Friday, January 1, 2010

9 Countries for 2009: A Roundup


A lot of firsts in 2009. I finally saw snow (which I'm not a fan of), and a giant panda!

Supreme exultation! It dawned on me how grand the past year was as I run a flashback. Nine countries were ticked off Pinay Travel Junkie's 2009 travel list.

1. U.A.E.
2. Malaysia
3. Brunei
4. Indonesia
5. Singapore
6. Thailand
7. Myanmar (though it was only for a visa run)
8. Hong Kong
9. China

Applaud, applaud. Now I'm semi-broke. But the skills I've honed, the insights I've garnered, the people I've befriended made every dirham, ringgit, Brunei dollar, rupiah, Singapore dollar, baht, kyat, Hong Kong dollar, yuan and peso worth it!

Trip Stats for 2009
1. Plane trips, 6. All international. Hoping for more local flights this year.
2. Most visited countries a day, 3. How the heck did that happen? Read here
3. Bowls of Nasi Goreng and instant noodles I had in Indonesia and China, immeasurable.
4. Train rides, 4. Jakarta-Yogyakarta, HK-Beijing, Beijing-Xian, Xian-Guanzhou.
5. Couches I surfed, 7 (via Couchsurfing)
6. Mountain summitted, 1 (Mt Talamitam). Volcano climbed, 1 (Gunung Bromo). Caves spelunked, 2 (Sumaging Cave for the 7th time, and Callao Cave). I also sauntered along 13 beaches.
7. Travel gears bought, 3. A Conquer 65L bag, a portable stove (30 dirhams from U.A.E.), and a headlamp (5 dirhams also from U.A.E. BUT made in China) that's already broken I haven't even used it yet!
8. Favorite paid accommodation, New Hut Bungalows (Koh Samui, Thailand). Unpaid, Sandi's (a Couchsurfing host) house-slash-dormitory in Yogyakarta. Comes with free Indonesian home-cooked meals by his mum.
9. Most unforgettable unplanned visit, Qin Terra Cotta Army Museum (yet to be blogged).

First time I...
1. experienced snow in Xi'an, China.
2. saw a giant panda (woot!) at Ocean Park, Hong Kong.
3. rode a cable car (Ngong Ping), Hong Kong.
4. cruised (hopped on a wildly driven 4x4) along sand dunes in Al Ain, U.A.E.
5. backpacked for more than a month (I didn't count Europe because I stayed most of the time at my aunt's place in Germany)
6. have been unemployed for 8 months (and counting).
7. sunbathed topless at Lamai Beach, Thailand.
8. bought my own domain (actually, someone else paid for it).
9. got hitched (who knows if it happens again?!).

So what's in store for 2010? Truth is, as of the moment I can only vaguely plot my local travel plans while my Aussie visa is underway. So Pinay Travel Junkie will see more of the Philippines soon.

What's your itinerary for this year?

Share

14 comments:

flipnomad said...
January 1, 2010 at 8:25 PM

what a great accomplishment for 2009

wishing you more travels this 2010 :-)

happy new year gaye!!!

Pinay Travel Junkie said...
January 1, 2010 at 11:09 PM

thanks flip. more travels for the nomadic pinoys!

Jovial Wanderer said...
January 2, 2010 at 6:04 AM

astig...2009 was really great..can't wait for 2010 adventures to kickoff :)

nina said...
January 2, 2010 at 2:08 PM

2009 was one heck of year for traveling indeed! Here's to even more travels in 2010!

fliptravels.com said...
January 2, 2010 at 4:07 PM

wishing you more adventures this new year!
=)

ron and monette

Pinay Travel Junkie said...
January 2, 2010 at 4:31 PM

chrissy, i'm sure it was great for you too! i'm looking forward to your second attempt to climb kota kinabalu... hopefully we can join you guys para may cheerers.

Pinay Travel Junkie said...
January 2, 2010 at 4:32 PM

thanks nina! mabuhay ang mga lakwatserang pinay!

The Nomadic Pinoy said...
January 3, 2010 at 12:22 AM

it certainly feels good having accomplished so many last year. hope to see you break your record in 2010!

Pinay Travel Junkie said...
January 3, 2010 at 12:54 AM

hope so too dennis. thanks for dropping by!

Travel Mistress said...
January 5, 2010 at 10:29 AM

nice! good run for 2009! =D hopefully makasabit ako sa local trips nyo ni sherv in 2010. =D

Pinay Travel Junkie said...
January 5, 2010 at 1:12 PM

jules, ako naman gusto ko sumabit sa international trips mo! hay. seryoso, gusto ko magcheer sa kota kinabalu!

Weekend Haven said...
January 6, 2010 at 12:30 AM

Wow, you take the cake for traveling alot in 2009! :) I hope I can beat that... but oh well, I'd be too broke then too.

Pinay Travel Junkie said...
January 6, 2010 at 1:49 AM

hey valerie(?)! someday, somehow you will get the chance. tayo pa, mga lakwatserang pinay! i was just lucky and uhm, suicidal last year.

i love your layout! i love your posts!

majeunoehu said...
January 15, 2010 at 2:26 PM

wow! you're very lucky! how were you able to afford 9 countries if you were unemployed? hehe you should've taken the ferry to macau when you were in HK, so that could've been 10 countries in 2009 :D Still, whatta year!

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...