ABOUT ME

Me+Sushi = Happy

The old saying goes that “Trinis are like salt — they in everything”. So it should not come as a surprise that the more you travel, the more you find that there are Trinis in the most far-flung, least-expected places, doing all kinds of interesting things during their journeys abroad. It never ceases to amaze me how we may come from a tiny dot on the world map, but Trinis really and truly get around!

As for my personal story, I’m a Trini girl from Maraval who, to tell you the truth, never even planned on leaving home or living abroad until I was in my mid-twenties. I went to university in Toronto at the age of 17 and hated being away from home so much that I left Canada for good exactly one week after my final exams were done. I didn’t even attend my own graduation ceremony! Yup, I was Trini to de Bone, and all I wanted was to go back home and back to my normal Trini life.

Slowly that changed, as friends started going off and doing interesting things with their lives. Some were doing work-holiday visas in the UK, some went to work on cruise ships and see the world, one went to South Korea to teach English and kept showing me pictures from the Great Wall of China and Bali and Thailand, one went on the JET Program to Japan. The seed was planted in my mind… after all, if they could do it, then surely I could too?

Then one day as I sat down stuck in traffic again in Maraval, frustrated and pissed off and just changing the channel on the radio, the thought came to my mind that I could easily drive this same one-lane road in and out of Maraval every single day for the rest of my life, and never do anything else. The thought scared the bejeesus out of me, and it was then that I decided that if I ever wanted to travel, if I ever wanted to SEE the world instead of just feeling like a hamster on the wheel, I would have to leave Trinidad.  Because unless you have one set of money and a whole lot of time off, there is just no way to live in Trinidad and travel. It is impossible.

Armed with a degree in English, I took the easiest route — I went overseas to teach English. I was willing to go anywhere I could get a job, and had no clue where I would end up, or how long I would be gone. To be honest, I didn’t really care. I applied to jobs everywhere, from Ecuador to Incheon, from Mexico to Romania. I was ready for anything.

Over the next few years, I would live in Turkey, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Dubai, and now have found myself back in Hong Kong again. I luckily did not have to be an English teacher for too long, because by profession I am an editor. Today I work in the Hong Kong office of one of the most well known international journalism companies in the world. I work hard, but I also have great opportunities to travel, because when you live in Asia, it is so easy to pop over to neighboring countries. You can go scuba diving in the Philippines, mountain climbing in China, temple touring in Japan, wandering around street markets in Malaysia, seeing incredible historic sites and amazing modern cities, trying exotic food and getting lost and having fun and sometimes even getting bitten by bed bugs. I’ve biked down volcanoes in Bali, and tasted the best sushi in the world in Tokyo, and gone Hashing in Thailand, and even all these years later the fun never stops. I love living in Asia, and consider myself very lucky to be here, and to have a good job which allows me to live a traveling lifestyle, save money, and keep going.

As for the blogging, this is something I just do for fun. I don’t plan to make a living from it — it is more just a chance for me to show my family and friends what life is like on the other side of the planet, and provide what I hope is useful information for people looking for travel-specific information about Asia.

You can catch The Travelling Trini column in the Trinidad Newsday Newspaper, on the first and third Sunday of every month, in the Women’s Weekly section. Feel free to leave a comment, or drop me an email.

Contact email: thetravellingtrini@yahoo.com

28 thoughts on “ABOUT ME”

  1. Hey there,

    your site came up when I googled for some info on Bintan. It’s not in many travel guides and we were told about it in the travel’s agent’s in NZ. We’ll be heading there in early march and like you will be staying at the yasin bungalow. Just wondered if you have any tips for me. Also a bit worried about safety and vaccinations. We’ll be flying into singapore and are planning to get the ferry accross. I can’t work out the set-up of the island – all the travel info is on the resort part of the island so I’m wondering if I’ll be able to get a visa on arrival from singapore?
    As already mentioned my other ‘issue’ is general safety. What’s Bintan like, did you feel safe there?
    Would be awesome if you could get back to me – I’ve enjoyed reading your stuff. I know what you mean about moving around – I don’t like staying in one place for too long either. Too many things to see!
    Hope this message finds you safe and happy and greetings from NZ,
    Eva

  3. Hi there! Same story as above: looking to travel to Bintan, stumbled upon your blog. Would it be possible for you to forward that email to me as well? Great blog, very helpful! Thanks, Andy

  5. Oh! Sorry…I guess I thought my wordpress username would link to my email. I’m mostly wondering if you think it would be possible to squeeze Bintan into a one night stay (departing sat. morning from SG, and returning home on Monday AM). If you think it would be too much for an overnight trip, do you have any other suggestions?
    http://Aisforandy.wordpress.com
    ascot83@gmail.com
    Thanks!

