Another year of travels is coming to an end. Those of you following me since 2016 know that I always post a year-end blog detailing what happened to me & where I went in that specific year. 2016 was all about travelling solo, exploring places by myself; 2017 was exploring relatively known & unknown places & 2018 was all about reuniting & travelling with friends. 2019 is a mix of all 3 years of recaps. I went & explored places by myself, I flew & took trains to both & unknown places & I had a few trips with my friends. I can say 2019 is my best year yet for travelling – I’ve crossed many borders & made my long-time dreams come true.
Allow me to share with you details of my 2019 in terms of trips taken. I will also give insights of the interesting content developments here in my website.
trips recap ✈️
SORSOGON 🇵🇭
I started off the year with a day trip to the beaches of Matnog, Sorsogon. I didn’t post about this day trip in this website but I believe it’s worth sharing here. My cousins from Australia welcomed the new year in our hometown. Days after the new year, we took them to the islands of Subic, Matnog in Sorsogon. We first went fish feeding in a sanctuary then continued to Subic Beach. It was a fun day spent with cousins in the beach.
JAPAN 🇯🇵
Back in February, I flew to my favorite Japan for 9 days. My supposed-to-be trip to Nagano, Kanazawa & Toyama turned into a family trip around Tokyo & Kansai Region (Osaka, Nara & Kyoto). I flew with them to Tokyo then took a side trip to Nagano then met my sisters in Osaka afterwards. It was a delight seeing the snow monkeys in Nagano & spending some alone time in a very cold & snowy place in Japan. I then flew to Fukuoka to spend a day around the city before catching my flight back to Manila. I may not have been to Kanazawa & Toyama in this trip but I’ll make sure to go next time.
I didn’t post much about this but I went to Japan again a few months ago. My friend & I decided to surprise another friend in her flight to Fukuoka & to ruin her first ever solo trip. We spent 48 hours around Fukuoka, Japan, went to pretty interesting places, savored every Japanese meal & drowned ourselves with the Lipton milk tea drink.
Blog List:
Japan Highlights 2019: TOKYO – 36 Hours In The Land Of The Rising Sun’s Most Famous Metropolis
Japan Highlights 2019: NAGANO – 48 Hours In The Inland Prefecture Of The Snow Monkeys
Japan Highlights 2019: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN – A Theme Park That Brings You Back To Being A ‘Kid’ Just For A Day
Japan Highlights 2019: KYOTO – Japan’s Ancient Capital In One Day
Japan Highlights 2019: NARA – A Morning Visit To The Deer Park
Japan Highlights 2019: MATSUMOTO & FUKUOKA Stopovers
BACOLOD 🇵🇭
Office friends & I went on a spontaneous Bacolod weekend trip last February. We flew to the city & went to the famous Ruins then had chicken inasal for dinner in Manukan Country. We then went to the town of Don Salvador Benedicto to check out Negros’ Little Baguio. After a few hours around the mountains, we went back to the city & decided to just eat out until we flew back to Manila.
Blog: Spontaneous BACOLOD Weekend: 48 Hours In The City of Smiles
MELBOURNE 🇦🇺
I flew to Melbourne, Australia with Leng & Shane (from Sydney 2018 trip) during the Holy Week break last April. I spent 8 days around the city & the nearby suburbs. We also went to the Brighton Bathing Boxes, Great Ocean Road, Phillip Island & Yarra Valley Wine Country. My friend Lord, who I was with on It’s The Ship 2018, joined us on our first few days in Melbourne.
We didn’t make out Melbourne itinerary that busy compared to our Sydney one. We just enjoyed our time there, strolling around the beautiful city, trying out different cuisines & hoarding every single interesting item in the supermarkets.
Blog List:
N9 In Straya Series: Walking Around MELBOURNE Part 1 – Parks, Gardens & Heritage Sites
N9 In Straya Series: Walking Around MELBOURNE Part 2 – Hipster Laneways, Communal Spaces & Modern Areas
N9 In Straya Series: BRIGHTON BATHING BOXES – Iconic & Photogenic Bathing Boxes Found In A Coastal Melbourne Suburb
N9 in Straya Series: GREAT OCEAN ROAD – A Day Trip To The World’s Largest War Memorial
N9 In Straya Series: PHILLIP ISLAND – A Perfect Day Out With Nature & Australian Wildlife
N9 In Straya Series: PUFFING BILLY RAILWAY & YARRA VALLEY WINE TOUR – Victoria’s Heritage Steam Railway & Wine Region In A Day
TAIWAN 🇹🇼
It’s been years since our last family trip to Singapore. My parents decided to bring the family to Taiwan for the Fathers’ Day weekend. We went to the city of Taichung on our first day as per my sister’s request. She wanted to see the flower farms in Taichung plus take nice photos with the family. We then went around the city on Fathers’ Day – went to church, strolled around Daan Park, ate at Din Tai Fung, hiked the Elephant Hill & walked around Raohe Night Market.
