If you travel in east Asia in the winter, especially to Korea or Japan, you'll find yourself somehow in strawberry season. This is because they grow short-day cultivars that flower and ripen in the winter.

A few years ago, I bought some of the best strawberries that I've ever had in my life off the back of a kei truck in Seoul. Their flavor reminded me of the wild strawberries that I ate as a kid, wandering through untended clearings in Otsego county in the summer.

A few years ago is also when I started having chronic bouts of acute abdominal pain, just under my sternum. I would start to feel a little bloated in the evening, and that would gradually develop into intense pain overnight, clearing in the early morning.

Though I didn't know it, these are the classic symptoms of gallstones. Asymptomatic gallstones are so prevalent that doctors wont suggest a cholecystectomy unless there is ongoing inflammation. Even after a sonogram confirmed the presence of stones, my doctors were not confident enough to blame them for my pain.

It's now certain that they were responsible, and my problematic gallbladder is a thing of the past. After another acute bout of pain in Australia, I returned to Hong Kong, got some scans and a surgeons consult, and decided to get emergency surgery to remove it.

My mother-in-law kindly bought me some Korean strawberries to snack on while recovering, and such is the bond of taste, smell, and memory, that it got my mind wandering the hills of Bukchon Hanok Village, looking for a kei truck.

It's made me think about travel in general, too. Obviously, emergency surgery is not an ideal travel outcome. But despite the risks and dangers, there are wonders that make it worth it, and I've found those wonders most often in the more every day experiences.

That's not to say that the big experiences are not worthwhile. One does not go to Siem Reap just for the night life.

In an age of globalized information and influencer hype, that photo you're taking of the Taj Mahal is being taken thousands of times a day. The soufflé pancake you must try? Copycats have already made their way around the world, and I'm sure some of them are better than the original.

Visiting famous sites can elicit a profound emotional response, but somehow they don't become a part of you.

When I went to Siem Reap, I didn't get to sample the night life. It looked great, but I had a terrible stomach bug and had to make Angkor Wat my priority.

That was the right decision. Angkor Wat is the most awe inspiring historical site I've ever visited, even more-so than the Pyramids of Giza. A seemingly endless sprawl of temple complexes that feel like they've been summoned from the jungle floor via some kind of magic spell.

This isn't some kind of eat, pray, love appeal to the faux spirituality of orientalism. The abiding memories from my visit are white knuckling up the steep sandstone stairs of the main temple, playing hide and seek with a monkey, and wandering the temple complexes trying desperately not to shit myself. For better or worse, you can't get that from insta.

But the place lot of people are going to now is Japan. The weak yen have made what used to be an expensive destination a cheap one, but with no loss in quality or charm.

There is a sizable corner of the internet dedicated to exploring even the little things in Japan. People love it. Pick any foodstuff at a konbini, and there is a TikTok or Youtube short from an influencer claiming that it's the best, or maybe that it's not as good as a competitors.

Then there's the saga of people going to Kawaguchiko to take a photo of Mt. Fuji over a Lawson. Tourist behavior was so poor that the Lawson erected a screen to block the view. Tourists and instagrammers responded by finding a nearby Lawson with a similar view.

I've been in Hong Kong for a bit, and a lot of my friends here have been going to Japan. People know that I've been many times, and they're typically happy to talk about options on what to do.

If you're going to Tokyo, there's a long list of must-see places: Tokyo Tower, the Sky Tree, Asakusa Sensō-ji, Kappabashi, Tsukiji, Meiji Jingu, the Shibuya scramble.. the list goes on. It's a clean megalopolis with almost no crime, world class cuisine, incredible public transport, and 35 million people. There are endless things to do.

But my suggestion is to find a neighborhood and take a walk. There's much joy to be found just wandering the city's small alleys. If you have the time, give that a shot. You might find something personally meaningful.

And if it's winter time, be sure to get some strawberries.

Jan 25