by JAE-HA KIM and Tribune Content Agency, Celebrity Travel, October 12, 2016
When Randall Park was a student at UCLA, he thought about pursuing a career in academia. Thanks partially to some creative writing classes -- in which he wrote a part for himself in a student production -- he decided to try acting instead. After playing a governor on "Veep" and North Korean dictator Kim Jung-Un in the controversial film, "The Interview," Park landed the role of family patriarch Louis Huang on the ABC sitcom, "Fresh Off the Boat." The third season premiere will air on Oct. 11. Fans may follow him on Twitter (https://twitter.com/parkrandall).
Q. I understand you recently went to Taipei to shoot scenes for your show. What were some of the highlights from that trip?
A. My top three highlights from the trip were: The people, the food and the places we got to shoot. One of those places was the Grand Hotel, which was so beautiful and full of history. I didn't have enough free time to catch their famous night markets, so I'll have to go next time.
Q. What is your favorite vacation destination?
A. My favorite place in the world is the island of Kauai. My wife and I spent our honeymoon there and we had an amazing time. We did a lot of hiking. We spent a lot of time traversing the trails on the North Shore, which had some of the most breathtaking views. We also hiked deep into these huge, cavernous caves that were so surreal and kind of scary. I highly recommend the hiking.
Q. How adventurous are you when it comes to eating foreign food?
A. I'm always open to trying something different. I'd say the most different thing I've ever tried is a Filipino dish called Balut, which is basically the embryo of a bird that you eat right out of the egg shell. It was OK. I'd say I prefer my eggs scrambled or in an omelet, before the embryonic stage.
Q. What was the first trip you took as a child?
A. One of my earliest travel memories was taking a trip to Korea when I was around 8 or 9 years old. This was in the early '80s and Korea was a very different place back then. I remember a lot of dirt roads and open fields. Having been born and raised in the United States, I remember feeling a bit of a culture shock. I couldn't speak the language very well and, at the time, I was such a picky eater. I remember not liking the food much. But now, Korean food is my absolute favorite and I hear Seoul is amazing and one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world. I actually haven't been back since, so I'm hoping to make a trip to the motherland soon.
Q. Where are your favorite weekend getaways?
A. Since we live in Los Angeles, we like to head off to nearby places like the Monterey Bay or Santa Barbara or down south to San Diego. My daughter just turned four, so she loves visiting aquariums and going to the beach -- anything related to water. I'll sometimes try to get her to wash my car, but she's not into that kind of water activity. Again, she's four.
Q. If you've ever gone away for the holidays, which was the best trip?
A. Last Christmas, my family and I went to Hawaii. We'd been meaning to go on a family trip, but we didn't want to take our baby on a long plane ride if we didn't have to. But when she turned three, we felt like she could handle it and it turned out to be a great holiday trip. She loved Hawaii just as much as her Mom and Dad.
Q. What are your five favorite cities?
A. Los Angeles, where I was born and raised. New York, because it's New York. San Francisco, because that's where I left my heart. Also, where my Dad first settled when he lived in America. Atlanta, because I recently worked there and fell in love with everything about it. And Paris, for the baguettes.
Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?
A. I must have my phone, because I can't live without it. And with the right apps, it can be such a useful travel tool. Also, my phone charger, for obvious reasons. Also, I must have this awesome neck pillow that Ian Chen -- who plays Evan on our show -- got for me.
Q. What would be your fantasy trip?
A. To go to a tropical island somewhere, where I'd just lay out all day and eat ice cream and all kinds of carbs and whiskey-based drinks, but then I somehow come back tanned and chiseled and physically stronger and also somehow taller. That would be a fantasy trip for me.
Q. What is your guilty pleasure when you're on the road?
A. I go to a chain diner like a Denny's or an IHOP only when I'm on a road trip and I'll order pancakes. I never order pancakes otherwise. But, I feel like it's okay if I'm driving to a faraway place at a fairly high speed for some reason.
(Jae-Ha Kim is a New York Times bestselling author and travel writer. You can respond to this column by visiting her website at www.jaehakim.com. You may also follow "Go Away With..." on Twitter at @GoAwayWithJae where Jae-Ha Kim welcomes your questions and comments.)
This article was written by JAE-HA KIM and Tribune Content Agency from Celebrity Travel and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
