A 2011 Travel Review
It’s the end of December and I have decided to look back on the past year’s travelling experiences. First let’s take a look a list of the trips completed.
- Feb – Bangladesh: From Dhaka to Mongla via “The Rocket”, stopping by Bagerhat, explored the Sundarbans by boat, attempted to hit Rajshahi
- Mar – A trio of locations: Visiting first the Kaiping dialou in China, then a whirlwind tour of Macau before spending the day wandering central Hong Kong.
- Apr – Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh city, the Mekong Delta tour and Chu Chi War Tunnels.
- May – China again, this time in Sanya, Hainan
- May – South Korea: From southern end in Jeju island, then Gyeongju, Daejeon and Seoul.
- Aug – India: Ladakh and also a couple of days in Delhi
- Oct – Indonesia: Diving on an LOB in the Riau Archipelago
- Nov – Malaysia: In Kuching’s Cultural Village
- Dec – Indonesia: North Maluku in Ternate and then diving in Lembeh, North Sulawesi
In summary, it was 9 separate trips out, with 4 new countries visited: Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, South Korea.
And here are some highlights:
a) Making it to the highest motorable pass in the world at 5300+ metres.
The route to the highest motorable pass in the world 5359m
b) Muck diving for the first time in the Lembeh Straits.
Ambon scorpionfish, lurking on the sand
c) Getting stuck in a hotel in Dhaka and witnessing a nationwide strike first hand.
Washing away protesters in front of my hotel window.
d) Looking over to North Korea, at the border. Hopefully a destination for 2012.
The train station from South Korea (Dorasan) to North Korea (Pyongyang)
It has indeed been a good year. Many thanks to the big guy up there for good health and keeping me safe. And here’s to another year of fantastic travelling in 2012!
How did you fare in 2011? And what about 2012, what are your plans for 2012?
