meaning to!

-keep spare plastic bags, our seats didn’t have cup holders so it was a handy way to reuse it

-pack an iPod and headphones to help you think of better things than being stuck on a bus for who knows how long 

-buy yourself portable charger(s) this is a must, especially if you have an iPhone

-maintain an optimistic outlook

-bring snacks, both healthy and too-good-to-be-true ones

DONT

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Someone on their iPad.

-be that person who turns their screen brightness all the way (and avoid using it in the dark), there may be people behind you whose eyes are being very discomforted by it, especially after a long day of being out and about

-meet back up at the bus late everytime

A Teenage Girl’s North American East Coast Adventure, Experiences, and Fun Facts! (A Series of Posts)

~ samanthatran ~ 2 Comments

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Running New York, call me!

Check out all my experiences that took place over the span of six days! I’ll be linking them as they are posted. Pictures from my momentous trip are included, in the hopes that you’ll like them. Feel free to comment about any questions for places I’ve been to!

The Teenager’s Guide to Traveling on a Bus for 6 Days – the dos and don’ts from my experience

Why Canada is Great – the things I noticed while in a different country

French Words I Learned + Fun Facts – I may have picked up a word or two (not an under-exaggeration)

Day One – New York City (NY) – from stunned and hot celebrity figures to the top of the city that never sleeps 

Day Two – Philadelphia (PA) and Washington, D.C. – hearing the sound of the Liberty before going to the Capitol

Day Three – Corning (NY) and Niagara Falls (CAN) – from the Corning Museum of Glass to the Skylon Tower+

Day Four – Toronto, (ON) – they don’t call it a glass floor for no reason and fruit we haven’t seen for 20 years

Day Five – Thousand Islands (USA/CAN), Ottawa (ON), Montreal (QC) – what a beautiful French sunset

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The front entrance of La Citadelle de Quebec, a military base in Canada that is still active today.

Day Six – Quebec City (QC) – last-minute souvenir grabs and the live-goat mascot, Baptiste

My view from the Skylon Tower, Toronto.
My view from the Skylon Tower, Toronto.