Special Edition: Flashbacks of my exciting, ups and down in 2017! How I ended up travelling full time~
Hello, Hola, 你好, 여보세요 my fellow Steemit friends~
It's just another 4 days until a brand New Year, welcoming our new chapter of life in 2018! I guess everyone is already looking forward to it and also getting very excited :D So am I~~
So, it came to me on this bright morning that I would like to share with you guys my entire Journey of 2017.
Sneak Peek: It's been a crazy travelling year for me! More than 10 countries, 20 cities in 2017~ It has been a crazy year!
It has been a very challenging year for me in 2017. Not everything always happen according to what you've planned or works how you wished it to be. But, I am glad that there always people who helped me along the way to make it more than wonderful year for me :)
This is a video for you~
Now, I hope you'll enjoy it~
I have always had a dream of travelling around the world. I always live by the sentence where "If I don't do it now, when would I ever be?" Thus, I've set my goal of travelling as much as possible before I am caught up with work that doesn't allow me to fulfil my dream. That concluded your wonders of why my profile name called "Explorernations". Exploring nationwide!
How I ended up travelling? I started my travelling when I met my boyfriend back in 2015 where he changed my life entirely. We first started travelling to neighbour countries to see and explore the city and slowly, I fell in love with the cultural exposure, meeting people and seeing the wonders of the world. Thus, that's how I started my travelling dream.
He is my soul pillar that encourages and motivations me of whatever that I am doing, regardless of whether or not it is a success or a fail, he cheers me up when I am down, pull me up when I fall, care and help me throughout my journey.
January, 2017
I had the best time of my life. I just couldn't get the obsession of Bali from me. It's a true heaven being there, the unbeatable cultural exposure, architecture, the friendliest people, the natural beauty and of course the amazing cookery.
Food lover like me can't just leave without getting a weight increase.
It might seem like travelling is hell lot easy. But, if you've have been on a weather struggle and unexpected incidents, you'll definitely get what I mean. As beautiful as the island was, we encountered unlimited struggles from the weather and also the risk of getting caught with riding a motorbike. But, that's part of travelling, isn't it? Taking risks :D
March
What can I say about March..Well, this is going to be tough!
March is the toughest month I endured in 2017! The struggles of examinations of my final semester to decide whether or not I will get my Scholarship is all depending on that. I put my heart and souls into getting what I want to achieve in my academic goal. Burning the midnight oil studying, going to the library 24/7, group discussions, these are all one hell of a process that is a lifetime memory and I am proud of it!
I am glad that I have been blessed with friends that always had my back to help me along the way. Thank God! I made it through!!
April
It's totally a time calling for celebration. After all the hard work that has been poured into my studies, now it's time to reward myself with more new experiences.
Travelling is always a perfect way to the celebration yea!
I spent 2 weeks in Krabi, hunting and exploring the island. From Koh Lanta to Ao Nang is one hell lots of difference. I am embraced with the decisions made to experience the distinctive cultural difference within the same island. From a laid-back town in Koh Lanta with absolutely limited restaurants, international chains to The golden M letter (McD) at Ao Nang. You'll definitely see the difference of life within the travel distance of 2 hours by car. Definitely an eye-opening experience!
May-June
As my travelling plan continued, I proceeded with my travelling network to Taipei, Taiwan. A part of it because it is a city of food, but the most important plan was to conduct my volunteer work!
I find, explore and try everything I have seen! Because travel is all about trying and taking risks. Every step we take is a move we make history. It's always an adventure is trying out new things. We will always be stuck at present if we refuse to take another step out of my comfort zone to discover wonders of life.
I have always wanted to contribute to the society not just by spending cash on charity and donations but to be sincere spending time with needy kids that needed our help mentally to expand their knowledge. Which one day, they might be the one that will bring the future generations to flourish with knowledge and mentality.
Besides, with this decision I made, I am getting out of my comfort zone of being in a city. Exploring the nature and the laid-back villages. Living the local life of being in a farm.
Seeing the plantation that I grew, slowly, bits by bits..
June-August
This is going to be the coolest journey of my year.
Travelling to Europe is my ultimate dream and also the most expensive journey that I am taking on. With every penny that I have saved, it's all there! But I would say that it is definitely worth it!!
Holland is definitely famous for their flowers! The extremely great climate is what highlighted the whole trip for me in Amsterdam. The beautiful warm lights lighted up during the nights is so heart-warming and it's so mesmerizing to be just sitting out by the canals, enjoying a drink with a companion. I absolutely loved the city!
Bavaria! All your beers, pretzels and wurst is all you need! Also, not to mention, welcome to the luxury vehicles land! I've never seen that much of BMWs and Mercedes in my life in Germany. Every step, there's a BMW! hahaha~
If you're a fan of BMW, I bet you already know where you should definitely visit the next time when you're planinng your vacation destination. Munich is the only city that has the biggest BMW factory and even a museum for all your luxury dream BMWs.
For a nature lover like me, Austria is a heaven for me. The mountains, the smells of nature and the greens couldn't let me get my eye off of them. The feeling of being surrounded by pure serenity makes me forget about the busy life that I've been going through in life where I could really find peace.
Hiking day, all day everyday!
Also!!
