Where is your next travel destination?
Oh hello, 2018!
It’s not a secret that the other travel bunnie and I are extremely passionate about travelling the world. When Minibun George was born, we got his first passport at just three months old. He took his first international flight when he was eleven months old. By the age of three, he had swum in the Maldivian ocean, soared above coral reefs on seaplanes, enjoyed a first class flight onboard an Emirates A380, cruised the Australian waters, ran around with a herd of fluffy sheep in New Zealand… the list goes on. The other travel bunnie and I joke about the fact that he’s already travelled more than we had when we were 18.
We often get questioned if it’s worth it, taking a toddler to all those places when he most likely won’t even remember half of the places that he’s visited. To us, the answer is yes. There are so many precious moments when travelling together as a family that I can’t even put into words, the curiosity that makes George’s eyes sparkle, the excitement on his face when he sees something new and exciting, the countless cuddles that we share at night in the hotels, the happiness that he is able to discover from even the simplest things is infectious and therapeutic. Not to mention all those cute (and sometimes goofy) family photos that we take together while discovering unfamiliar places.
I often think to myself how lucky I am to have found a husband who is just as passionate about life and travelling as I am. Not only that, he’s willing to do his very best so that our child can experience and see the world from different angles, grow up happy and be grateful at just how amazing the world is.
This year, we celebrated the new year with a crazy weekend on the Gold Coast where we conquered three theme parks in 24 hours! In February as a celebration of our 5th wedding anniversary, we are taking a trip to Adelaide, before boarding The Ghan to travel to Alice Springs, then on to Uluru to see the incredible Field of Light. After we’ll head to Sydney for some good food. For my birthday month in May, we will be heading over to Taiwan for a few nights, including some R&R at a beautiful boutique resort on the Sun Moon Lake. Afterwards, we’ll fly over to Shanghai to visit my grandparents, then conquer (hopefully) the famous Mt. Huangshan, also known as the Yellow Mountains where my parents enjoyed their honeymoon thirty years ago. Next on the list will be Chengdu for some giant panda lovin’, then back to my hometown in Qingdao to visit the extended relatives. Oh, of course, let’s not forget Hong Kong which will be the last leg of our trip in May. When the weather gets cold in August, we’ll take a short flight to Queenstown for a ski trip which I’m extremely excited about. Last year, we had our first ever ski trip as a family to Falls Creek and absolutely loved it! So this year, the other travel bunnie insisted that we do it again and who am I to say no! Wink*
If you know me, you know that I’m slightly OTT when it comes to travel planning and for as long as I have travelled as an adult, I’ve always been an avid user of Lonely Planet guides. This year’s travel planning was no different. The recently published Culture Trails covers ideas and itineraries for 52 weekends of culture heaven, packed with expert recommendations, maps and useful tips and believe it or not, our 2018 travel destinations have been covered in the book! I spent an entire weekend devouring a few Lonely Planet books, reading them cover to cover to get travel inspiration… It’s an obsession that I’m not willing to ever let go.
Disclaimer: thank you so much Lonely Planet for providing me with these amazing travel books and feeding my travel addiction…
So many travel plans!!! I’m so incredibly jealous and cannot wait to see your photos and hear about it. And I love your planners!
ReplyDeleteThank you sweetie! I wrote this post because of what you said to me during our recent catch up! xx
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