Asian Girls Are Going Places

by Michelle Law

A specially curated travel guide for Asian women, by Asian women.

Asian Girl's Guide to the World is a guide with a difference: it features practical advice (and more) from author Michelle Law, and her interviewees that specifically targets the joys, fears, and obligations unique to Asian women traveling the world. Separated into chapters that deal with solo travel, family travel, the best places to celebrate Lunar New Year, where to find good Asian food around the globe, romance or relationships, safety, and privilege, the sage, and entertaining advice is all told through Law's signature offbeat, comedic style, and accompanied by eye-popping illustrations. Each chapter includes anecdotes from Law, interviews with other experienced Asian, female travelers, handy lists, designer postcards, and stickers, and more, making it either an impressive gift or a luxurious 'treat yourself' item. Asian Girl's Guide to the World is a handy, laugh-out-loud, and deeply relatable travel companion for Asian women that will be at the top of your packing list.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 6, 2022

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is (mostly) a travel guide, but more broadly covers a range of topics (self-care, culture and food, work and privilege) that are tailored towards Asian women in today’s western-centric world. It is partly a memoir and partly a self-help guide; there are funny anecdotes about travelling to foreign places, frank interviews with successful Asian women and inspirational advice that would be useful in any modern day situation.

I especially loved the excerpts where Law captures her feelings and experiences of being a female Asian in Australia. That feeling of not quite belonging in the country you’ve been born and raised in, yet also not quite belonging in your ancestral homeland; that constant state of displacement as she calls it. That balancing act between the principles of your culture — like filial piety and how wearing shoes indoors is a crime — and the more liberal, more progressive ways of westernised living. The Chinese diaspora is real and this is respectfully reflected in her musings. Also, can’t get past how accurate her 11-Step Buffet Battle Plan is (IYKYK 😅)

This guide is funny, while also being honest and reflective at the same time. It is also beautifully illustrated and even comes with a page of stickers. A lovely little gift for any Asian woman with a keen interest in travel.

Thank you to Hardie Grant Books for the review copy.

Find more of my reviews on Instagram: @tackling.my.tbr

[Kelly Zhou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious yet practical travel guide curated especially for Asian women, opposed to the traditional Anglo-centric travel canon that leaves women like me more lost than found. I found this book to be accessible, real and relatable. I highly recommend!

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thing about being an Asian woman who likes to travel solo is that our experiences are unique and significantly different when compared to our white counterparts. And while I have found the usual generic travel guides to be helpful in recommending places to stay and visit, they are often lacking as the main target audience isn’t Asian girls and women…

Read the rest of my review here.

[charlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

an entertaining, insightful read from the amazing michelle law! the interviews, anecdotes, stunning graphics and colourful pages made for a quick and fun read. super relatable and my new travel companion!

[Elisah · Rating 3 out of 5]

quite fun and an easy read, but too filled with anecdotes from the writer’s family. it’s a cute touch, but I personally don’t really care for those.

[Patricia]

This is mostly a travel book based by experience so it contains a lot of topics, started from companies we might want to travel with, the preparations and activities to do when we're bored.
Chapter two is about self-care, how to always keep our head clear and our body in health. There's interviews from people with different backgrounds and allowing them to tell their own story on what it's like to live abroad, travel away from their beloved country, not to mention, great tips on travelling too.
Chapter three, cultures and food, Culture is a beautiful thing really, God knows how many cultures in every place but it sure never failed to make our jaws dropped. There's some tips on how to not be a jerk to other cultures and it helps actually, it might be something we're accustomed to do such as saying thank you after catching a bus in New Zealand or think twice before giving the thumbs up in the middle east, so doing culture research on a place we plan on visiting is very essential. Food, Asians for example use spices mixed in every food and hell, it's even family recipe passed down from generation to generation, so i get why sometimes when visiting countries can get us homesick because the foods can lack spices and aren't the ones we used to taste, but hey, it's not wrong to try new things that are fresh on our tongue, right? They're unique in their own way. People even say, different hands, different taste.

