A Pop Culture Shock After the Trip of a Lifetime
Our 52 Places Traveler thought she could rely on downloads as armor against the unknowns of global travel. That’s not how it went down.
By Jada Yuan
Before becoming the Times' inaugural 52 Places Traveler, Jada Yuan spent over a decade at New York Magazine as a contributing editor and culture features writer both in print and online. While there, she covered film festivals around the world, presidential conventions, and the protests in Ferguson, Mo., as well as profiled Stevie Nicks, Ava Duvernay and Bill Murray. Her cover stories and features have appeared in Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Elle, Glamour, Billboard and Bloomberg Businessweek. Personal travel has taken her to Japan, Mexico, China, Afghanistan, Kenya and Senegal. She grew up in northern New Mexico, has a degree in history from Yale University and lives in Brooklyn (when she's not on the road).
Our 52 Places Traveler thought she could rely on downloads as armor against the unknowns of global travel. That’s not how it went down.
By Jada Yuan
It was a dream job, visiting the globe’s most alluring destinations on assignment. Here’s what our 2018 Traveler learned in a year of almost nonstop travel.
By Jada Yuan
At the final two places on our list of 52, our columnist contemplates the swift, irrevocable changes that tourism and development are bringing.
By Jada Yuan
With two more stops to go, our 52 Places columnist, exhausted after nearly a year on the road, finds beauty and respite in the temples and valleys of this Buddhist kingdom.
By Jada Yuan
With only three more stops to go, our columnist takes in Chandigarh, Le Corbusier’s rigorously planned city, and, on the flip side, a fantastical rock garden, with a mirrored fun-house and waterfall.
By Jada Yuan
Our 52 Places columnist tries on traditional robes and footwear; learns to enjoy seafood (as long as it’s not chewy); and discovers (once again) how small the world is.
By Jada Yuan
Traveling Gansu Province along the ancient Silk Road, our columnist gets by with a little help from her friends.
By Jada Yuan
On her tour of Gangwon-Do, our columnist goes leaf peeping Korean-style, which involves Buddhist traditions, selfie sticks and many, many plates of food.
By Jada Yuan
There’s a first time for everything. Our 52 Places columnist, who barely knows how to swim, tries her hand at scuba-diving and surfing in Fiji.
By Jada Yuan
In New Zealand, our columnist immerses herself in Maori culture. Then rain, traffic and a lost (and found) passport complicate what should have been an easy trip to Fiji.
By Jada Yuan