{"id":3716,"date":"2016-12-25T09:14:16","date_gmt":"2016-12-25T09:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelcake.site\/?p=3716"},"modified":"2025-04-28T19:26:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T19:26:15","slug":"2017-travel-wish-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/2017-travel-wish-list\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Santa, I’ve been a lousy traveler – but here’s my 2017 wish list anyway"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Santa,<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have a confession to make:
This year, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been a lousy<\/em> traveler.<\/p>\n

I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t browse any colourful indigenous markets<\/a>, nor did I experiment with crazy foods<\/a>.
I didn’t trek through jaw-dropping valleys<\/a> or immerse myself in ssophisticated Persian culture<\/a>.
I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t embark on any wild, dangerous motorcycle journeys<\/a>, and I definitely didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t relax on a extremely remote island.<\/a><\/p>\n

Compared to recent years, this one was downright meek.
I openly enjoyed staying within my comfort zone and kept the level of adventure to an absolute minimum.<\/p>\n

\"flower<\/a><\/p>\n

Sure, traveling with a baby had something to do with that \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the only reason.
I wanted<\/em> a break from traveling.
I wanted to settle down, build something more sustainable, focus on my business, and invest in a different kind of personal growth.
(And living in gorgeous Bali certainly helped tame the travel bug.)<\/p>\n

\"Street<\/a>
Our lovely neighbourhood in Bali<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That said, considering the circumstances, the little travel I did<\/em> in 2016 still aligned beautifully with my travel principles.<\/p>\n

I explored my own (Balinese) back yard.<\/h4>\n

Breathing in the cool mountain air around Munduk<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"view<\/a><\/p>\n

\"drinking<\/a><\/p>\n

Exploring the rugged\u00c2\u00a0island of Nusa Penida<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Angel's<\/a><\/p>\n

Snorkeling in Amed\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s crystal-clear waters<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Chilling in swanky Seminyak<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"bean<\/a><\/p>\n

Bathing in lush waterfalls across central Bali<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Aling<\/a><\/p>\n

Hiking the\u00c2\u00a0dazzling\u00c2\u00a0rice\u00c2\u00a0terraces\u00c2\u00a0around Ubud and\u00c2\u00a0Jatiluwih<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"rice<\/a><\/p>\n

I even squeezed in short trip to three countries:<\/h4>\n

FRANCE<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"cheese<\/a><\/p>\n

SINGAPORE<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Singapore<\/a><\/p>\n

AUSTRALIA<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"beach<\/a>
Australia, the only new country I visited this year<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/h4>\n

And, perhaps most meaningful, I expanded my language skills \u00e2\u20ac\u201d forging deeper connections with locals and gaining a richer understanding of their culture.<\/h4>\n

\"Balinese<\/a><\/h4>\n

All things considered… maybe I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t such a lousy traveler after all?
Who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s to say what good<\/em> or bad<\/em> travel even is?
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all subjective, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it?<\/p>\n

So screw it<\/strong>
Santa, I’m sending you my travel wishlist for 2017 anyway. And I expect some of these to come true.

\nSince I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a parent now, doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that technically make me<\/em> Santa?<\/p>\n

\n

Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s are the 7 destinations that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m wishing for :<\/h4>\n

Any African country – preferably one I haven’t visited yet<\/h3>\n
\"Africa<\/a>
Ethiopia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I miss the continent and I long to get to know other parts of it.\u00c2\u00a0I’m thinking Senegal\/Gambia\u00c2\u00a0or\u00c2\u00a0Ethiopia.\u00c2\u00a0(image<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0Norway<\/h3>\n

\"FJORD<\/a><\/p>\n

This one has been sitting on my list for years.
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time. I can already picture myself trekking through the Norwegian fjords, heart bursting.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka<\/h3>\n

\"Sri<\/a><\/p>\n

Spices, tea, rich culture \u00e2\u20ac\u201d need I say more?
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d love to spend an extended amount of time here, balancing work and slow travel.<\/p>\n

Malta & Gozo<\/h3>\n

\"Malta\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Not necessarily for sightseeing, but for prospecting.
Could Malta or Gozo be our next temporary home base? Time to find out.(image<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

Any country in Eastern Europe – preferably one I haven’t visited to yet<\/h3>\n

\"Mostar<\/a><\/p>\n

Every Eastern European country I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve visited so far, has blown me away.
I fell madly in love with Albania<\/a>. Warsaw pleasantly surprised me<\/a>. I had a delightful introduction to Montenegro<\/a>.
More, please!\u00c2\u00a0(image)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Lebanon<\/h3>\n

\"Lebanon\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Middle East is still my favorite region to travel to.
Ancient cultures, exquisite food, an enchanting language \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and Lebanon seems to have it all plus<\/em> a very distinct edge.
Sounds like something that needs first-hand investigation, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you think?\u00c2\u00a0(image)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\nFlores, Indonesia<\/h3>\n

\"FLORES\"<\/a>Despite almost two years living in Indonesia, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve barely scratched the surface of the islands.
Before leaving, I must<\/em> explore at least one more.
Plus, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been three years since my last scuba dive \u00e2\u20ac\u201d time to reunite with the underwater world.\u00c2\u00a0(image)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always loved my travel style \u00e2\u20ac\u201d wandering on my own terms, regardless of trends or expectations.
Now that my travel batteries are recharged, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m excited to continue exploring the world \u00e2\u20ac\u201d maybe slower, maybe differently \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but always with the same wide-eyed wonder.<\/p>\n

Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s to new adventures, Santa. Bring it on.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Which destinations are on your 2017 travel wish list?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The post “Dear Santa, I have been a lousy traveller<\/a>” first appeared on Travel Cake<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Santa, I have a confession to make:This year, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been a lousy traveler. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t browse any colourful indigenous markets, nor did I experiment with crazy foods.I didn’t trek through jaw-dropping valleys or immerse myself in ssophisticated Persian culture.I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t embark on any wild, dangerous motorcycle journeys, and I definitely didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t relax on a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[159,117,103,137,73],"tags":[],"country":[],"class_list":["post-3716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia","category-indonesia","category-lists","category-personal-story","category-singapore"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3716"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4610,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3716\/revisions\/4610"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3716"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=3716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}