Happy New Year everyone!
How’re your Christmas holidays so far?
We are currently in the Philippines spending time with my Mom, sister, and brother. It has been eight years since I spent Christmas with them. Don’t get me wrong, I go to the Philippines once a year, but never on Christmas. That’s why this year is special. We just had Christmas dinner together and lighted some fireworks (apart from Netflix binging).
We are leaving though in a couple of days to celebrate New Years in Bali, Indonesia. Not my first time, but this will be our first time going there with the kids. We are already looking forward to it.
Anyway, looking back, here are our travel highlights for this year:
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – We brought the kids to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia before heading to Qatar. This was actually Charles’ 75th flight!!! (WOW) We visited the KL Tower, Mini Zoo and Aquarium. You can read our full experience here.
Bahamas cruise with Royal Caribbean Cruise – Han’s dad runs a children’s foundation in Jamaica. Part of his fundraising campaign and foundation awareness is through seminars. We had a marriage and family seminar onboard Royal Caribbean Cruise. Posh!
Johannesburg, South Africa – We attended our friends’ wedding in Johannesburg. This trip was very unique to me. My husband went ahead to help the groom with the last minute planning and to attend his bachelor’s party. We (me and the kids) had to stay behind because Charles still has school. I didn’t want him to be absent for one week. At least, I wanted to go there one day before the wedding. I and the kids decided to leave on Wednesday (the wedding is on Thursday) but we were offloaded because I don’t have parental consent! O-M-G! This is the first time I was asked for parental consent. I travel with my kids alone most of the time to the US and Asia, so it never occurred to me to check immigration requirements for Africa. Anyway, everything was sorted out because the bride’s sister experienced the same thing so she knew what to do. But gosh! We would have missed the wedding because of my assumptions and complacency.
The Wellington family during the wedding
Safari in Johannesburg, South Africa
This year, I blogged for the whole year compared to last year where I took six months off due to personal and health reasons. So here are Wellington World Travels’ blogging highlights (drum roll):
Most viewed post: Bible Verses About Travel
I actually didn’t expect this. This is somewhat religious so I rarely (or actually, never) promoted this. But for some reason, this is my most viewed post and this is even on the first page in Google page search.
Most shared post: Interview with Hon. Pauline Truong: Expat Life in the US
This is one of our interviews in our Expat Life Interview Series. Our expat series is dedicated to helping future expats who are thinking of leaving their home country to work overseas. We have featured quite a few countries, and we are still looking for more expats who would like to be featured in our Expat Life Interview series. Whether you have been an expat for one month or ten years, we welcome you. We are expat ourselves. We have been an expat for over eight years, and it has been one of the most rewarding experiences. Feel free to check out our 2017 expat roundups and 2018 expat roundups.
Most commented and liked post: From Travel Experts: 5 Things We Can’t Travel Without
I think I can understand why. This is one of our collaborative posts with other bloggers. The support and response were overwhelming – no wonder it is our most commented and liked post of the year.
For 2019, this is so far our travel plans.
Siem Reap, Cambodia (February) – I have wanted to visit this place for a long time. I want to see Angkor Wat in person, not just in pictures. My son has a school break in the first week of February, and we are thinking of going there with my Mom to celebrate her birthday as well.
Germany (June) – During the Ramadan holidays, we are thinking of going to Germany, not sure if it’s Munich or Berlin. Most probably, it will be Munich. This is my chance to see the beautiful castles I have always dreamt of. We will be traveling there with my daughter’s godparents. We have been planning this group travel for 2 years now so I hope we push this through.
Los Angeles, California (August) – As part of our annual commitment, we (or at least my husband) are going to attend the OBAP Annual Convention in LA. We provide scholarships for aspiring pilots (the H&C Wellington Excellence Achievement Scholarship) because we understand the financial challenges associated with pursuing a career in Aviation.
Western Caribbean Cruise (October) – Again as part of my dad-in-law’s fundraising campaign and awareness for his children’s foundation, we will be having another family seminar onboard Royal Caribbean.
Miami, Florida (December) – As usual, I think we are going to spend Christmas and/or New Year with my husband’s parents.
That’s it. I am sure there will be surprises (good and bad) along the way so we may have to change these travel plans, add one or remove one or change the date. No matter what, we are still going to travel somewhere whenever.
Whew! What a year! We are already ready and excited for 2019. Bring it on!
How’re your holidays so far? What have been the highlights of your blogging career and/or travel? What are you looking forward to?
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