Author and engineer Allison King on long flights, Pocky, and those bear prints
Do you prefer booking trips through a travel agent or on your own?
I prefer to do it myself.
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Thoughts on an 'unplugged' vacation?
That sounds great! I used to enjoy landing in a place and not getting a SIM card, mostly relying on café or library Wi-Fi if I needed it, or just planning the whole day and then venturing out and hoping for the best. I think it's a bit harder to do now since a lot of places expect you to have internet (restaurant QR codes, digital tickets, etc.), or just because I've become more reliant on the internet.
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What has been your worst vacation experience?
I go to Taiwan quite frequently, but I normally avoid the summers since it gets incredibly hot and humid there. I had to go in the summer for a wedding in 2022, and unfortunately got COVID during that trip, after successfully avoiding it for so long. I masked up the whole time, and there is nothing quite like the unpleasantness of keeping a soaked mask on your sweating face. I was with friends who won a tourist gift card at the airport, but we ended up spending it all on COVID tests and more masks. Luckily Taiwan makes incredibly cute masks.
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What is your favorite childhood travel memory?
I grew up on the East Coast, and because we went back to Taiwan so often, I've done a lot of long-haul flights. Back when I was a kid, the plane would have to stop to refuel in Alaska before continuing on its 16-plus-hour journey. But I was always so excited to go to Taiwan, and have wonderful memories of even the plane ride — of wandering the Anchorage airport, and also playing Pokémon on my Game Boy and looking down out the window over icy mountains. We'd arrive super early in the morning and then go to my aunt's place, where you can see the sun rise over Taipei 101 [a skyscraper] and there'd be a delicious breakfast waiting for us; it'd be the start of summer vacation, and it just felt like anything was possible.
Do you vacation to relax, to learn, or for the adventure of it all?
All of the above. I like to plan something more adventurous for the first half, then something relaxing the second half. For instance, when we went to Vietnam in November 2019, we did an amazing two-day trek through Sapa, followed by a relaxing two-day cruise along Ha Long Bay.
What book do you plan on bringing with you to read on your next vacation?
I normally load up my e-reader and browse through the Libby app for books that are available now. I'm about to leave for Japan, so just did this, and was very excited that Alix E. Harrow's 'Starling House' was available. I'll also continue Makana Yamamoto's 'Hammajang Luck' on audio.
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If you could travel with one famous person/celebrity, who would it be?
Marie Kondo, since I think she would be a lot of fun to watch pack.
What is the best gift to give a traveler?
I gave my mom a portable hot water kettle recently. It's silicon so can fold down and pack well. A lot of hotels only have coffee makers as a means to heat water, but then your tea tastes like coffee.
What is your go-to snack for a flight or a road trip?
On a road trip I usually buy sour worm gummies. The sourness keeps me awake. For flights, when I was a kid, the shuttle to the airport would pick up outside the Asian Food Market, and I would load up on Pocky, which is great because they're so compact and not messy.
What is the coolest souvenir you've picked up on a vacation?
When I was in London at the Victoria and Albert Museum, I picked up this illustration by Lisa Jones of a
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What is your favorite app/website for travel?
I like
What has travel taught you?
To be present, to go with the flow.
What is your best travel tip?
Get a debit card that doesn't charge an out-of-network ATM fee, then use the local ATMs to get cash for much better rates and convenience compared to buying the currency at home or at the airport.
Juliet Pennington can be reached at
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