Michael Nguyen is an avid traveler, photographer, and UX designer based in Los Angeles. His travels have taken him to the alluring mountains of Bhutan, the magical deserts of Morocco, and the majestic peaks of our own national parks here in the United States.
Through all these adventures, Michael has developed his own unique way of looking at our world and the fascinating people that inhabit it.
Read our conversation with Michael below.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Growing Up
Tell us about your upbringing.
I was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs. I grew up on a cul-de-sac and pretty much stayed there until college. It was fun, and I feel like it was a typical middle-class suburbia American experience.
What about your parents? Can you share their journey to America?
Both of my parents were born in South Vietnam, when it was known as such. My grandfather on my dad’s side was a government clerk while my grandma on the same side was a food vendor. Both were humble jobs.
My mom’s dad was a cram school owner so I’m sure he was loved by everyone. Her mom was a property manager so definitely a little more of a privileged background on my mom’s side. But both of my parents ended up as refugees in America and had to start over in a classic refugee story.
My mom came over on a boat. My dad was lucky enough to arrive on a plane. Afterwards, they both made their way somehow to Chicago, where they met in a math or computer science class. My dad was the course assistant while my mom was a student.
Do your parents ever talk about their experiences more in depth?
Not in depth but more through stories here and there. When I was learning about the Vietnam War in history class, my parents would share little tidbits with me. My mom doesn’t talk about her journey as much; maybe there’s still some trauma there. My dad, though, is very open and willing to share about it.
Their stories are reminders of how lucky I am. They made a lot of sacrifices; I’m really grateful for my upbringing.
Cultural Identity
Speaking of your upbringing: did you grow up with other Vietnamese or Vietnamese-American kids?
I’m pretty sure I was the only Vietnamese person in school until my cousin attended briefly. It wasn’t until high school where I started having more Asian American friends. The area I grew up in had a pretty decent Jewish population and a good chunk of East Asians, but I don’t think there were too many Southeast Asians. Still, I was privileged to get to know other Asians, and it was fun.
And then when I got to UIUC (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), I met even more Asian American kids. And there was a VSA (Vietnamese Students Association) that I would sometimes go hang out at.
How aware were you that you were Vietnamese American?
I knew I was Vietnamese American when I was very young. I knew that the food we ate was Vietnamese. My grandma on my dad’s side, whom I lived with until I went to college at 18, cooked delicious fried rice. She put Chinese sausage, eggs, scallions, and a little bit of fish sauce with a dash of white pepper in the rice. She also made amazing braised pork belly called Thịt Kho. So I knew that the food we ate was Vietnamese and different from what my friends were having at home.
My grandma spoke Vietnamese, which I used to communicate with her although I wasn’t fluent by any means. We also had extended family nearby, and they would speak Vietnamese with my parents when they came over.
Do you feel like there was any sort of evolution or transition in the way you relate to your cultural identity as a Vietnamese American?
These days, I’m focusing more on the similarities among all the different cultures rather than looking for our differences. I recently saw an exhibit at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco where each room is curated with art from a particular region or country of Asia.
What I started to notice was that there were a lot of similarities in history, art, and linguistics among these regions in Asia. For example, looking at Chinese versus Vietnamese porcelain, one can see that they are quite similar despite slight differences — I think that’s a microcosm of a larger history.
Travel and Photography
We know you’re really big on traveling. Where did this love for travel come from?
I’m lucky in that my family and I would go on vacation to a new place at least once a year. And growing up in an immigrant household, I was exposed to at least two cultures so it was natural for me to want to go out and see this world.
At this point, I’ve traveled to around 60 countries, and I’m so fascinated by how differently people live. Maybe deep down, it’s an attempt to understand my own life.
Is that why you also took up photography? Because it’s an additional way to capture the world that you see?
I took a summer course on darkroom photography in high school and was blown away by the things you could do with the medium.
