Top 16 Songs I Listened to During Travel in 2016
This year has been the strangest, to say the least.
When I was in Chiang Mai in 2012, the monks told me to be mindful of whatever it is I’m doing. When you walk, don’t listen to music; just walk and appreciate the walk. When you’re traveling by train, stop the music and appreciate the ride and the view. They said that things become more enjoyable that way.
It’s something that I have failed to master over the years. For the longest time, I listen to music whenever I could: while waiting for something, before going to bed, during commute. This year, however, I could survive an entire trip without even putting on my earphones. Hence, while I feel like I truly enjoyed my trips this year much better than the previous years, I felt disconnected from the world.
(By the way, check out our past lists: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012)
Of course, I was able to browse and play music every now and then. But not as frequently as the previous years. When I did, these are the songs that I would usually listen to.
Enjoy!
16. Carrie Underwood – Heartbeat
15. The Weeknd – Can’t Feel My Face
14. The Chainsmokers – Closer (ft. Halsey)
13. Christina Aguilera – Telepathy (ft. Nile Rodgers)
On repeat in: France and Belgium
You know how to read my mind
I’m lost and it’s you I find
Rush into my side to hold me tight.
12. Jesse Ruben – This is Why I Need You
You make my weakness less weak
You make the bottom less deep
You make the waiting feel shorter
You make my crazy feel normal, every time
You are the who, love is the what, and this is the why
11. NEEDTOBREATHE – Brother (ft. Gavin DeGraw)
On repeat in: Morocco and UAE
Face down in the desert now there’s a cage locked around my heart
I found a way to drop the keys where my failures were
Now my hands can’t reach that far
I ain’t made for a rivalry I could never take the world alone
I know that in my weakness I am strong, but
It’s your love that brings me home
10. Marion Aunor – Fallen
On repeat in: China, Singapore, The Maldives
So this is what it feels like
Not to be alone
This is what it feels like
To know you’ve got someone
9. Arizona – Cross my Mind
On repeat in: Denmark and Sweden
I know I haven’t been perfect, but give it some time
There’s not a single day goes by where you don’t cross my mind
And we spend our lives looking for things we can’t find
Oh, but not a single day goes by where you don’t cross my mind
8. Major Lazer – Cold Water (feat. Justin Bieber & MØ)
On repeat in: Iceland
Cause we all get lost sometimes, you know?
It’s how we learn and how we grow
And I wanna lay with you ’til I’m old
You shouldn’t be fighting on your own
7. Fifth Harmony – Work from Home
On repeat in: South Korea
We own these streets like we’re royalty
With empty pockets and worn out jeans
Living our lives like we’re kings and queens
We’re running wild on these diamond dreams
6. Kelly Clarkson – Piece by Piece
On repeat in: La Union, Philippines
And all I remember is your back
Walking towards the airport, leaving us all in your past
I traveled fifteen hundred miles to see you
Begged you to want me, but you didn’t want to.
5. Mike Posner – I Took a Pill in Ibiza
On repeat in: Batangas, Philippines
You don’t ever wanna step off that roller coaster and be all alone
You don’t wanna ride the bus like this
Never knowing who to trust like this
4. James Bay – Let it Go
On repeat in: Austria, Germany, Switzerland
Trying to fit your hand inside of mine
When we know it just don’t belong
There’s no force on earth
Could make it feel right, no
Trying to push this problem up the hill
When it’s just too heavy to hold
Think now’s the time to let it slide
3. Adele – When We Were Young
On repeat in: Tokyo
It’s hard to admit that
Everything just takes me back
To when you were there
To when you were there
And a part of me keeps holding on
Just in case it hasn’t gone
I guess I still care
Do you still care?
2. James Arthur – Say You Won’t Let Go
On repeat in: Italy
I’m so in love with you
And I hope you know
Darling, your love is more than worth its weight in gold
We’ve come so far my dear
Look how we’ve grown
And I wanna stay with you
Until we’re grey and old
Just say you won’t let go
Just say you won’t let go
1. Troye Sivan – Lost Boy
On repeat in: Turkey
There’s a heart stain on the carpet
I left it, I left it with you
Yeah, the truth is that I’m sorry
Though I told you not to worry
I’m just some dumb kid
Trying to kid myself
That I got my shit together