On our third day, we took the Klook guided tour to Yehliu Geopark, Jiufen Old Street & Shifen then finished the day around Ximending. We spent our fourth day in Chiang Kai Shek Memorial, Liberty Square & in the airport for our flight back to Manila. I met with my good friend Richard, whom I knew in Komodo, Indonesia in 2018, for a few nights in Taipei. He was also in the city waiting for his flight back to Europe. It was fun catching up with this man over food & drinks!
Blog List:
TAIWAN All Over Again – Family Long Weekend In Taipei
TAICHUNG Photo Blog: Picturesque Places Outside Taipei
YEHLIU-JIUFEN-SHIFEN Klook Tour – Perfect & Hassle-Free Taiwan Northeast Coast Day Tour
YOGYAKARTA 🇮🇩
One spontaneous trip I took this year was that to Yogyakarta. I saw a piso-fare ticket to Jakarta last June for an August trip & decided to buy that ticket. I contacted Yudi, a friend I met on Its the Ship 2018 who is now based somewhere in Indonesia. We then agreed to meet in Yogyakarta & volunteered to take me around.
Lord of LordAroundTheWorld, who joined me in Melbourne last April, decided to join me a week before the trip. We then met with Yudi & his friend Dallin in Yogyakarta & we went around the city. We went to different temples (Borobudur, Prambanan, Taman Sari) & also took the lava trail tour in Mount Merapi. We ate in different local restaurants & tried several local dishes. We spent most of our time in Yogyakarta in the road, in restaurants & in our hotel. It was a relaxing trip; not the usual busy one. It’s nice to step back for a while & just enjoy chilling.
BORACAY 🇵🇭
My buddy Rick & I flew to Boracay last September to surprise our high school friends having their holiday in the island. They didn’t know that we were coming so we decided to show up on the afternoon of their 2nd day, right after arriving in the island. We ate in nice restaurants, walked along the shore, swam on the beach & spent some quality time with the group.
Rick & I stayed for 2 more days in the island & just spent most of the time relaxing, eating, walking & drinking. I didn’t expect this September trip to have its 2nd part after the Bohol weekend in 2018 but I hope there will be a 3rd installment in 2020, 4th installment in 2021 until this becomes a regular trip with them. By the way, I didn’t join my family in Hong Kong to join these people plus I also don’t have my passport during this time.
E-U-R-O-P-E!!! 🇳🇱 🇧🇪 🇨🇿 🇩🇰
Finally, A TRIP TO EUROPE! This is the highlight of my 2019. It was a dream come true. I haven’t posted anything about this trip in the website but I’m happy to share that this long-time plan of going to Europe happened last October to November 2019.
It all started with an affordable ticket I got from the Singapore Airlines & BPI promotion last January 2019. I got tickets flying from Manila to Amsterdam, Netherlands & leaving from Copenhagen, Denmark, both via Singapore. I saved up the whole year, planned my itinerary, booked my hostels & booked the inter-country flights ahead of time. I applied for a tourist visa on my own – no help from any agency & got it after a week.
And the trip happened. Due to busy work schedule, I didn’t have time to do more research & make my final itinerary. I arrived in Amsterdam with no plans, not even a single idea how to go to my hostel. I got scared at first but I ended up having the best days of my life around Europe. I went to 4 countries (Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic & Denmark), explored cities & small towns, reunited with friends I met from previous trips, met cool new friends along the way, took walking tours in every city / town, drank more beers than waters in a day, walked thousands of steps & tens of kilometers a day & ate all local food I can in every place. I did all of these alone! Yes, I FLEW TO EUROPE ALONE & I SURVIVED. It was probably the bravest thing I did this year.
I have so much to share about this trip but I am reserving that for the individual posts. I hope you’ll watch out for those write-ups.
