I honestly don’t know where my year went. One day I was
cramming my 2013 year-end post at home in Manila, and the next thing I know, I’m
sitting in a café in one of my favorite areas in Seoul writing my 2014 year-end
post, which is exactly what I’m doing right now. It’s the last day of the year
and I’m spending it in Hongdae, at least until we head out for a big New Year’s
Eve party somewhere else in Seoul later. I’ve never been away from home during
the holidays, so this New Year’s trip is a milestone, and it’s been a great one
so far!
More on this trip in another post, though. For now, I’d like
to look back on the year that was, because I don’t think I’ve really had any
time to reflect on how I spent it. Between so many changes at work, finally
turning my tiny matchbox of a house into a home, getting into a new hobby /
business venture, and taking so many random trips, it’s been a whirlwind of a
year! It’s been pretty exhausting too, and I got sick for nearly a week this
month (right when all the holiday get-togethers, parties and dinners happened!
Friends, please don’t forget me! Let’s catch up in January) as a testament to
the toll the year has taken. So this trip away from everything as the year ends
is much needed, and I’d like to think, well-deserved.
I kind of feel the same way for all my trips this year,
actually. Six holidays and two business trips and I didn’t plan a single
itinerary for any of them. My trips this year were all pretty relaxed, fairly
spontaneous, and all of them were repeat visits. And what I loved most about them
was how unhurried all these trips were – there was no urgent need to get to
anywhere quickly, and to pack a day with so many things to see and do, because technically,
I had already been to these places. It was just about revisiting old favorites,
without the pressure of getting nice pictures taken or finding anything “blog-worthy”.
It was all about soaking up a place and living in that travel moment. I wonder
if this is what it means to mature as a traveler?
I look forward to discovering new places in 2015, though. We
have a big trip planned, an epic one I’ve been waiting to do for years, but it
would be nice to do a short backpacking trip to an exotic place some time in the
year too. Nepal or Sri Lanka, maybe? This year’s trips were all in cities and
fancy hotels and resorts, so I would really love to be climbing temples and
walking through dirt roads with my huge backpack again in 2015.
And as far as the big elephant I’ve been ignoring in this
post goes, yes, I do hope to blog a whole lot more in 2015. Too many things
happened this year and I honestly just wasn’t able to find the time and I guess
the drive to do it. And I have so much to write about! I’ll work on it. Next
year will be a better blogging year, I promise!
Closing this out with a few pictures from my trips this
year. We’re gonna head back to our hostel in a bit to take a disco nap before
we head out for tonight’s festivities. Hopefully it’ll be an epic night! Have a
happy new year everyone! Friends, let’s run into each other next year, in a
tiny airport in the middle of nowhere, on a dreary red eye flight home, in an
untouched, pristine beach, or at sunset in an ancient ruin. Dinner in BGC is
fine too. Haha.
