{"id":836,"date":"2013-12-26T16:45:59","date_gmt":"2013-12-26T16:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelcake.site\/?p=836"},"modified":"2025-04-20T18:40:33","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T18:40:33","slug":"2013-travel-summary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/2013-travel-summary\/","title":{"rendered":"2013 Travel Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"

2013 flew by so fast, I barely saw the months pass.
In terms of travel, it was insane<\/em>. I moved from Europe to Asia and wound up in a place that “forces” me to leave the country at least every two months just to renew my visa.
Not the worst deal, right?<\/p>\n

Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a look back at the first half of a year that packed more countries into my calendar than I ever thought possible.<\/p>\n

Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a look back at the first half of my 2013 travel summary:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

JANUARY – Belgium<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I kicked off 2013 in my favorite city of all time: Ghent<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201d living, working, and soaking up all the good things about home. It was a full, busy month brimming with quality time with friends and family.<\/p>\n

\"gent\"<\/a>
frozen city centre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I finally conquered one of my biggest (and admittedly irrational) fears: driving<\/strong>. Taking lessons at night, in the snow, definitely sped up the character-building process. Learning to drive had topped my New Year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s resolution list for years<\/em>. This time, I actually pulled through.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

FEBRUARY – Poland<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A short and snowy getaway to Warsaw<\/strong> with one of my best friends. Poland in winter is no joke \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but snowflakes embellished the city and gave it a certain charm. We withered the cold with vodka, a fabulous jazz concert, and an unexpected experience: I had my first taste of journalism at a Polish radio station.<\/p>\n

\"Warsaw's<\/a>
>Warsaw’s old town square<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"at<\/a>
at Trojka Polskie radio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And then, magic happened.
Exactly three years earlier, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d met a British girl who was hitchhiking from London to Berlin. She stopped in Ghent, we hit it off, became friends, and then lost touch as she moved to Australia.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to February 2013 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and we bump into each other<\/em> in the middle of Warsaw\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s main square. We caught up over food and coffee, stunned at the randomness of it all. The world is wild.<\/p>\n

\"reunited\"<\/a>
reunited<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

MARCH – Oman, UAE, Bankok<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

After endless European winter, I was craving warmth \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and the East delivered.<\/p>\n

Oman<\/strong>
This country had been on my radar for years, and when I finally arrived, it stole my heart completely. Oman was everything I hoped it would be and more. I stayed with a wonderful woman who introduced me to Omani culture \u00e2\u20ac\u201d we bonded over giant plates of traditional food, explored Muscat, laughed, gossiped, danced, and shared stories.
A short road trip<\/a><\/strong><\/span> revealed just how special this place really is: hospitable people, ancient traditions, stunning natural landscapes. Oman, you have a fan for life.<\/p>\n

\"muscat<\/a>
Muscat’s corniche<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"digging<\/a>
digging in<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

United Arab Emirates<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next stop: Dubai, to visit a friend who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d recently moved there. I expected to hate it \u00e2\u20ac\u201d too flashy, too artificial. But Dubai surprised me. Yes, it’s fancy lunches, skyscrapers, and air-conditioned everything, but I kind of loved it. I appreciated the sense of safety, the polished streets, and the stylish crowd.<\/p>\n

I still have strong feelings about energy waste and the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bigger is better\u00e2\u20ac\u009d mentality \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deny that Dubai is a feat of human imagination. Now if only that ingenuity could be channelled in a more sustainable, fair way\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

\"dubai\"<\/a>
Burj Khalifa, tallest building in the world<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bangkok<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

From glam to gritty, I flew on to Bangkok. Just a short stay \u00e2\u20ac\u201d long enough to get a taste of the city’s buzz (literally and figuratively). I stayed at Refill Now!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0<\/span>\u00c2\u00a0a boutique hostel so stylish and spotless I still rave about it. Met some incredible women and spent the days exploring the chaos together.<\/p>\n

