united states - Travel With A Butterfly

Discover New York in 6 Days: Skip the Tourist Traps and Dive into Genuine NYC Magic Nobody Talks About! (Part One)

Having been to New York many many times, I find New York pretty much like home. I always tell people New York is more like Hong Kong than other cities in United States; they’re both top financial cities, they’re both melting pots, they both have lots of skyscrapers and extremely high rents, they both have an eclectic selection of amazing restaurants, they’re known for their direct and blunt attitudes, and Manhattan is to Hong Kong Island and Brooklyn is to Kowloon and Queens is to New Territories. The list of similarities goes on.

This year, I wanted to go to New York because I wanted to attend NFT NYC. While the conference itself was happening, the usual events from blue chip NFT communities were not hosting alongside the main conference, apparently because they were boycotting to give a message to the main conference people about feeling used, so this year NFT NYC was not as lit as the two years prior. Continue reading Discover New York in 6 Days: Skip the Tourist Traps and Dive into Genuine NYC Magic Nobody Talks About! (Part One)

Travel

Meeting Rapper Royce 5’9″, One Half of Bad Meets Evil, in Detroit

ByRyan Lee

Going to Detroit probably isn’t on most people’s bucket list. It wasn’t on mine either. But owning an NFT gave me the chance to meet one of Detroit’s most notable rappers. Since I was going to NFT NYC, I thought I’d take the chance to also go to Detroit, because who knows when the next time I’ll be in US again. Better now than never.

So after confirming that I would go to New York, I also booked my flight tickets to go to Detroit. But like I said, it really was just to visit Royce 5’9″ and his Heaven Studio, so I booked a roundtrip ticket to go and come back on the same day. It was incredibly, incredibly exhausting.

This blog post will be quite short, simply because the only exposure I had of Detroit was my ride to the studio in Birmingham and back. So to say I know Detroit at all would be laughable, straight up embarrassing. Continue reading Meeting Rapper Royce 5’9″, One Half of Bad Meets Evil, in Detroit

Events

One Coachella Is All It Takes (and Tips on Surviving Coachella)

ByRyan Lee

“One Coachella is all it takes, falling in love with you, possibilities, you look like all you need…”

Coachella has always been a part of my bucket list of things to do in my life. Told myself, better to go now than when I start having to take care of children or having to take care of my family or when I start to have more life responsibilities in general. Since I wasn’t really working at the moment, and considering my age, it was sort of a “now or never” kind of moment. Plus, I wanted to go NFT NYC the week before, so the entire sequence of events flowed perfectly.

I for one enjoyed the lineup this year. For me, it felt like Coachella emphasised on Latino artists, international acts, hip hop, dance/electronic/techno, and up and coming artists from online platforms such as Youtube creators. Acts we got to see included – Blackpink, Calvin Harris, Testpilot (Deadmau5), Metro Boomin with The Weeknd, Jackson Wang, Eric Prydz, Kaytranada, Skillrex, and more. Personally would have liked if Frank Ocean was there instead of Blink 182, but unfortunate for the replacement. Continue reading One Coachella Is All It Takes (and Tips on Surviving Coachella)

Travel

The Best Tips For Yellowstone When Visiting From West Yellowstone

ByRyan Lee

When I was researching about the busiest months to go to Yellowstone, I was worried. Most people visited the place during the summer months of June, July, and August. Nearing beginning of October, all the cabins in Yellowstone were starting to close, the north, northeast, and east entrances were closed, and the weather would drop to like 1 degree Celsius. Would the roads be too slippery to drive? Would there be more bears coming out in the wild?

Turns out, when we went during early October, it was the perfect time to go, and I wasn’t even exaggerating. The number of people there was just right – you were always able to find a parking spot, and there were just enough people to not feel you were deserted and that you were going to be safe, but still had plenty of space to move around and take photos.

Then there’s the weather. The weather was perfect. Even in the afternoon, you could get by with a t-shirt. It was only until a little before sunset when you would start to feel chilly. That’s when you will need to wear a jacket.

All things considered, I’d say our trip to Yellowstone was perfect in terms of pacing, timing, and the overall planning of the trip, and I want to share my tips with you to ensure you have a good time there as well.

A picture of West Yellowstone

Continue reading The Best Tips For Yellowstone When Visiting From West Yellowstone