“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”
― Jawaharlal Nehru
One of my favorite things about approaching the end of the year is the opportunity to reflect on the previous year and think about the year to come. Last year, when reflecting on 2022, I deemed it the “Year of Revenge Travel.” Reason being, I took multiple postponed 2020 trips and began jumping on new opportunities to travel as they presented themselves.
At the end of last year’s recap post, I predicted that I would travel less in 2023 considering 2022 felt very much like making up for lost time. Now, looking back on 2023, I traveled at least as much if not more than in 2022.
In reflecting on the previous year, I realized I’ve been carrying on a lesson I learned after 2020 brough travel to a screeching halt: When the opportunity [to travel, connect, etc.] arises, seize it; you never know when it will go away.
Maybe that sounds a tad dramatic, but it’s definitely something I lived by this year, albeit somewhat subconsciously. I seized opportunities to snag cheap flight deals, to travel places I’ve dreamed of seeing for years and to try new things.
That’s why I’m deeming 2023 the Year of Opportunistic Travel. Here’s my 2023 recap, by month:
January – February: Hanging at Home
The year got off to a rather quiet start. I spent much of January and February of 2023 relaxing at home. Weather was unusually rainy and cold for California, even for winter months, so I didn’t even really do any close-to-home travel. These two months were sort of spent wondering why I pay California rent for Washington weather to be honest.
After two months without much action, I thought my prediction for less travel this year was coming true.
March: Seattle & Miami
Speaking of Washington weather, my first trip of 2023 was to Seattle. As a former Seattleite, I visit this area typically once or twice each year to see friends. My first Seattle trip of the year also came with the goal of learning how to ski.
I’ve been considering taking ski lessons more or less since I moved out of Florida nearly one decade ago. For one reason or another, I never got around to it – the most prominent one being I couldn’t find anyone around me who wanted to learn to ski and hadn’t been skiing since they were a kid.
Then, I was invited along skiing during an early March weekend in Seattle. Although I still had no one to learn with, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to take a long-awaited ski lesson.
Suffice it to say, skiing was much harder than I imagined, and I found myself really wishing I’d had a friend with me. But I’m glad I finally learned something about skiing. Will I do it again one day? Probably. But I might spring for a private lesson.
March also found me in Miami for a couple of days. I was born in Miami and spent most of the first decade of my life in Miami and the greater South Florida area. I don’t necessarily feel a major draw to South Florida and hadn’t really prioritized visiting Miami as an adult. However, the evening spent wandering Calle Ocho in Little Havana made me realize I’d been sleeping on a pretty culturally interesting and vibrant city. One of my future travel goals is to return to explore more of South Florida properly as an adult.
April: India & Vietnam
In April, I had an opportunity to visit a country I’d been wanting to see in person for a long time: India. It was a short trip, but I experienced what I could.
One of those experiences was a sunrise tour of the Taj Mahal, which was one of the highlights of my year and probably doesn’t need much explanation. I also took a tour of the Elephanta Caves near Mumbai. These caves are some of the largest Hindu caves in India. In colonial days, the Portuguese tried to destroy them, but luckily much of the caves survived the damage. You can take a ferry from the Gateway of India in Mumbai and tour the Hindu sculptures. I recommend hiring a guide to get a better understanding of the historical context and Hindu gods and legends.
I’ll write more about the sunrise tour of the Taj Mahal and visit to the Elephanta Caves in a later post.
May: Vietnam & South Korea (Seoul)
Late April/early May was the big trip of the year: Vietnam. I’d been wanting to visit Southeast Asia for years and was determined to get to this region once COVID restrictions lifted. I wasn’t sure if I should visit Thailand or Vietnam first when a flight deal from Going (Scott’s Cheap Flights) to Vietnam landed in my inbox. The deal was too good to pass up, and I jumped on it immediately.
I was initially concerned about visiting Vietnam at the beginning of the rainy season, but the weather ended up being hot but nice, with only a couple of short-lived downpours.
Sometimes when you’ve been looking forward to visiting a place for a long time, it will fall short of expectations. Luckily, this was not the case for Vietnam. My two weeks in the country were incredible. In total, I spent half a week in Hanoi visiting attractions like the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Museum and Train Street, three nights cruising Bai Tu Long Bay, two days trekking in Sapa and another half-week in Ho Chi Minh City, which included a day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels and Mekong Delta.
On our way home from Vietnam, we also opted for a long layover in Seoul, South Korea. The layover was only 14 hours, but we were able to get out and see a lot of the city thanks to Seoul’s good public transit system. Luckily, it was Visit Korea Year, which meant the need for an ESTA was waived. This definitely made our trip home more tiring, but was worth it to see another city/country/culture and extend our trip a bit.
June: Southeast USA (Florida, Georgia and South Carolina)
In June, we did some domestic travel in the Southeast region of the US. We visited my hometown in North Florida to see some family and friends. The plan after Florida was to head to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina for a vacation with my partner’s family. As we were planning, we realized neither of us had been to Savannah, Georgia. We decided to spend two days in Savannah exploring the city and eating delicious food on the way to Hilton Head.
