Alone in Kyrgyzstan, remembering a bowl of noodles
Lakes, yurts and mountain roads—and the evening I spent more than an hour learning to pull noodles with my guesthouse host.
By Jessie Wenjie LiRead story ↗
THE WORLD THROUGH JESSIE’S EYES
102 countries.
A lifetime of curiosity.
102 countries is the breadth of my journey. This page opens a few chapters from the archive: travel with family, bathing cultures, island life, cross-cultural encounters and the experience of places.
Read by destination
Destinations with stories already in the journal. The wider travel timeline continues below.
Stories already in the journal
Our mother-and-daughter journey through Middle-earth
New Zealand in 2015: Hobbiton, museums, a knitted teapot cosy and a few adventures that helped me recognise the pleasures I wanted to return to.
By Jessie Wenjie LiRead story ↗
My first mixed-gender sauna experience at Vabali, Berlin
A July 2021 visit, a tightly held towel, and a garden of timber, water and quiet: what I remember about bodies, culture and the design of rest.
By Jessie Wenjie LiRead story ↗
2026 · PACIFIC
The Pacific islands
Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu feature in my 2026 travel record. Across those journeys, I have reflected on coastal settings, transport, resort stays and simple guesthouses.
Read a related reflection ↗2022 · SILK-ROAD
Through Central Asia
My 2022 record includes Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. These journeys sit within my wider interest in the Silk Road, cultural crossings and everyday life.
Read a related reflection ↗2020–2021 · AFRICA
Across Africa
My travel record includes Kenya in 2020 and Rwanda, Tanzania and Ethiopia in 2021, alongside Egypt and Tunisia. People, communities and the different ways a place is lived are recurring themes.
Discuss a story commission ↗SELECTED TRAVEL RECORD
2014–2026
A selection of recorded journeys. Return visits are part of the story, too.
2014–2019
Turkey, Greece and Italy; India and New Zealand; Britain, France, Japan and Nepal.
2020
Japan, Laos and Thailand; the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain; the Balkans, Turkey, Egypt and Kenya.
2021
Rwanda, Tanzania and Ethiopia; Tunisia; Armenia, Lebanon and Cyprus; an extended journey through Europe.
2022
Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama; Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia; North America, Central Asia, the Philippines and New Zealand.
2023
Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Oman; Singapore, Australia, Norway and Britain.
2024
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Qatar; Indonesia and Australia; Papua New Guinea, Georgia, Ireland and Iceland.
2025
Mongolia, Russia, Japan and Bangladesh.
2026
Nepal, Thailand and Australia; Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu; Jeju, South Korea.
The timeline is a selection of my records, not an exhaustive list of all 102 countries. Transit stops are omitted here. Gibraltar is recorded separately as a region.
EVERY JOURNEY ADDS A CHAPTER