2011 in many ways has been an extremely successful year. I have a lot to be grateful for. As the year is about to turn to 2012 I feel very fortunate. I have not only continued to travel extensively but have begun to turn my passion (travel) into my job. I have started transitioning to working AS I travel, rather than before and after I travel.
The Year in Review
The clock turned midnight and welcomed me to 2011 (Read 2010 in Review) on a cold rainy night on Jeju Island where I had flown a few days earlier to teach English in Korea. I enjoy short-term contracts and took this one to teach children at an intensive English camp. The highlights of Jeju actually happened after camp ended (surprise, surprise) when I took 2 ½ weeks to explore Korea before flying home.
Although the 368 hills of Jeju are more serene and less touristy, hiking Halla-san, the Volcano that is Jeju Island, was certainly an unforgettable experience. Of cultural interest, I was extremely privileged to be invited to spend the Korean Lunar New Year with a local family which I arranged through couchsurfing. (More about South Korea on Bohemian Traveler here and side reading about the women divers of Jeju.)
In March, April, and May I traveled through Southeast Asia—a place I had long dreamed about. From riding slow boats in Laos, to working remotely in Chiang Mai, to discovering Penang, Malaysia, to seeing orangutans in the wild in Borneo. This was the first backpacking trip I made while maintaining my blogs full-time. And I’d say it was a successful trip. Another highlight was creating this stop-motion video of a day in Bangkok. All my Southeast Asia posts can be found here: https://bohemiantraveler.com/tag/southeast-asia/
When summer came, I set off on a road trip to New England, reaching all the way to Quebec City. In between lots of hiking, camping, and visiting friends in New Hampshire and Vermont, I spent an enjoyable and productive 5 days in Philadelphia. Read the Road Trip in Numbers for the brief highlights.
After a couple of months at home tying together some loose ends, I set off for my most exciting adventure, one I’ve had in the back of my mind for years. I wrote this post Why I’m going to China. Little more than two weeks ago I flew into Hong Kong and already wrote about my first impressions of the city and my Favorite Quirks of Hong Kong.
What’s new at Bohemian Traveler
I started a new column recently: Travel Philosophy Friday. Here I explore topics like how walking is the best way to experience place and trying to find your old home. Look out for more travel philosophy posts in 2012.
What I will continue to do for you
I will continue this blog and post articles about the places I visit throughout my travels. Most importantly, I want to give you enough information about these places in case you want to go out and recreate them for yourself. But at the same time, I want my writing to be descriptive enough to paint the picture of these experiences in case you’re not able to pick up and leave. At least you’ll have the opportunity to follow along from your armchair (or cubicle). I also want my posts to be easy to digest, fun to read, and at times thought-provoking.
I’ll also bring you more and better photography, both in my posts and over on my Flickr collections. Additionally, I’m doing quite a bit of filming, and I post little cultural snippets and videos that I’ve crafted on my YouTube channel.
I’d also like to remind you that I’m still answering your travel-related question in my Ask GoMad Nomad column over at my other website gomadnomad.com. So send them to my email: bohemiantrav [at] gmail [dot] com
What you can do to help this Blog
I remain extremely grateful to all my readers. I really appreciate the support, be it in simply visiting the site, commenting on posts, thumbing me up on Facebook, or writing me personal emails. Share my site with your friends and if you haven’t already signed up for my monthly email newsletter, you can do that here. Become a fan on Facebook if you’re not already.
Have an amazing 2012!
Travel more. Experience more. Live more.
