Florence: History, Memory, and Family (ft. Cheeyang Ng)

Our world is vast, almost impossibly so, and getting to
explore it is a privilege to see its famous sites,
walk its many parts, and uncover the culture and history
of each particular place. But as travelers, we don't only
excavate our surroundings. Sometimes we dig up parts of ourselves,
revealing who we are and who we're becoming. This is Wayfinder,
life changing travel. This podcast goes beyond the guide books
into the heart and soul of real life travelers as
their journey around the world. I'm your host, Daniel Scheffler,
and I have seen firsthand how our stories connect us
and inspire us. Today, I'm speaking with writer, performer and
musical theater artist Chiang Un, whose work lives at the
intersection of history, identity, and imagination. A few years ago,
they made a pact to travel the world and do
it economically. On one of their many stumps, they met
up with their parents for a tour of Italy and
found their way to the spectacular city of Florence. Chiong
shared their experience and included many musings on travel itself,
revealing link between all personal histories and the ones we
explore on foot. Let's take a listen so I hear
you're an artist. What sort of artist are you?
I am a writer performer. I primarily work in the theater.
My work is all encopassing really, but primarily musical theater.
So I'm a composer. I write plays, I write screenplays.
I do that.
I wouldn't say for a living because what does that
mean anyway, because the arts don't really pay anymore and
we try to figure out our own way to navigate
the world. But that is my profession. I am a
writer and a theater performer.
Nice. So how did you first get into solo travel.
I was offered to do a show in London for
my friend in July of twenty twenty three, and I
was like, Oh, I'm already going to go over the
ocean the little pond. Why don't I tag on a
little trip. It's like one hundred dollars to fly to
somewhere in Europe. Why don't I just take the opportunity
to do that? And at the time, I didn't know
much about travel hacking. I didn't know much about travel
at all. With my family when I was growing up
in Singapore, we would just go to Australia, which is
close to Singapore, but it was always you would take tours,
you would take excursions, you would go with like plan
tour guides and all those things, right, so it's.
Like part of a package.
So exploring Europe has always been a big dream of
mine because Europe is so far away from Singapore and
less accessible and very expensive. So the opportunity arose and
so I booked a three day trip to Rome tagged
onto my work trip to London, and that completely shifted
the way that I traveled because I have never traveled
by myself, I mean vacation or any kind of like
traveling that's not for work. So that was my first time,
and it was my first time in a city that
I don't know, in a country that speaks the language
that I don't know how to speak. And I was
just so in awe of the history of Italy, the architecture,
the food, and how easy it was to do it.
For three days that I tagged on over a weekend
before I had to go to work, it didn't cost
me that much and I got to see so much
of a city, and so I made a goal to
do a lot more traveling. At the start of the year,
I was like I would like to be in a
different city every month, so twelve cities ideally. And it
is now December of twenty twenty five, and I have
taken a total number of sixty flights this year, and
it has completely changed the way I see the world,
has completely changed my philosophy on life. I hear a
lot of people when they're older saying that they wish
they traveled more when they were younger, and so given
my position in my work and being able to work
remotely and being able to have flexibility in traveling, that's
what I've been doing, taking advantage of that and seeing
the world because that's always been a dream of mine.
The more too young travels, the more they see themselves
in the context of a place's history, and what comes
forward is always eye opening.
Something that I learned a lot just by traveling so
much this year itself, is that there's so much that
happened in the past that we can learn from and
puts into context why things are the way they are today.
I do most of my traveling with a lot of intention.
I'm very interested in the history of where I'm going to,
and usually when I talk about history of a place,
it has to do with some kind of war, some
kind of colonization that happened. But I'm also like, did
you ever consider if the world was not colonized, what
the world could possibly look like. We can't imagine that world.
And just like, the more you travel and the more
you learn, the more you realize that the world is
so so small, and ultimately you can figure out where
you fit in the world and how you can contribute
to ideally changing it. I try to explore a lot
of those questions in my artistic work and by seeing
the world, hearing from historians, hearing from the tour guides,
going to the places where things happened, understanding why they
exist the way they do, really changes your perspective. The
world is going to keep going even after I'm gone.