Blogs: TO FOLLOW.
blog highlights ✨
Aside from the usual blog contents I post, there were 2 significant developments in this blog. First is the continued posts for the Tuesday Tips & Hostel of the Day features. I had 3 Tuesday Tip posts & 7 hostel of the day features published in my website solely for 2019. I still have a long list of Tuesday tips to share & hostels (especially the ones from Europe) to publish so watch out for those. My main goal of posting these Tuesday tips & hostel features is to show the world that there are nice things out there that don’t need hefty amounts of money. You can have the same fun & memorable experiences by paying small amounts.
Blog List:
Hostel of the Day: DOT HOSTEL NAGANO – Wooden House Turned High-Rated Affordable Hostel
Hostel Of The Day: KHAOSAN WORLD ASAKUSA RYOKAN & HOSTEL – Clean & Affordable Traditional Japanese Accommodation In The Heart Of Tokyo
Hostel Of The Day: NEW WORLD INN OSAKA – Simple, Affordable & Modern Property Near Tennoji
Hostel Of The Day: FUKUOKA HANA HOSTEL – Fukuoka’s In-Demand & Best Valued Tourist Accommodation
Hostel Of The Day: FLINDERS BACKPACKERS MELBOURNE – Budget-Friendly & Extremely Popular Hostel In The Heart Of The City
Hostel Of The Day: UINN TRAVEL HOSTEL – Modern, Space-Themed & Excellent Taipei Hostel
Hostel Of The Day: MAD MONKEY HOSTEL BORACAY – Paradise Island’s Hidden Party Hostel Gem
Tuesday Tip: 4 TRUSTED HOSTEL GROUPS To Check When Looking For AFFORDABLE ACCOMMODATION in JAPAN
Tuesday Tip: 6 WAYS To SAVE MONEY In MELBOURNE
Tuesday Tip: Do-It-Yourself SCHENGEN TOURIST VISA Application With VFS NETHERLANDS
This year, I introduced a section in my website called Flight Reports. You guys know I love flying & my interest in aviation is something else. I thought of sharing my flight experiences with different airlines – how the service is from check in to boarding to in-flight services & cabin crew service. Since I started the section in June, I already published 8 flight reports about 5 local & international airlines. I didn’t expect this section to get hits but I’m happy that I get regular website visits for these specific posts. I still have about 5 or 6 flight reports to share with you, most of them from my European trip. I hope you’re excited for these flight reports as I am!
Blog List:
Flight Report: EVA AIR BR 277 – Taipei to Manila – Taiwan’s 5-Star Airline For An Affordable Fare
Flight Report: CEBU PACIFIC AIR 5J 328 – Legazpi to Manila – ₱600 ($11.50) Flight Back To Manila
Flight Report: CEBU PACIFIC AIR 5J 759 – Manila to Jakarta – ₱1,236 ($24) International Flight To Indonesia
Flight Report: INDONESIA AIR ASIA QZ 7550 – Jakarta to Yogyakarta – Low-Cost Domestic Flight To Indonesia’s Royal City
Flight Report: INDONESIA AIR ASIA QZ 7551 – Yogyakarta to Jakarta – Redemption Flight Back To Indonesia’s Capital
Flight Report: CEBU PACIFIC AIR 5J 905 – Manila to Caticlan (Boracay) – Short & Relatively Empty Flight To Paradise Island
Flight Report: CEBGO DG 6244 – Caticlan (Boracay) to Manila – Quick Turboprop Flight Back To The Metro
Flight Report: SINGAPORE AIRLINES SQ 915 – Manila to Singapore – 5-Star Economy Class Experience In A New Generation Boeing Dreamliner
By the way, this just came in. This website has finally hit 90,000 site views! This is another milestone hit before the end of the 2019. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the endless support – from sharing my articles & posts, to commenting & liking the posts that appear on your timelines to your comments & questions. I appreciate all of these.
Thank you for giving me the reason to continue sharing more content in this website. I can tell you this is not the end, it is just the start of more tips, flight reports, itineraries & blog posts. I have a long list of topics to share & upcoming trips & flights to take. You’ll definitely see more in this website next year.
Here’s to an adventure-filled 2020. Happy New Year, dear readers!
PS. Some photos were taken using my HTC U11. Shout out to my friends Junelle, Mark & Richard for allowing me to use your photos in this post.