  6. Hi,
    I’m also a Trini living and working in HK.
    Got your contact from your geoXpat comment. Like you, I’m still looking for some Caribbean-ness in HK. Still looking…………
    Drop me a line.
    Danna

  7. Hello Emily,

    I’ve just chanced across your site. I’m fluent in English and am bored with corporate life so would love to travel like you did. Was wondering if you could kindly advice me on how I could secure a job in Tokyo or maybe even teach english there. I volunteer as a tutor for underpriviledged kids too (wonder if that helps) ;)

  8. Hey Jing,

    Hope you will check this back to see the response!

    There are so many opportunities out there to teach overseas and travel. To go to Japan, you will definitely need a Bachelors degree in pretty much anything. Or, you need to falsify one (and it happens all the time! lots of people out there with fake degrees). Teaching is a very easy way to get out there and get your foot in the door. A lot of people teach English for a year or so and then transition into something else. Volunteering with kids sure is a good thing and should be included on your resume.

    You could also check out Korea, which pays for your flight over there and your accommodation, but you get very few holidays. I would also recommend Taiwan, which is a really lovely place, and there are lots of teaching jobs.

    Check out these websites:

    http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/

    http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/intl/index.pl

    http://www.gaijinpot.com (that one is specifically for Japan)

    Good luck with your quest for an overseas adventure!!!

    TTT

  10. Emily. I’m Katie’s uncle (Lee’s brother). We’ve met on several occasions, mostly when you were a kid. I’m just writing to say that Tina pointed me to your blog and glancing through it I find it wonderful. You’ve become quite an accomplished writer, and so young too (compared to me, who couldn’t have done at your age what you’re now doing). Congrats. When I see people clinging to your words I feel proud to think “I knew her when she was a kid.” Keep it up.

    • Hi Kim, yes of course I remember you, and thank you for the kind words of support. Not sure if I could say I am an ‘accomplished’ writer, since this is just a little blog with a few followers. If I could I would love to write a Travelling Trini column for one of the newspapers but so far have not received any responses from the Big 3 back at home. If you know anyone at the papers you could direct me to I would really appreciate it! Thanks again and hope you will keep reading….

  11. Yo Em! So this is your site eh … awesome! Haven’t spoken to ya on Fb in a while so i thought i’d check out your blog and write a lil sumpin’ sumpin’. Maybe i have should have my own site and call it ahtrinilivinginsandiego.com … nah, doesn’t have much of a ring. Keep writing, and i’ll talk to ya soon on Fb.

    Johann.

  14. Sheldon, I have sent proposals to the big 3 papers back home…. not a single of them responded to me about running a regular feature! Lame!!! So you heading to Singapore or what?

  17. Thanks for the tip Sheldon :)
    And yeah it was great to be interviewed in the Northerly too!
    Hope this will help me get in with one of the papers back home….
    So about Singapore — are you moving there?

  19. Nice — hope it works out. Singapore is a lovely place, and very green and pretty too. Very easy to live there I think. Everyone speaks English. Excellent public transport. Interesting towns. And of course great location to travel to other countries in Asia!!

  22. Does’nt anybody realise that T’dadians don’t support their own, especially if they are successful at something!! if you were European living there you’d get all the support you need, good luck in your endeavors.

  23. Hi Emily
    Well I stumbled on your blog, while doing an inverse search for other trini travel bloggers. We’re not a big bunch are we?
    I’ve been trying to find more of us over the years, but it’s difficult.

    Same thing on my end – I had everything set up for a column in the TnT Mirror, but project work took over and I couldn’t commit.

    My blog got a mention on Outlish
    http://www.outlish.com/10-totally-awesome-trini-bloggers/

    As well I’m a Lonely Planet blogger …but it would be great to swap links at least.

    Anyway, great to stumble on your blog … you can drop me a line …
    rishi@rishiray.com or naparima@hotmail.com

    • Hi Rishi, impressive website you have! And so funny to find another Trini who knows what both ‘ping pong show’ and ‘nasi goreng’ are. Surprisingly through my blog I’ve connected with a number of other Travelling Trinis out there, from China to Singapore to India and everywhere in between. Keep up the good work and happy travels. Will be following your blog for sure.

      • hi emily,i’m ‘trini to d bone’ living in malaysia.i came accross your blog and was glad to know i’m not the only one here.

  24. Great blog! I’m a travelling Trini over in London (love your TTT moniker!) and am always looking out for great travel stories.

    Have you tried Dougla magazine back in Trinidad? I think you’ll probably have better luck doing a guest feature in a local magazine than the nationals.

  25. Hi Trini!!

    Strange enough, I came across your blog researching Hong Wing Coffee of all things!!! Funny….! Anyway…just want to commend you for an excellent blog…love what I’ve read so far…great job : ) From one Trini to another….IT BESS!!! Will be reading your blog from now on…

    Take care and be safe Trini : )

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