A 2019 Travel Review

Every year around this time, I open up this dormant blog, to add a single precious entry about the previous twelve months of travel. There is actually so much to share, but I never did get back to serious blogging after the great malware “snap” which wiped out a couple hundred blog entries somewhere back in 2015. I make a resolution for 2020 to add more blog entries, which is not exactly the same thing as getting the entries themselves done. But we’ll see. In the meantime, follow my travels on Instagram or Facebook, where updates are regular.

Fortunately, on the travel front, updates have not  been so sparse. I am fortunate to be travelling quite a bit, to some places even further and more exotic compared to previous years. Travels to unusual destinations this year, like visiting South Ossetia, the last country in my personal quest to visit all 10 partially-recognized countries, are accomplishments that I am proud and thankful for. I have also had got more involved within the travel community, met some great travel friends, and exchanged lots of travel information. These posts are a way to keep records, share my travels, show thanks and just generally be grateful that I have had the opportunity to experience all these places.

So here goes, a roll-call of all the new and returning places that I have travelled to. Also, for those interested, here are the past years’ travel reviews.

Here are the stats for 2019:

• Total number of new countries and political territories visited: 11
• Total number of countries and political territories where I made repeat visits: 6
• Total number of calendar days spent travelling: 63
  • No of days of work + travel: 9
  • No of days of solo travel: 22
  • No of days of travel with the missus: 26
  • No of days of family travel: 6

Let’s look through how The Furious Panda did in 2019!

2019: Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Nauru, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Germany, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Barbados, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Sint Maarten, St-Martin, Anguilla, USA, Russia, South Ossetia, Thailand, China, Iraq, Turkey.

 

February’19: Dipping my toes into the Pacific Islands

Fiji: The region had always felt out of reach, and making the decision to visit a smattering of the Pacific Islands was very much influenced by the great value of Fiji Airway’s SIN-NAN flight offers. They really are perfect for a first visit to this region. Now most people’s idea of Fiji is that it is the perfect resort destination, with picturesque islands and blue waters. And they are not wrong. I would be lying if I said I didn’t have that same image of Fiji. But my perfect Fiji is also one which acts as a fantastic transportation hub to the other island nations around the region. So the city of Nadi ended up being more of a transit destination for me, and I had overnight stays in and around the busy Nadi city centre for both the forward and return trips. But still, this being Fiji, even staying away from the beaches gave me these views at the hotel I stayed:

 

 

Vanuatu: This island nation has very much going for it, I’d have to say. The people are friendly, the tourism infrastructure is growing, and there is a lot to see. My main purpose for travelling to Vanuatu would be to experience Mt Yasur, a live lava-tossing volcano, and one of the easiest live volcanoes in the world to visit right up to the crater’s edge. The journey there involved taking a flight from the country’s capital Port Vila on the island of Efate, all the way to the island of Tanna, 225 km to the south. This flight was a 9 seater twin engine aircraft, comfortable if a little cramped, and with engines that are way too noisy if you do not have earplugs on. For views of the volcano from the plane though, it was perfect.

 

 

Solomon Islands: My plans to do a spot of diving were scuppered by persistent rains over the few days I was in Honiara, making the waters somewhat treacherous for divers. Instead I visited the markets, museums, and spent evenings watching raindrops falling into the sea from my vantage point at the top level of the King Solomon Hotel. This particular hotel is built into the slopes of a hill overlooking the coastline and curiously enough, has a working funicular that led up to 5 levels of rooms! I took a day trip out of Honiara on public transport to visit the Vilu War Museum, an outdoor collection of planes, guns and other bits of recovered WWII wreckage. Guadalcanal, the island which the capital Honiara is located on, and the waters off it, aptly named Iron Bottom Sound, was the site of many a World War II battle, and therefore a prime location to find sunken wrecks of both Japanese and Allied ships and downed planes.

 

 

Nauru: The last of 4 countries I visited on this trip, Nauru is smallest island nation in the world, and the third smallest overall. However small it may be, Nauru is nevertheless worth a visit. My stay in Nauru was a lot more enjoyable than I had expected it to be, thanks to some rather good company – both local Nauruans and a couple of well-travelled friends, both of whom should be completing their 193 country count in 2020. We hiked to some old WW2 guns, visited the old Japanese prison, checked out the rock pinnacles on the coast and much more.

 

 

March’19: Happy in the House of Mickey

Hong Kong: Family travel is a thing now, so I am pretty thankful to be going with the family for a trip to Hong Kong Disneyland. Travelling solo with one small daypack is straightforward, but travelling with two excitable toddlers in tow as they head towards the House of the Mouse is a different ball game altogether. But I trust they enjoyed themselves posing with Disney princesses, and tired themselves out so much at the end of the day such that I could even sneak out for a brief walk around the Tsim Sha Tsui.