There's more about work and privilege and tips, just every guide you need before travelling. Also, i find myself relating to some of the experience, i don't know it that's because i'm Asian or those are just the activities we do on our daily lives, but overall this book is helpful and humorous, it might cheer you up a little bit when you're on a plane, or maybe you can just sit and admire the cute, shining, colorful cover, whoever design this book deserves a medal really.

Plus, it comes with stickers!

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up on a whim at my local library and had a flip through. It looked cute enough, with some beautiful illustrations here and there. Hence, I took it home.

I know this is a controversial take, and I'm so sorry to the author but unfortunately, it was a bit of a waste of time. I swear this book could have been a reddit post, and I felt vaguely bored the entire time. As an Asian woman, I was dying at how many times the author said "As an Asian woman". Like, I get it, you're an Asian. And a woman. She said this phrase so many times I was wondering if she was ACTUALLY an Asian woman. I think this is the biggest problem I have with this book. I understand that the premise is dedicated to Asian girls like me, and it's to make us feel seen and heard. But the fact is reiterated so many times it begins to feel off, like it's not NORMAL to be an Asian woman anymore. Thus while I related to many stories, all the tips felt really cheesy and pretentious, as they were all beat into my head using this strange language.

I think recently, I've been looking within myself to try and grapple with my connection to my Chinese culture and how that will translate to when I have kids. And I think the subtitle of this book "How to navigate the world as an Asian woman today" really spoke to me. However, I found the advice here is only superficial, and that was very disappointing. Perhaps there is a little projection going on XD.

Additionally, found that while Law's interviews with other people were quite wholesome, I just could not connect with the interview format. In short: beautiful layout of book (with cute stickers!) but definitely not for me.

Rating Breakdown
Well Researched- 1
Clarity and Structure- 2
Style - 2
Usefulness/Impact - 2
Originality - 3

[Claire Binkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I finished what Michelle Law had to say about navigating the world as an Asian woman today. Whether it applies to me or not is beyond the point. Probably. I have had several friends who are more clearly this way. I remember them as admirable chess opponents. Sometimes I win, but more often I remember losing. Though I think there were draws.

What struck me as odd was that the author did not suggest having pepper spray on hand, which I have read before from other guides. I think having a strong social network is protective, as well.

This author names how she practised tae kwon do briefly and how that is protective. My sister did that briefly, too. I visited her Dragon Gym and had tea with them a few years ago. I think it is overall a peaceful martial art. I am trying to identify how Korean green tea differs from Japanese green tea from Chinese green tea. There is a ceremony involved.

I haven't read the rest of the Girls Going Places series yet. Maybe it'd be worth a look.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being of Chinese descent, this book was very relatable in that I draw similar characteristics, behaviours and thoughts to the stories of other Asian females. While the key focus of the book is on how to travel as an Asian women, some of the stories definitely reflect everyday life and would have loved to see these themes explored more.

[chominx · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the entire book while on a flight from Melbourne to Sydney! Some great travel tips and heartfelt stories in here.

Michelle seems like the kind of person who'd be a real hoot to hang out with - please feel free to recommend other authors with the same vibe (especially if they're Asian or Asian-Australian!)

[Asiya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and light, some good stories and an easy read.

[BingeReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully designed. Easily skimmable. It’s a compilation of interviews, travel tips and snippets about places to travel. A light read to inspire you to travel.

[Joann · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's literally a book about Asian girls/women traveling. Light reading with colorful pages.

[Ange Tran · Rating 3 out of 5]

wise words from Mumma Michelle 🫶

[Lehan]

Bought it when it first came out (i <3 Michelle law art) and finally opened it to realise it was a travel guide??

[Shikha C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny anecdotes and was nice to read a travel book from asian women’s perspectives but wasn’t groundbreaking info for anyone who’s ever solo traveled before

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like this was a random lockdown purchase for me I just found and absolutely loved.
I am a big fan of Michelle’s writing but will add the illustrations in this book are gorgeous.

[winnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like how vibrant and illustrative this book is!

A good coffee table book to have. It offers plenty of practical tips on traveling as a young Asian female, and includes interviews from fellow female Asians on their travel experiences.

[Laurie-Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
a funny travel guide I found myself relating to