How do you make it better for the people that
come after you so that they don't have to go
through the same struggles that you went through? And as
an Asian person, an Asian immigrant in America, as someone
who has traveled so much and living in so many
different places, how am I transformed by me being in
all these places? Like really trying to challenge myself both
professionally and personally in my view on the world.
But traveling this frequently takes some strategy, so Giong partakes
in what is known as travel hacking, using the point
rewards to its full advantage.
I don't pay for any of my travel. Really, I
would say like seventy five percent of my travel is free.
It's really making your dollar go further. Basically, it's not
that you're traveling for free. You're not traveling for free
because the points are cash related, Like you can redeem
the points for cash, but you could redeem them more
than what they are valued at.
Now. An expert travel hacker, Giung was able to plan
a very special trip back to the country that started
it all.
Like I said, the first trip that I went to
Italy was in Rome, and I fell in love with it.
I fell in love with the food. I mean, I
think I'm secretly Italian. Maybe I don't know. Italians are
like don't claim us, but like I love Italian food.
And after that, I said, I would love to bring
my parents to Italy. They have never really explored Europe,
like I said, because we're from Singapore and Europe it
is really far away and really expend and I was like,
I am going to plan the entire trip and give
you an experience that I would also enjoy, but you
would enjoy as well, and so I did. I planned
an entire ten day trip for the three of us.
I flew them both on business class using my points
from Singapore to Milan. And again, if I didn't have points,
I wouldn't have been able to do that, and so
I was very happy to be able to provide that
for my family. And that was their first time in Italy,
and I think that was I would say, the most
enjoyable family vacation I've ever had in my life. And
we've done plenty of family vacations, but again, we've always
gone on tours with like tour groups, where they set
the pace, they decide where we're going. You're kind of
following a fixed itinerary. And this, yes, we had an
itinerary because I planned it, but I still managed to
craft out an itinerary that felt both inspirational to them
and also inspirational to me. Because we're different generations, we
want different things in our travel, and at the same time,
there's enough built in flexibility that if they didn't want
to do something, I could just do it myself. And
they could roam about the streets of Florence. So we
were in Florence for four days, which was the longest
city that we stayed in out of the four cities
that we went to. The city feels like it has
a vibrant history. Like all the buildings there are castles.
It was vibrant all around, even at night. The stores
were all lit up, and I distinctly remember the smell
of leather. There was just so much leather everywhere. And
we stepped outside of our hotel and there was this
person just singing opera in the middle of the square,
like I've never experienced that. It's not like, oh, you
have to go into the segregated part of the city
to do something. It's all around you. The history is
all around you. The statues, the museums, every part of
the city's history is right there and it's integrated as
part of the city. It just feels like there was
an empire here and they left so many things for
you to uncover.
Was there anything that surprised you there that you didn't expect.
That climbed to the top of the domo of the church,
which was four hundred and something something steps that my
parents both could not do because it's so many steps
and looking out onto Florence, it's really brown, like the
architecture is really old, and I was kind of taken
aback by that. But at the same time, Florentine Hills
were just like right there, and so like you have
a sea of brown and then you have a sea
of like green and blue. It reminds me of New
York a little bit, but like Italian there is nature,
but nature is really far away, and then there's the
city that's right here. And I booked us the hotel
that's right in the middle of the fashion district. I
think it was called the Ill Torna Boni Hotel, which
is part of the Unbound Collection at Hyatt. I am
a Hyatt Loyalist. Shout out to Hyatt. They give the
best points redemption for all the loyalists and they also
have really good perks for people who are their top
tier members. The hotel was stunning. It was really spacious
for a luxury hotel, and it was very convenient to
go anywhere we needed to go to. We had Florentine's
Steak right around the corner, which was the first time
my parents have ever had rare steak, and we didn't
know how to eat rare steak like I eat steak,
and I didn't even know how to eat No rare
steak was just half impossible. It was so large and
I was not prepared for it. But I made sure
to experience what a Florentine's steak is.
And on the topic of Florentine cuisine, here are a
few more of Chijung's food recommendations.
