Travel Intro

Hi Friends!

"Cariwch eich calon yn eich llaw." This is a Welsh quote literally translated to “Carry your heart in your hand” meaning travel free and embrace new experiences.

Over the last week and a half, July 4-12, 2026, I had the opportunity to travel with Seattle Children’s Chorus to the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Buckle up folks, it’s going to be an epic journey!

The journey began at Sea-Tac airport on July 4^th. Happy 250^th USA! After clearing security, our aut gang of Rachel, Thor, and I had a lovely Indian meal, knowing opportunities for Indian food might be limited. After a long redeye on Aer Lingus we landed in Dublin. The airport was a labyrinth but we were happy to clear customs and immigration and make our flight to Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh.

Edinburgh was lovely, rainy and cool just like home. We checked into our hotel and I met up with my roommate and buddy Ethan, who arrived from Barcelona. The next morning we went to Stirling Castle where I lived history through Thor and his grandma Connie, who are direct descendants of the Royal Stewart clan. I got a Stewart clan Tam cap! Here are Thor and I in the castle with an awesome unicorn painting.

Later in Edinburgh, we got to perform for a full house at Canongate Kirk, a beautiful baby blue church in the heart of the city. The show went well and many local seniors were moved to tears. It was so cool watching them sing along to songs they knew like “Loch Lomond”. It was very nice that my grandparents attended that show, enroute to more travels around the world. That evening, we got to experience Scottish music and dance. We learned how to dance the ceilidh, which was super fun, and tiring, as well as play the bagpipes!

We then traveled to Wrexham, in Wales. Our tour guide, Paul Daley, was hilarious, offering tons of history and funny stories on our long bus rides. Enroute, we took an Ullswater steamboat cruise and got to sing to everyone on the boat. We even sang happy birthday to a lady who said it was her best birthday ever because of us. Oh, before we get to Wrexham, we had a pitstop that had a claw machine. We know claw machines are usually a scam but our buddy Liam tried it and won something!

From our hotel in Wrexham, we went to Llangollen, the site of the Eisteddfod Music Festival, an epic event with tens of thousands of fans over several days and groups from 32 nations! There were tons of vendors and great restaurants. Huge shoutouts to The Mushroom Man who was carving hazelwood mushrooms all day every day, much to the delight of festival goers, and The Spice Hatch, which had the best vegan shawarma I’ve ever had.

This was really my first trip “solo”, let alone an international one, and though my Dad was a parallel traveler, I only really checked in with him once or twice a day, particularly when I needed to figure out that confounding garment bag! My chaperones, directors, and friends were amazing support throughout the trip and I feel way more confident now “adulting”.

I could write an entire blog about the Eisteddfod competition. I may have a prodigious memory that remembers most things, but this one will be firmly etched in my mind forever. It was particularly awesome to combine our choirs and sing “Sing Gently” and “Kanaval” together. You can see a photo of our combined group below.

Seattle Children's Chorus at Eisteddfod

It was our best performance yet of both songs and we earned an incredible 4^th place, just a point off the podium with an impressive adjudication of 87, knowing we not only belonged with the best in the world, but were right there.

We got to hear amazing choirs from around the world and it was particularly neat to hear some songs I’ve performed before but in other languages, like a lovely Welsh rendition of “You Will Be Found” from “Dear Evan Hansen”. A younger choir from Cardiff and a legendary choir from NYC were particularly inspiring for me. It was also wonderful to perform a gig together with a choir from CA at St. Collen’s Church near the Eisteddfod location.

The following morning we had a fantastic impromptu opportunity to surprise a local legend, author and hostage negotiator Sir Terry Waite at Maes Gwyn Hall. We were served complimentary blackberry juice, which was wonderful to beat the heat, and realized we didn’t have a piano! We adapted amazingly well and gave a beautiful a capella performance that received a standing ovation and many tears from the crowd. “Crowded Table” was particularly poignant Sir Terry’s history.

We took a train ride from Corwen Station and had performances on either end, which were also a capella and very well received. We then attended an amazing show at Eisteddfod called Orchestral Qawwali Project, beautifully blending both Eastern and Western musical traditions, both of which I’ve had the privilege of experiencing in my life. It was particularly cool to kind of be an ambassador for Eastern music and share stories with the group.

The next day we boarded the bus to go from Wrexham to Liverpool, one up and coming soccer juggernaut to the 2025 Premier League champs! Enroute we stopped at one of the most intimidating and spectacular sites I’ve ever seen in my life, Conwy Castle. If you look at the picture below, I’m sure you can see how this place and other castles in the UK inspired the design of the Rook chess piece, as we know it today, especially in the classic Staunton set.

I had a giant vegan burger with fries and onion rings and focaccia post castle that really replenished my energy after fun but tiring walks with friends in the sweltering heat. One challenge for me on this trip was extended periods of sitting and extended periods of standing, with not too many opportunities to switch between. I think it got better as the trip continued.

In Liverpool, we went to the Liverpool ONE shopping mall. Of course I had to stop at the Liverpool FC shop and got a nice tee. We went around in groups of three and it was especially fun when two of our groups converged on a Miniso that had Japanese Pokémon cards and some epic pack battles ensued! I pulled a special art rare Dedenne, which Rachel was super excited about, so I traded it to her. She was a great help to me on this trip given her vast experience and amazing pep talks. While on the subject of Pokémon, Thor and I also played some Pokémon GO, a game I’d yet to try, but seemed especially fitting since it’s also all about travel.

Of course, in Liverpool, we had to experience Beatlemania! I particularly loved these sculptures by the waterfront. We also went to the Beatles Story museum, highlighting Beatles history and many of their travel experiences.

It was also cool being in Liverpool the day of the England v Norway World Cup quarter-final match. The whole city was abuzz with excitement and I’m not going to lie, I definitely stayed up a bit late watching most of the match. Whenever I saw an England fan, since I’ve been rooting for England this whole World Cup, it was fun chatting and talking football (I can call it that there).

We went to a lovely little town called Chester. There was a giant horse race there and like a scene out of “My Fair Lady” we saw tons of people in amazing outfits, including some hats that seemed to defy the laws of physics! We ate an amazing award winning restaurant called Stile Napoletana then proceeded to our final performance of the tour, at Chester Cathedral, a palatial venue with spectacular stained glass windows and super high ceilings that created an acoustic resonance I’d never experienced before.

It was extra special that conductor emeritus took us out with “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” a song I’ve been singing for years with SCC. It felt so good after the concert to know that I had shared this wonderful tour experience with so many friends, old and new, and we went out with a bang! The seniors, Rachel and Emily, did a beautiful awards event for all of us, and I got the title Pokémon Master!

Finally, on the way back home, we narrowly escaped an extended stay in Dublin thanks to Aer Lingus holding the flight home after our flight from Manchester was delayed over an hour. A treat on the final plane ride was teaching the President of the SCC Board, and Tour Manager Lisa, how to play chess! Overall, this trip was life changing. If you’ve never had the opportunity to travel, I encourage you to take the leap and give it a go. As for this blog, you may notice I called it “Travel Intro” but really notice how it features Music, Games, Sports, Food, and Chess, all the things I’m passionate about.

Before I let you go, I want to sincerely thank every single person who made this trip special: friends, family, chaperones, parallel travelers, shadow travelers, tour guides, choir friends who couldn’t make the trip but were with us in spirit, and everyone who made the trip happen behind the scenes. You’re all amazing and it’s an honor to sing with you and call you my friends.

That’s all for today! See y’all next time, Sarang out.