My ultimate favourite! Alpine Coaster
I could not resist riding the coaster over and over again. I drove 2 hours particularly from Munich every week just to get there for my lovely "Sommerrodelbahn" (Alpine Coaster)! Definitely gotta try it!
London, what else can I say about this city. I guess, everyone must have already imagined it without me further elaborating..
*Apparently, it was all a lie that I am growing up with the song singing:"London bridge is falling down"
My favourite city! Spain Spain Spain~~
The food, the people and the histories make me never want to leave the wonderland!
Every corner I go, Every photo I have taken is majestic.
I have made my decision of visiting Spain again next year just because I ain't getting enough of it.
The romantic city aka the City of Love.
I can't deny the beauty of Paris, being there just feel like I am a princess from a wonderland. Feeling loved and appreciated. Seeing the Eiffel Tower with my own real eye has nothing compared to seeing it through a wallpaper nor a poster. The feeling was absolutely amazing where I feel deeply felt the achievement! Seeing in real!
September
This is the time of the year where I went out of my comfort zone again to visit a new country and even living there now in Singapore. As much as it is similar to Malaysia, it is a country that is extremely organized and strict. People are constantly rushing and busy chasing after time.
But, that's what makes this city a wonder.
Without all the hard work and the advancement of the country, there would not be the reason for the beauty to happen.
Another word, everything happened for a reason.
October
By now, everyone should have known how much I am into food. Doesn't matter how far I have to go, you name it, I will be there!
This time, I ventured to Bangkok to expand my foodie network of sourcing the best central Bangkok food. I am more than happy with the results I achieved without any regrets nor griefs.
November
Well, this month is crazy for me! The month I have been looking forward to the most!
Ed Sheeran!
I couldn't believe that my ultimate dream came true!!!
December
December also means the holiday month, mostly for everyone because of the school holidays. Well, that's no special to me. Whenever the end of the year is approaching, my mood of holiday spikes to the highest where I definitely have to go somewhere to fulfil my desire. Phuket is where I went, for a relaxing and peaceful vacation.
This is the place where I feel rejuvenated and getting ready for the coming year of 2018!!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!
It has been such a great year to me! I am more than greatful for what I have, being surrounded with people I love, seeing their smiles and being happy everyday is what motivates me the most!
I hope you guys enjoyed it and have a blast~
Disclaimer: All photos are taken originally by me during my travelling time.
Check out some of my latest blogs at the link below:
Cooking 4: Glutinous Rice Balls Recipe for Winter Solstice Festival Step by Step Tutorial with Photos 冬至汤圆~
https://steemit.com/food/@explorernations/cooking-4-recipe-for-glutinous-rice-balls-for-winter-solstice-festival-step-by-step-with-photosTravel Blog 18: Travel Eating Like A Local at Tourist Hotspot, Khao Lak Edition
https://steemit.com/food/@explorernations/travel-blog-18-travel-eating-like-a-local-at-tourist-hotspot-khao-lak-editionTravel Blog 17: Bangkok Part 3: Showdown for the Best Tom Yum Goong in all of Bangkok, Thailand!
https://steemit.com/travel/@explorernations/travel-blog-17-bangkok-part-3-showdown-for-the-best-tom-yum-goong-in-all-of-bangkok-thailand
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Please excuse me if the photos are not all with the same size. Because I was using my phone to take the photos and the quality wasn't the best.
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Wow, seems like this year was a blast for you! I hope 2018 will also give you the chance to keep exploring nations ;) I myself will start in January to travel the world for an indefinite time and am super excited what I will experience out there :)
It is indeed a crazy year for me. I absolutely cherished every moment I had and very glad that I have this golden opportunity to travel around. I wish you all the best and looking forward to your travel articles soon in no time! Thank you for checking me out and hopefully you'll still be here with me for future travel articles :)
Thank you so much! I will definitely share some stories about my travels ;) What's up for you in 2018, will you still continue to travel?
You're more than welcome :) I will continue to travel in 2018. The coming vacation will be in Dubai and Oman. Hopefully, it will be a blast! :D :D
Oman sounds pretty exciting, I'm looking forward to seeing some posts about your visit there ;)
lol, that serious pose in taipei!
Hahaha, I was actually helping students to practice singing competition at the moment :D
Happy new year
Wow!
You've been around!
Great post! May 2018 somehow top your 2017!
We shall see! Hopefully it's as glorious as my 2017!
Same goes to you :D
So beautiful!!! This is amazing work and i will sorrad the news!! Resteemed and upvoted. I wish i could travel as much as you. Looking forward to more in depth articles of each place you go in the future. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Lima! I am pretty sure you can as well! Travelling isn't just a dream if we make priorities in our schedules. I'll make sure I'll have the articles posted in details soon :D Thank you for staying with me :)
all the places you visit are very beautiful and the food looks very tasty..
Thank you ami :D It's really beautiful and I couldn't describe in words to elaborate more of my experiences in real.
lucky you! can't wait to see what you're up to in 2018 :)
Let's see what's going to happen in 2018! Let's look forward to it together!
That teacher pose with the sling camera. Haha, You wanna capture naughty students with ur camera isit? :D
That was when I am preparing them for singing competition, making sure no one missed out with my camera :D
Nice post! Thanks for sharing your travelled exprience. I welcome you back, hope you enjoyed your trips. I follow and upvote.
Thank you so much for your support and I hope to bring you more travel articles soon!