In Florence, there is this little tiny coffee shop. It's
called ill Vivoli. I believe they do an affigato, so
it's coffee and ice cream. When we went and lined
up for it, we lined up for about an hour
because there were so many people. But I promise you
the afrogato is top notch. The other restaurant that I
would highly recommend is this Italian Chinese fusion restaurant. The
restaurant's called Il Gusto di Cinca Xi n Ge. They
got their first Missione recommendation this year, and it really
surprised me because first of all, like, how do you
do Italian and Chinese fusion? And I'm also like, artistically,
that's also what I do.
In my work.
I fuse the East and the West. So I was like,
really curious how a chef is going to do that.
Because the Florence trip was maybe six or seven days
into our time in Italy, and I was craving Chinese
food so badly. So we went to the restaurant, We
met the chef, and she's phenomenal, Like truly, the food
was next level and reminiscent of home, reminiscent of tastes
that I know and tastes that I love, which is
Italian cuisine. We had dumplings that were like in a ravioli,
but isn't ravioli also like dumpling basically, but they made
it Chinese flavored with Italian techniques. Again going back to
the whole point of like we're also connected. We're all
so much alike. I feel like because people are cross pollinating,
because people are experimenting and pushing boundaries of what tradition
is and also like expanding what tradition could be. I
just think there's this synergy that was really surprising, and
that was the most memorable meal that I had in Italy.
I think the most fascinating thing about traveling with my
parents is that I realized the older that I get,
the younger they become in the sense of like they're
regressing into being children, Like I have to now take
care of them. I have to figure out where we're
going to do the laundry, for example, plan out the
day for them where we're going. Because their first language
is not English, so even navigating the country was much
more difficult for them. And so I become now kind
of like the parent. I'm an only child, and so
this is the nuclear family, my dad, my mom, and
I And right before we went to Italy, a big
shift happened in my life. I basically came out as
trans and non binary publicly, and so that was really
difficult for my parents to digest, especially my father. But
I think going on this journey together, going on this
ten day trip together, at least I hope that they
realize that I'm the same person that they've been living
with this whole time. I'm not a different person. I'm
just standing in my truth. And I think that dynamic
was the most interesting. This is my first time traveling
with my parents in my thirties, and prior to this trip,
we haven't traveled together in many many years since I
moved to America, So this was kind of like a
big turning point where I became the caretaker a little bit.
That's lovely and it's wonderful that you felt like you
could have this time together. Always about time I had,
making time and having time.
I just think using travel as a means of connecting
with family is also a huge part of why I
am so obsessed with points, because I want to give
them the experience that they never had. Or for example,
my mom is really thrifty and she just doesn't want
to spend money, and so like, Okay, I'm telling you,
I'm not spending money. I'm just spending these points. No
one is going to regret an experience, you know what
I mean. So I definitely use travel as the opportunity
to spend more time with family.
And of all the moments in Florence with their parents,
one stood out not because it was grand, but because
it was human, the kind of memory our travels so
often inspire.
I booked a pasta making class, which was I think
also a really big highlight because my mom is usually
the person with cooks. My dad is also a very
good cook, but making pasta from scratch, making sauces from
scratch and we're just like in the middle of nowhere
in a house overlooking the hills of Tuscany, and I
was like, what is this life? You know, Like who
gets to do this? Each of these little experiences I
think added to us coming together, Like we were doing
homey things as a family in a country that we
didn't know, in a way that we didn't know. And
it was surprisingly also really easy to make pasta. Of course,
you need to get your proportions right in all of
those things, but the basis of it is really easy.
And I never got the opportunity to do that with
my grandma. I've never gotten the opportunity to learn tradition
from the people that came before me, because number one,
I'm really ambitious, and also I've not been at home
for a very very long time. So having the opportunity
to do that with family was really lovely.
Do you think it's something to do with doing something
that the three of you didn't know how to do
and then doing it by hand, right, It wasn't like
you were being entertained, Like it's not like you're going
to a movie. It's like you're being given entertainment you're
involved in the process. Do you feel like that change?
Did? I think, in this day and age of AI
taking over so many things, what we really crave? And
I don't know if this is true, but as an artist,
this is my prediction that the new frontier is human connection.