Of course, I could walk down the street and people-watch, but taking a photo of someone really forces you to slow down and think about the details. From there, you need to decide how you want to capture somebody at their most natural in their daily life. It makes you wonder what it is that they do in their day-to-day and how they feel when they do these activities.
Photography adds another layer to my travels.
Is there a photo or series of photos that you’re really happy with from one of your trips?
I came across a couple of blog posts (on Lost With Purpose & Diary of a Traveler) about a town in Bhutan called Laya. It’s one of the highest permanent settlements in the country, and you have to hike for two days to get there. I was captivated by the images I saw and, three months later, I was there with a couple of friends.
One of my favorite photos was taken at a school in Laya. The principal was very welcoming and gave his okay for visiting one of the classrooms. We walked in, and before I even had a chance to ask our tour guide to translate, the teacher asked if we wanted to take photos.
After we said yes, she told the class it was photo time and all the kids sprung up from their seats at the same time. They jumped to grab their belo hats that were hanging from the ceiling. These are very interesting woven hats with an antenna-like structure that shoots up at the very top. All the kids put on their hats and went outside for the photo shoot.
It’s these kinds of moments and places that I am drawn to for traveling and photography.
What’s another place that stands out for you?
Definitely Mexico, and by Mexico, I mean, small towns in Mexico.
During one trip, my friend and I began in Mexico City and did a road trip through central Mexico, visiting what the Mexican government calls “Pueblos Mágicos” (Magical Towns). These are charming little towns that are like the Mexican version of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.
We went to San Miguel de Allende, which is a small artsy community. Then we went onto Guanajuato, a town with silver mining origins where you can go up to the hill to take in views of the church and town from above.
Driving there was fun because there are a lot of tunnels and no GPS so you have to figure things out for yourself. And I took a lot of great photos from this trip.
How did you manage to satisfy your travel bug during the pandemic?
Well, since I couldn’t go overseas, I’ve been doing more outdoor domestic travel. I’ve been getting into hiking and trying to do all the national parks. I’m actually on my second annual pass, and I think I’ve done half of all the parks so far.
Last year I went to Glacier National Park up in Montana with a buddy of mine. It was out of this world. We spent a few days there and really pushed ourselves on the hikes. It was such a fulfilling experience.
Food
Another big passion of yours is food. I’m sure you’ve had some pretty sumptuous meals on your travels?
Yes, for sure. In Morocco, for example, I was walking around the town square and saw this place that had no customers. Usually that’s a red flag, but I saw that they had couscous cooked inside the tagine and just decided to try it. And, wow, it was so good.
The meats and roasted vegetables were laid up around the side of the tagine in a conical shape, and the colors were just so gorgeous. It was an explosion of flavors but also very healthy at the same time.
So many different cultures have been through there and have left their marks on their history and culture. And they’ve also influenced Moroccan cuisine as well.
I think Vietnam is the same way, actually. In my mind, I always make a parallel between Morocco and Vietnam because both places are hot, people are always trying to hustle you, there’s some French influence, and the food is amazing.
That’s an interesting comparison. What other memorable dishes have you had on the road?
Let’s see. You can never go wrong with a good cendol. Hot date, hot day. I love the versatility of the dish–you can just put whatever you want on top of the shaved ice. I think every country in Southeast Asia has their version of the dish.
I also had really great food in Turkey. Again, so many different people and cultures have passed through over the years. That mixture of influences has really inspired just so many different spices and formats of dishes.
I prefer street food if I feel like my stomach can handle it but once in a while I’ll also mix in a fine dining experience. I was in San Sebastian, Spain, one time and got myself a table at a Michelin star restaurant and took some photos while I ate. It was quite a day.
If you could offer one tip for our readers about how to get the most out of traveling to a new place, what would it be?
Every destination has a pace and rhythm to it, so don’t rush it. It’s better to maximize your time in just one or two areas of a destination — immerse yourself at an intimate level. And if for some reason you’re still not sold on that place, visit it a second time.
