Ally Kim started her blog From the Right Bank in 2009 as an online inspiration journal for her new home after having moved from the right bank of Paris to Seattle. She came up with the clever name of From the Right Bank to the Left Coast, but an unexpected move to Atlanta meant she stuck with From the Right Bank. Ally describes her style as global modern, and is drawn to French and Scandinavian styles, so I was curious to see how her international travels have influenced her style in today’s edition of Boarding Pass. Thanks, Ally!

{Okavango Delta}

last trip taken: Paris

{Paris}

next trip on deck: Burma & Laos

one place you would go back to again and again: France

place you’d most likely recommend a friend go visit: Mali

preferred method of transportation: tuk tuk

{tuk tuk, Bangkok}

place you’ve never been but dying to go: Zanzibar

place you’d never go back: Monaco
most memorable trip in 2 sentences or less:
Two weeks traveling across Mali was phenomenal: cruising down the Niger in a pirogue, traveling by camel into the Sahara, shopping in the most colorful markets, unbelievable mud mosques and to top it off, Timbuktu!

{Mali}

how do you prepare for a trip?
A lot of research on websites, guidebooks and travel forums. I also watch a lot of films and read books set in the country I’ll be visiting.

{Rio}

how do you record your travels when you’re traveling?
I used to photograph everything but these days I sketch more and shoot short videos with the iphone.

what is your favorite thing to photograph in a new place? Details, food and cityscapes.

{St. Sebastian}

on an average, how many pictures to you take on a trip? It used to be 1,000’s but nowadays it’s less than 100, depending on the location.

{Copenhagen}

what’s in your “designer travel kit” ?
Journals for sketching and notes, colored pens and pencils, Holga or Lomo and iphone. I rarely take my SLR on trips anymore.

what do you do after a trip? how long after a trip does this happen?
I try to post at least a few photos to my blog and Flickr account within the first couple of weeks but sometimes it takes longer. Eventually, I’ll paste any ephemera I’ve collected into my journals but that takes me forever. I’m at least a year behind right now!

{Bali}

favorite souvenir/thing to bring back?
Antique art or art by local artists
where would you like to live next? London

links:

• blog: FROM THE RIGHT BANK
• on flickr
• twitter: @AllyFTRB
• on facebook

Boarding Pass is a weekly column exploring the creative ways people travel. For a full list of participants, visit the column on the right.