I can’t believe it’s the last day of 2022, and that I haven’t updated this blog since August!

A lot has happened since then. Alex and I have been to Lima, Panama City, and we’re currently in Costa Rica. I need to catch up on gathering photos and captions from all our adventures! Actually, I asked Alex for help quite a few times just to get this blog entry started because I totally forgot how things work. Thank you Alex!

By the way, I asked his permission if I can share his photo blog.. and I got it! You can view his photos at https://alextan.me. (Too bad we can’t comment, but maybe you can comment here… :P)

I still work with Galaxy Racer North America, and actually my first project with them just went live this week!

On a side note, on December 31, 2021 we were on our way up Machu Picchu. I’m still so amazed at how many places we’ve been to and how fast time flies.

Going back to this blog post, I just wanted to share that Mexico City is my favorite. It will always be a home to me! We were able to spend roughly 3 months this year, from August to October 2022. It just felt nice to slow down on the travels a bit and have a home base for a while.

This is our neighborhood in CDMX this time, where it has a homey feel and lined with colorful houses and trees that protect you from the sun.

Before we start on the usual travel photos, I just wanted to make some life updates:

I got a new job!

I just wanted to share on here that I recently ended my much needed career break, and that I am now Brand Partnerships Manager for North America at one of the world’s biggest gaming and esports organization, Galaxy Racer! The company is headquartered in Dubai, but is very active in MENA, SEA, South Asia, and Europe. Very proud to be part of team North America!

Really excited for this role, and looking forward to share my knowledge and expertise to a whole new market. My colleagues are pretty cool, and I honestly look forward to starting work every day. Can’t believe I am with Galaxy Racer! Ah!

Well, I also started a new role:

I am also happy to announce that I am part of the leadership team of the newly launched Women in Games Asia Chapter. I will be handling Partnerships, and will be working with companies in Asia and Women in Games based in the UK to advance our advocacies to inspire more ladies to pursue a career in gaming and esports.

I have been participating in W Coffee sessions since 2020, where ladies from the games industry in Asia gather every month to share insights and discuss important issues, and learn from one another. I eventually became an official Women in Games Ambassador in 2021. Meeting women in different phases of their career in gaming and esports really inspires me to do more and be better.

Whew! My experience in entering this space was very eventful, and here we are in my FOURTH YEAR of being in the games industry, and I have never been more honored to be a part of such great organizations. I am so happy!

And now on with it with the travel photos –

After more than 24 hours of travel - from packing up our Mendoza Airbnb, with layovers in Panama and Bogota, we are finally back in my favorite city of all time: Mexico City!

More than 24 hours of traveling from South America to North America, our bodies were so sore after. We're heading out to the ASEAN Bazaar after a night's rest!

On our only Sunday together here in Mendoza with Jack, he picked the greatest activity of all time: touring Malbec vineyards on horseback!

We thought there will be eight people on the tour group, but we were pleasantly surprised when the owner himself of Trout and Wine picked us up from our Airbnb. Instant private tour!

First stop was at Rancho Viejo, where we would be riding these horses through Malbec vineyards!

For our first weekend here in Mendoza, Argentina, we wanted to drive around to see more of the countryside. Alex’s friend Jack is here for two weeks so we wanted to make the most out of it!

Mendoza is surrounded by mountain ranges on one side

I have been meaning to blog about our experience of Machu Picchu from last year, but the internet was so slow in Ushuaia that I really just lost all motivation.

Currently, we are in Mendoza, Argentina which is located west of Buenos Aires. We are staying here for three weeks, to experience the Argentine wine country (hey it’s the source of Malbec wines!) and maybe go up snowy mountains again.

The good news is, our internet connection is ten times faster than Ushuaia! I can finally import, export, upload, and write about our Machu Picchu experience. I hope I remember as much details as I can though…

We were spending the last few weeks of 2021 in Peru, staying in its capital Lima. Since covid was still raging, we were very careful not to go out as much, and to have our masks on if we do need to go out to minimize the chances of getting covid.

We didn’t have plans yet for New Year’s, so I suggested to Alex that we should go check out Machu Picchu! And what did he do? He researched and booked everything so we can have a memorable end of year memory! :)

Note: These photos were from my iPhone 11, so not as high quality as the most recent posts. Just wanted to let you know…

How beautiful! This is the view from our Airbnb when we arrived. Elevation was pretty high so it was cold.