 

 

Johor, Malaysia:  The blue lake at Kangkar Pulai in Johor was just across the border from Singapore. It was a day trip with friends, but worth mentioning since it is so very pretty. The lake was actually a disused quarry and there were many locals daytripping to the site as well.

 

April’19: Caribbean Cruisin’

I had never actually been on a cruise my entire life, not even those launching out of Singapore. So I was pretty excited preparing for this one, even more so as I had never stepped upon the big land mass that is the Americas. The idea was to use the cruise ship to visit as many of the Lesser Antilles as I could, and have daily accommodation as well as transport onward to the next island. From a price perspective it is a no brainer – probably the cheapest way to get around the islands. To maximize shore time, I planned to disembark as soon as the ship docks each day.

 

Germany (Frankfurt & Mainz): Gettting to the Caribbean requires flying halfway around the world, so I inserted a one night stopover in Frankfurt. I arrived early morning and had a full day, so we took an inter-city train down to nearby Mainz, before returning to spend the rest of the afternoon in a very relaxed Frankfurt. Most of my previous visits to Germany have similarly been stopovers or transits, trying to see new things during each visit.

 

 

Puerto Rico: From Frankfurt to Puerto Rico. Stepping onto the US territory for me requires a visa, considering my travel history. A little leceh, but one’s just got to get it over and one with. I rather enjoyed my time in San Juan, especially walking Old San Juan and visiting the forts. It was the tail end of the cruise season, but there were still plenty of tourists in town. Side Note: I spent one morning at the local cinema watching Avengers: Endgame during premiere week, so that’s good!

 

 

US Virgin Islands: The first port of call was at Charlotte Amalie, on the US Virgin Islands. During the seven hours shore time, we managed to visit churches, take the skyline cable to the lookout at Paradise Point, go hunting for Blackbeard’s castle, as well as do a spot of shopping at the local hypermarket. I came back onto the ship quite exhausted from all the walking, and this was to be the routine for the next 6 days – since I wanted to see as much as possible during the time I had!

 

 

Barbados: The entire central district of the island nation of Barbados is one UNESCO World Heritage Site. So i visited all the main sites, including the old government buildings, the garrison and the screw docks. We also made time to drop by George Washington house, named after the former first president who lived here for a spell in his youth.

 

 

St Lucia: To be honest, when booking the cruise, I was not exactly sure what each island would bring. St Lucia, though had the twin Pitons, so I knew what I needed to see. I joined a day tour, which seemed to be the most straightforward way to get there from the main town Castries. The peaks did not disappoint, despite one of get getting perpetually hidden behind clouds.

 

 

St Kitts & Nevis: The islands of St Kitts and Nevis make up the sovereign island country of St Kitts & Nevis. So I thought, what the heck, let’s visit them both. This involves getting a ferry to cross over to Nevis, and then making sure we get back in time, so as not to miss the cruise ship when it leaves! Of the two, I liked Nevis a little more, having spent more time there.

 

 

Saint Martin: There are two halves to the island of Saint Martin. The Dutch side is known as Sint Maarten and the French side is Saint-Martin. We disembarked on the Dutch side, which is very cruise-shipper friendly. Beaches and a beachwalk promenade means most do not stray too far from the ship. I had other ideas and took the bus to the French side, and from there we took a ferry journey to next door Anguilla.

 

 

Anguilla: Getting to Anguilla and back to Saint Martin in time for the cruise ship’s departure was a bit of a stretch, but we managed it. Granted, we did not see as much as we would have liked to. But I’ll take what I can get. In Anguilla, we rented a car to Sandy Beach and just relaxed a little. The weather was a little too warm to wander around too much.

 

 

United States of America: Well just New York City actually. I am far, far away from being able to say that I know the USA, but technically the two days there count as a visit. For good measure, I did go to overseas territories like Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands on this trip, as well as Guam and the Northern Marianas a couple years back. I spent the two days checking off all the famous sights in New York City. We even went down to Woodbury Common with its 250 premium outlet stores. Full tourist mode then, haha.

 

 

July’19: Hello again China, I’ve missed you!

China (Guangxi): A work trip takes me to the southern Chinese province of Guangxi. I have been to the province before, but further north at the touristed areas of Yangshuo and Guilin, with their karst peaks scattered around the area. This time, I went to the southern portion of Guangxi, closer to Vietnam, both geographically and culturally. I went on an excursion to see the Zuojiang Leaning Tower, situated on a tiny island in the middle of the river. Unfortunately I did not have enough time to get to Ban Gioc Waterfalls, which borders China and Vietnam and was not too far away from where I was. Return visit someday then.

