about

hello, 你好, and welcome! i'm yanny, the writer behind this blog, and i'm so glad you found your way to my little corner of the internet. Born in Guangdong, China, raised in New York City, and now living in Shanghai, I am a budget-conscious gal in my twenties with a passion for traveling the world consciously and with care. My goal here is simple: to share insightful, practical travel tips and honest itineraries for those who want to travel with a deeper awareness of the cultures and communities they visit.

I started this blog to share my experiences and the tips and lessons I’ve learned on my own adventures around the world. Growing up with a low-income background, I often wondered if I would ever be able to travel the world beyond the pages of books or the screen of my computer. I am immensely grateful for the people and opportunities I’ve found that have allowed me to see the world beyond my hometown. Travel has been a life-changing experience for me—an opportunity to learn, grow, and understand the world in a deeper way. But I also know how scary and overwhelming it can be when beginning to navigate a world that feels so different from what you know. I hope that my stories can show you what is possible and give you guidance towards your goals.

This space is for travelers who are curious about the world, but also want to engage with it thoughtfully. I believe that mindful travel isn’t just about seeing new places; it’s about connecting with the people and cultures you encounter, honoring their differences, and embracing the changes that new experiences can bring. If you’re someone who believes in traveling without contributing to the environmental damage or rampant consumerism that can sometimes accompany tourism, you’re in the right place.

This blog is built around a few core values that guide everything I share:

• Learning through Travel. For me, travel is about more than sightseeing. It’s about engaging with the people, histories, and environments that make each place unique and allowing them to teach us something new about the world, others, and ourselves.
• Honoring Other Cultures and Ways of Life. Learning from people and places that are different from what we know requires us to resist the instinct to recreate what is familiar and comfortable. I believe it is important to not expect other cultures to conform to our own experiences or standards, but to honor their differences and regard them with respect. Traveling is about understanding the world on its terms—not yours.
• Remaining Grateful for the Privilege of Travel. To be able to move easily across borders because of my identities as a young, able-bodied, college-educated, U.S. citizen, among others, has been an immense privilege that I do not ever forget to appreciate. I know that many people have not had the same privileges of visiting or living outside their hometowns due to factors out of their control and I am continually committed to providing advice and tips that are sensitive to people’s varying access to different spaces around the world.
• Realizing the Possibilities of Budget Travel. Growing up with limited means, I thought that travel was only possible for people with a lot of money. And while I do still believe that travel does demand a certain level of access to discretionary amounts of money and time, it is not as much as I once thought. I found opportunities to travel while I was a broke and busy college student and I hope to show you how you too can make room for travel in a tight budget. And traveling on a budget doesn’t have to mean sacrificing quality or purpose. I share tips, itineraries, and suggestions for making travel affordable without compromising the integrity of your experience or the communities you visit.
• Caring for the Earth. I am firmly against promoting consumerism and supporting practices that degrade the environment. I will always try to highlight sustainable, responsible, and locally-conscious ways to travel. It’s important to me that this blog encourages you to think critically about the choices you make on the road. Every decision, from the places you visit to the businesses you support, should come from a place of care—for the environment, the communities you visit, and the way travel shapes the world around us. Sustainable travel isn’t just a buzzword—it’s an ongoing practice.

Through this blog, I hope to build a community of like-minded travelers who care deeply about the places they visit and the people they meet. You don’t have to be a millionaire to make a positive impact, and together, we can travel in ways that are meaningful, (care)ful, and real.

I hope this space helps you take the leap into conscious, budget-friendly travel. Whether you’re embarking on your first solo trip or seeking new ways to deepen your travel experiences, I’m here to help. 

with love and care, 

yanny ♡ ̆̈

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