That's the luxury commodity here. And so when we're making
pasta together, that experience could not be replicated. We could
do it again, we could do the class again, but
like three of us sitting down together, putting away our phones,
not being tied into the world of the digital age
and obsessed with looking at what's happening next, just being
there with each other in that moment creating something, making something,
doing something really familial, was really lovely. Some of the
photos that I took of us were probably the photos
that they look the most happy. It's like, we're here
and we're doing this together, and you will remember that.
I will remember how my mom is a terrible, terrible
pasta making person.
She was so bad at it.
And I would remember how my mom didn't even know
how to push the rolling pin so that you can
make the pasta. It was very cute, and these memories
are tactile memories. They're not just gonna go away. They
are the things that we did together. You will remember that.
And on top of going to the pasta class. Here
are a few more of Chijung's tips and takeaways for
what to do in Florence.
I think you definitely want to climb the Dromo the
four hundred and however many steps. It's a must do
one hundred percent. And Florence is beautiful and there were
many things that we did in Florence that were really fun.
But also Florence is such a central hub to a
lot of places in the Tuscany area. Right for example, Chincaitari.
It's like right there, you can take a day trip there,
and I know that was my mom's favorite thing that
she did on our entire Italy trip, going to Chincutari
and jumping from one town to the other and having
street food. And because Florence is such a large city,
going out into these little cities that are just surrounding
Florence just felt like every city was so different and
had its own character and it was really eye opening.
So try to stay close to the train station if
you're in Florence, because again, Florence is a great hub
to do a lot of these day trips outside of
the city, and if you can walk to the train station,
that's usually the best bet.
On looking back on the trip with your parents, what
sticks with you now?
I think the most important thing was not the trip itself,
was not like the things that we did in the city,
or like you know, food, That was not the most important.
I think the the most important thing was that I
spent time with my family. We could have done it, honestly,
anywhere else, but because it was specific to that city,
we will remember every single place that we went to.
We will remember the stake that we could not to through.
We will remember the food that we got from this
little food stand right next to the train station. We
will remember how we had to pull our luggage from
the hotel to the train station because the taxi didn't arrive.
You know, these are the details of the trip that
you will remember that is tied to the city, but
it's tied to the people that went there with you.
That's lovely. How do you think this trip to Florence
influenced your aunt and you? As an oddist?
If at all, everything that I write, everything that I create,
revolves around big existential questions that I don't have answers to.
For example, can one person change the world?
World right?
Very similar to something that we were talking about to yet, like,
that's a question that I don't have an answer to,
and I try to explore that through the work. What
happens when the thing that defines you is taken away?
What if I can never sing ever again? Who do
I become? These are questions that don't come from you
sitting around. That come from you seeing the world and
experiencing yourself and asking yourself, what are the questions that
you have that you want to answer for yourself. The
intention of traveling is to challenge myself and reveal parts
of myself that I didn't even know were there.
Florence gave Chioung a reminder that human connection is the
rarest luxury of all and that exploration is the means
to stretch beyond the edges of our identity. Through travel,
they've seen firsthand that we are all part of a
largest story, and as we dig up the history of
what surrounds us, our perspective deep in in ways we
could never have anticipated. Sometimes that perspective arrives quietly through
Italian Chinese fusion, a pasta class, or the laughter of
people you love, proof that the story isn't waiting for
you somewhere else, it's unfolding right there in your very hands.
My message to future travelers to Florence is experience the city,
but also don't forget there. You're in Tuscany, and Tuscany
is very big, So experience Tuscany as a whole because
Florence is the city and there's so much outside of
the city that will speak to the experience of Florence itself.
And also, you only have this one life. You really
only have a finite amount of time on this earth.
So everything that you tell yourself that you cannot do,
you can figure it out based on your needs and
based on what you're able to do. There's no limit
to what traveling looks like.
Wherever you find yourself next, may you notice what story
you are already a part of Wayfinder. Life Changing Travel
is a production of Iheart's Ruby Studio. I'm Your Host
Daniel Scheffler. Our show's executive producer is Sierra Kaiser, with
supervising producer Meredith Barns. Our story producer is Ryan Amador
with post production by James Foster, and editing by Sierra Spreen.
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