Afterwards, we spent a week in Hilton Head relaxing on the beach, biking around the island and playing mini golf. I’ll write more about my visits to Savannah and Hilton Head in later posts.
July: Relaxing at Home
July was spent at home and turned out to be a much-needed break before the whirlwind of travel that made up most of the second half of the year. I spent July relaxing at home and going on long bike rides during the weekends.
August: Northern California (Pinnacles National Park, Napa Valley and Santa Cruz)
August also consisted of close-to-home adventures, with weekend and day-trips around the Northern California area.
In early August, we took a day trip to Napa. We visited two wineries, Far Niente and Darioush. At Far Niente, we took a tour of the winery and wine cellars and learned about the Italian influence on the wine and properties before tasting a variety of their reds and whites, along with a sweet wine called Dolce. Darioush was less interactive, but had a beautiful property and art inspired by Persian and Greek cultures. This winery also has one of the best chardonnays I’ve ever tasted.
In mid-August, a friend visited from out of state, and we visited Pinnacles National Park, a which is known for its volcanic rock formations and Condor population. Pinnacles’ status as a US National Park is actually somewhat controversial. The park itself is rather small, and we were able to see most of it in about half a day. It was originally named a National Monument and was elevated to National Park status in 2011 due to its geographic and cultural significance. I’ll write more about Pinnacles National Park in a later post.
At the end of August, we took a weekend trip to Santa Cruz to visit my aunt. In Santa Cruz, we visited the beach and boardwalk before a nice farm-to-table dinner. Then, we spent the evening in the town square dancing to live music. It was a fun scene, with people of all ages hanging out and vibing to the music. The next day, we went on an easy hike through the redwoods in a nearby state park.
September: Quebec, Canada & New York City
In September, I checked off another city on my bucket list. I traveled to Montreal and Quebec City, Quebec with my friend. Our primary reasons for going were to see Quebec City and practice our French.
When we were looking up flights, we realized it would make sense to add Montreal onto our trip itinerary. Rather than only visiting Quebec City for the long weekend, we also spent two days each in Montreal and Quebec City. As it turned out, we ended up enjoying Montreal much more than Quebec City and were so glad we added it to our trip.
Afterwards, I traveled to New York for work and stayed in the city through the weekend. I spent time visiting my old favorite spot, the Highline, walked through Little Island and Central Park and ate delicious food at the Feast of San Gennaro festival in Little Italy.
October: Seattle (again)
In October, I returned to Seattle for my best friend’s birthday and a wedding. I celebrated their birthday on a hot tub boat in Lake Union and a low-key birthday party. We boarded the boat from Wallingford and paddled it close – but not too close- to Gasworks Park. We started the trip right around sunset, and watched the sun go down and a full moon rise, while the buildings of downtown Seattle sparkled in the distance. It was mesmerizing. I blame being hypnotized by the full moon (and possibly a bit of liquid courage) for taking a quick dip in the cold waters of Lake Union. I only got a mild cold from it.
The wedding was for my partner’s coworker and was in a city just outside of Seattle. The couple was very lucky to have beautiful clear weather in early October and wedded with a backdrop of a beautiful view of the water.
November: UK & Ireland
My partner and I were trying to decide what to do over the Thanksgiving holiday when the opportunity presented itself to travel to the UK and Ireland. Some highlights from the UK were visiting major sites around London like Buckingham Palace and taking a Shakespeare tour in Stratford-Upon-Avon.
After England, my partner and I flew to Ireland for a road trip around the island. We started in Belfast in Northern Ireland and included a day trip to Giant’s Causeway and Old Bushmills, then drove over to Killybegs to visit the Slieve League Cliffs. On our way to Killarney, we visited the Galway Christmas Market and the Cliffs of Moher. Then, we spent our time in County Kerry driving the Ring of Kerry. We then drove to Dublin to finish our road trip, and fit in a trip to the Blarney Castle and Rock of Cashel. I’ll write more about the Ring of Kerry, Dublin and the road trip in general in later posts.
December: Kentucky
In December, we fit in one more quick trip to Kentucky. Kentucky was mostly uneventful, but we finally took the opportunity to visit a winery just outside of Lexington we’d been talking about visiting for awhile: Wildside. Here, we tasted local wines and petted the orange winery cat.
Then, we returned home to California to celebrate the holidays and toast an incredible and travel-filled year.
Travel Stats:
So, now that I’ve shared my 2023 recap, it’s time for a roundup of my 2023 travel stats:
- Countries visited (excluding the US): 6
- New-to-me countries: 4
- States visited (excluding California): 6
- New-to-me states: 1
- US National Parks visited: 1
- UNESCO World Heritage Site visited: 7
- Number of days spent traveling: 97
Plans for 2024:
My hope for 2024 is to check more places and experiences off my bucket list, while also traveling relatively more slowly and incorporating more cultural immersion and relaxation.
Hope you enjoyed my 2023 recap! Let me know how your 2023 was in the comments, and what you hope for in 2024!
