Hello!
I am grateful you have stopped by. My name is Essie & I live in Georgia, USA. I have traveled to over 90 countries. About Travels with Essie—this blog created to share my experiences that I have learned through my travels & to share the hope that vibrates within our hearts when we travel.
The planning of my epic trips took hundreds of hours, while the joy & excitement in the planning has always made me come alive. I did a lot of research because I could not find enough info online. So I am here to make your life easier & help you in your travels. .
My late parents from Malaysia believed in education without borders & missions. They have instilled in my brother, Samuel & I the importance of helping the poor worldwide. Two weeks before our Mom, Pastor Grace passed, she sent us to the Golden Triangle (Thailand, Laos & Myanmar) for the humanitarian trips and help the poor. Today, I continue their legacy by helping build schools & orphanages worldwide.
I am your everyday gal that works, unlike a digital nomad. My experiences are very practical & it is my hope that I can take you on your own travel dreams & aspirations while you work a full-time job.
“Life is a daring adventure, or nothing at all .”
Hellen Keller
My Story
I was born in the beautiful country of Malaysia in Southeast Asia. A melting pot of cultures, Malaysia is made up of three dominant people groups known as Malays, Chinese, & Indians. I grew up speaking Cantonese at home, English at church, Mandarin with my cousins & Malay at school. We loved speaking several languages in one sentence! The rich culture also included delicious delicacies as Malaysia is known as a food paradise. Malaysia is a predominant Muslim country, followed by Buddhism, Hinduism & the minorities, the Christians. We respect each other religions & learned to live together in harmony.
how I got Here
The Birth of a Dream
My parents worked very hard in their secular careers & also pastored the second largest church in our small city. They had a remarkable conversion to Christianity when Mom almost died in a car accident but was miraculously saved. Many of my days were spent in my pajamas at church while they juggled on how to create a safe place for the growing number of people that attended their church. Their church was also the place where many missionaries from all over the world came to visit, live in our home, & they taught us what they knew. It was my first experience encountering the caucasians & the beautiful people from Africa. They told us stories of their worlds & it was in these sacred moments with them that a fire was kindled in my heart to travel beyond my small world.
Then one day my life changed. My parents took Samuel & I to America to experience Disneyland in California. It was in Disneyland that I learned to dream that I can one day live in another country.
The Power of Friendships
Fast forward a few decades, I migrated to America to pursue my academic degrees. While in college, I had the privilege of meeting people from over 100 countries. We were all broke & ate at the cafeteria all the time. There are many moments when a table of 12 of us represented ten countries. These experiences I would later learn, are golden opportunities that crafted my future in world travel. Today, I am still in touch with a few of them & their friendships have been a bridge that took me into nations.
Meet my spiritual Mom, ZUZANNA from Croatia
Zuzanna & I have traveled to over 30 countries together & you will see her a lot in my photos as we have been friends for over 25 years. Zuzanna was working in the corporate world of retail while attending college & she took care of broke Essie at that time by feeding me good meals when I was 18. Throughout the years, we have stayed in touch & presently she lives in Croatia. Zuzanna drove me to several Balkan countries (East Europe) & and introduced me to the beauty of Eastern Europe. There are a handful of friends that stand out throughout the years, & I believe it’s important to nurture them, as they bring much joy to our hearts.
There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship
St Thomas of Aquinas