 

 

August’19: To the Russian Caucasus we will go!

2019 has been a year of many travel firsts. First time going to Oceania via the Pacific Islands (No Australia or New Zealand yet though). First time going to North America and the Caribbean (Someday South America we will meet). And now first time going to Russia. My conclusion at the end of the trip: Russia is huge and warrants multiple visits to see everything it has to offer.

 

Russia: Ironically, until this trip I had been to almost all the countries within the old Soviet Union sphere of influence (13 of them except Turkmenistan, and add another 3 if you count the unrecognized sovereign republics of Abkhazia, Transnistria and Artskah)  Many older folk in these countries can converse in Russian, a legacy of their common history. But I have yet to visit Russia itself. On this trip I visited the cities of Moscow and Novosibirisk. Plus 3 other Russian Republics, which I will talk about separately below, given they are quite different culturally. Moscow is easy to get around, and I busied myself with visiting the three UNESCO heritage sites within the city.

 

 

North Ossetia-Alania, Russia: The Russian republic of North Ossetia has so much to offer, and as a traveler destination is very much under the radar. Outside of the Russian speaking world, especially, not many would rank this place highly in their list of ‘Places I Want to Visit Most’. My knowledge of Russian is somewhere between Nyet and non-existent, so following a group tour is definitely the better idea. Culturally similar to the breakaway Republic of South Ossetia, the North Ossetians have mountain forts, watchtowers, a grave necropolis and more. And the locals there are way friendlier than in big city Moscow.

 

 

Ingushetia, Russia: The Republic of Ingushetia is all about looking forward after a turbulent history. I visited the Memorial Park which documents the deportation of the Ingush after WWII from their homeland, after being accused of treason, and their subsequent return. They still hold on to their traditions though, evident in the ethnographic museum located inside a giant watchtower monument in the centre of the city.

 

 

Chechnya, Russia: The Chechen Republic capital Grozny is a beguiling mix of skyscrapers, greenery, mosques etc, all displaying Dubai-like levels of  wealth, and ongoing construction perhaps harbouring an ambition to be the next big destination for both tourists and business travellers.

 

 

South Ossetia: Without a doubt my highlight destination of the year. This was the last  country on my “disputed countries” list and the most difficult to visit. Just getting there requires an invitation from someone in South Ossetia, a double entry Russian visa, plus permits to get near the Russian Caucasus border. I think South Ossetia is an underrated travel destination with a lot of potential. Rolling countryside, an interesting history, churches and forts and watchtowers all make it worth a visit, despite the difficulty in getting there.

 

 

Thailand: I also managed a brief pit-stop in Bangkok on the way home. I went up and down the 5 new stations on Bangkok MRT blue line, all of which have been designed thematically according to their geographical location. Other than that it was a relaxing time with meals at Ratchada, my perfect idea of Bangkok visit after almost two weeks of travelling.

 

 

September: A side trip to Guangdong

China (Guangdong) : I went up to China for a second time this year. Highlights as the norm is always a bowl of handmade noodles in broth. I also finally made my way to Guangzhou’s Yuexiu Park, after so many past visits to the city. It was a peaceful park, with the legendary statue of the 5 rams, a symbol of Guangzhou city.

 

October: To Kurdistan we will go

Turkey: The cities I got to visit were Diyarbakir and later on Istanbul on the way back. Diyarbakir was a first visit, and a very pleasant one. It was my first time in southeastern Anatolia, and after 3 days there and also learning more about the region, I tell myself a repeat visit someday is needed. Istanbul is as fabulous as I remembered it to be, though I’m not a fan of the new airport.

 

Iraq Kurdistan: 

The areas in northern Iraq is very safe and easy to visit, relative to the rest of the country. And contrary to what I initially thought, the cities I visited like Erbil and Sulaymaniyah are developed places with a varied history and a rich cultural heritage. And out on the countryside of Iraqi Kurdistan is some of the most breathtaking scenery that I have ever seen. For those interested in the history, I would also highly recommend a visit.

 

 

• And that’s a wrap. 2020 is going to be very exciting. I am already planning trips to places near and far. There are plans for South Africa, Victoria Falls, Japan, Iceland and Saudi Arabia. Here’s hoping it all works out, and here’s also wishing your own travel plans for 2020 comes to fruition. Do follow my 2020 travels on Instagram or Facebook, as I am woefully inactive here on the blog. Cheers!