I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fully made up my mind about Bangkok. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of those places that needs a second date.<\/p>\n

\"Refill<\/a>
pool at Refill Now! hostel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Bangkok<\/a>
Bangkok by night<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

APRIL – Myanmar<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I spent three weeks in Myanmar<\/strong>, a country that had only recently opened its doors to the world. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an undeniably fascinating place \u00e2\u20ac\u201d raw, beautiful, deeply rooted in tradition. But\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fall in love. I don’t think it has anything to do with me\u00c2\u00a0getting a Buddha overdose<\/a><\/strong>, but there was just something that didn’t agree with me. <\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe it was the suffocating heat. Maybe it was the so-so food. Maybe I was just tired from being constantly on the move, craving a place to pause. Or maybe it was the lingering discomfort I felt about the political situation. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. We just didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t click<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t bad. But it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t for me. And sometimes, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just how it goes.<\/p>\n

\"Bagan\"<\/a>
beautiful Bagan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"transformed<\/a>
transformed into a Burmese lady<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

MAY – Malaysia\/Singapore<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Time to slow down. Kind of.<\/p>\n

Kuala Lumpur & Penang<\/strong>
Douglas and I tried to settle in Kuala Lumpur. That lasted… a minute. We gave Georgetown (Penang) a shot too, but neither felt like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153our\u00e2\u20ac\u009d place. It was clear: mainland Malaysia wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t where we were meant to live.<\/p>\n

\"Kuala<\/a>
view from our window in Kuala Lumpur<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"egg<\/a>
getting stuffed in George town<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"George<\/a>
Penang by night<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Singapore<\/strong>
So we hopped over to Singapore. Just like five years earlier, I loved being in this city. Yes, it’s freakishly clean, strict and (too?) organised, but it’s awesome! It’s an especially welcome break after the chaos of Kuala Lumpur. The <\/span>food (oh, the food), and the peaceful cohabitation of three major cultures, is probably what I live most about the country. If rent weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t so ridiculously high, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d probably be living there right now.<\/p>\n

\"mosque<\/a>
mosque in Arab quarter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Little<\/a>
colourful facades of Little India<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"China<\/a>
China town<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Laksa<\/a>
Laksa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JUNE – Bali<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Aaah, Bali<\/strong>…<\/p>\n

Returning to the island after five years felt like slipping into a familiar dream. Yes, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s changed \u00e2\u20ac\u201d more tourists, more traffic, more yoga pants \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but the essence<\/em> remains.<\/p>\n

The smells of frangipani and sandalwood. The rhythm of gamelan music. The electric green of the rice paddies… We found our place in Ubud<\/strong> and settled in, working remotely and building a new life on the islands of the gods<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"vanilla<\/a>
vanilla pods drying in the Balinese sun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Balinese<\/a>
Balinese gateway<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/h4>\n

Stay tuned for part II of the year!<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2013 flew by so fast, I barely saw the months pass.In terms of travel, it was insane. I moved from Europe to Asia and wound up in a place that “forces” me to leave the country at least every two months just to renew my visa.Not the worst deal, right? Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a look back at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,65,109,117,103,118,28,124,116,137,60,73,62,59],"tags":[5,132,11,12,31,111,29,130,61,131,129],"country":[187,203,240,246,184,253,258,261,267],"class_list":["post-836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-destinations","category-belgium","category-europe","category-indonesia","category-lists","category-malaysia","category-middle-east","category-myanmar","category-oman","category-personal-story","category-poland","category-singapore","category-thailand","category-uae","tag-asia","tag-belgium","tag-europe","tag-experiences","tag-indonesia","tag-middle-east","tag-oman","tag-poland","tag-sulawesi","tag-thailand","tag-uae","post_format-post-format-image","country-belgium","country-indonesia","country-malaysia","country-myanmar","country-oman","country-poland","country-singapore","country-thailand","country-united-arab-emirates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836","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=836"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4511,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836\/revisions\/4511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=836"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}