You might be thinking: Why the hell am I posting a year-ender countdown in mid-January? All I can tell you is that I had been too busy with work lately. But better late than never, aye? Too busy or too lazy. Take your pick.
2011 was my most travel-heavy year ever. Considering that I am a holiday/weekend traveler, I still can’t figure out how I managed to go places given the hectic work schedule and limited leave credits. In 2011, I somehow neglected this blog Yoshke.com so I could focus on my travel blog. Don’t ask me for a link to my travel blog; I’m not yet ready to reveal ‘coz I’m not yet proud of it. Haha. I still have a lot to learn about traveling and travel blogging. I co-own it with a partner, who handles the SEO and the more technical sides of the blog. I take care of the content and it’s social media presence.
Anyway, I’m counting down the 20 best travel experiences that I had last year. This is the first half.
20. Kayaking Around Islets in Marabut, Samar
I blamed kayaks for leaving me completely useless on my first night in Samar. Empot, a friend, had a brilliant idea of circling around the towering islets dotting San Pedro Bay.
Me kayaking (top). My friends Empot and Dane walking to Marabut Extreme (bottom left). The bus we took to Marabut (bottom right)
While it was a fun and rewarding activity, we kind of forgot the fact that none of us had tried kayaking before. We were able to paddle back to our resort, Marabut Extreme Adventure, after hours albeit utterly drained out of energy. Not to mention that I was reminded that I had muscles every time they throbbed and ached.
19. 360 View of Kuala Lumpur from KL Tower, Malaysia
The KL Tower and the view from the Observation Deck
It was my first time in Malaysia and we only had half a day to explore the city of Kuala Lumpur. Not enough time, if you ask me. We set foot on the Petronas Towers, the Thean Hou Temple, and the Merdeka Square. But it was our visit to the KL Tower that was unforgettable. The building’s observation deck offers a 360-degree view of the Malaysian capital from 276 meters above the ground.
18. Getting Lost in Books Kinokuniya, Orchard Road, Singapore
Getting lost is an exaggeration but I had never been in a bookstore as big as the Ngee Ann City branch of Books Kinokuniya in Orchard Road, Singapore. I said it before, I just love the smell of new books. I love running my fingers tips on the edges of the virgin pages.
The entrance to Books Kinokuniya, Ngee Ann City
It’s one of the biggest bookstores in Southeast Asia. I had been to Singapore thrice but I never had a chance to enter this paper paradise until August 2011. I was with two other blogger friends and we decided to go our own ways as we looked for books. We ended up spending half of the time struggling to find one another. Haha.
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