China

My first trip to Asia came during my gap year, when I was writing for a tennis magazine and traveled to Hong Kong to cover a professional tournament. I still remember the feeling of nervous excitement when I landed in Hong Kong. Wandering through its bustling streets and watching the nightly light show over the skyline was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. From there, I took the ferry to neighboring Macau, where Portuguese and Chinese influences blend together in such a unique way. I wandered its historic streets, jumped off the world’s highest bungee, and spent the evening playing baccarat in the casinos that have earned Macau the nickname “the Las Vegas of Asia.”

I returned to China several times in the years that followed, each time visiting Beijing. On one visit, I watched my friend Jerry, one of China’s top young tennis players, compete in a major professional tournament, and I finally had the chance to see the Great Wall in person. A different visit, though, was especially memorable. I had flown to Beijing to collect my athlete visa for North Korea, where I would complete my journey to every country in the world. My flight from Beijing to Pyongyang would be the final flight of my seven-year adventure. Sitting at the airport with several of my closest friends before boarding that flight is a moment I’ll remember for the rest of my life.