A Pediatrician Travels the World

My recent trip to New Zealand included more than just Hobbiton (although that is definitely a highlight). We spent a few days in Auckland after Brisbane.  This is my second trip to Auckland. The first trip was over a decade ago so the details were hazy but I remembered I liked it. I wasn't such a foodie back then so I don't know if the food scene has come a long way or it was always good and I'm better at finding things now. Regardless, the food in Auckland is amazing. The city itself is beautiful. It's in the northern tip of New Zealand, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea. 

So my extensive travels have finally brought me to the Shire in Middle Earth. I am a HUGE Lord of the Rings geek. I can't remember at which point of my childhood that I read the books. The Hobbit was always my favorite. Then I watched all the movies. When I found out about Hobbiton, I knew I had to go. It's basically the film set for the movies. The original Shire was taken down after filming the LOTR trilogy. When they made the Hobbit trilogy, a smart guy was like 'let's keep the set and have fans visit.' It was genius. 

Another fabulous year of traveling in the bag. I went to seven countries and six US cities. I started the new year in Phu Quoc, Vietnam and went to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In the spring, I went to  Rovaniemi,  Finland to see Northern Lights with stops in London and Amsterdam. And to close out the year, I went to Brisbane, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand. 

I went to Sydney a decade ago, really liked it and always wanted to go back to Australia. This time we decided to check out Brisbane which is the capital of QUeensland and the third largest city in Australia. It was a lovely trip! The city is BEAUTIFUL. The people are so friendly. The food was amazing. I cannot say enough good things about this city. Look at these pictures and you will be convinced too. 

Life has been so stressful recently. I decided it was time to destress. I went with a couple of friends to Santa Fe with the goal of relaxation. We stayed at Ojo Santa Fe which is famous for their hot springs pools. I went there a few years ago and had a good experience. I had high expectations for our trip. There were definitely some good but also some bad. 

Can you imagine 15,000 pediatricians in one spot? Well it happened recently in Denver where the annual AAP conference convened. I love going to the AAP conferences; there's always a ton to learn, fun activities, and meeting old and new friends. 

I've been to Seoul twice. The first trip was for my college roommate's wedding. I was in my third year of residency and I had to beg for 5 days off so I could go. It's was an awesome trip on so many levels: seeing a dear friend get married, my first international business class flight, stuffing my face with all the foods I didn't know existed. This was before the world fell in love with Korea so I'm just way ahead of the curve. 

When my sister found out Jin (from BTS) was having a solo concert, she was determined we would go. And like a pro, she got tickets! So we spent a weekend in Anaheim.  

My sister wanted to see a Kpop concert in Oakland so we did a quick overnight trip. I spent a month in Oakland in my fourth year of medical school when I did an away rotation. I decidedly very quickly I didn't want to live in Oakland and crossed that off my residency match list. I've been back to Oakland a few times since then. The city has come a long way and the food scene is rapidly catching up to SF.  Here's how we spent 24 hours in Oakland.