Happy New Year!
This year was amazing for travel—I fulfilled childhood dreams and pushed myself out of my comfort zone. It was a wonderful year for travel opportunities all around!
2018 was also a year that presented some challenges for me personally.
This blog is often a place for deep, personal reflection. I do it in most of my blog posts, but also intentionally through random life updates. I did this on a monthly basis during my extended trip 4 years ago (4 years ago, whaaat?!). Now, I only post updates about once a year around the new year. I love making the celebration of the new year into a time to look back and look ahead in a more intentional way. It's good for the heart, mind, and soul!
For this post, I look back on my travels this year, including my top 5 favorite travel experiences! I also share my reflections on life and personal growth behind all the travels. I do this mostly for me. But I know readers also appreciate the honesty and clarity about what's going on with me!
So here we go! This was 2018.
I kept hearing about the "most dangerous" and "most popular" hike in Zion. Angel's Landing is beautiful, thrilling, and inevitably crowded.
I woke up at 4AM to hit the trail solo at 6AM. I drove into the park from my Airbnb in St. George, Utah, and managed to be one of the first to the top!
I am so happy I planned this way. So I want to tell you how to plan similarly! In this Q&A-style post, I describe my entire experience. I explain everything including when to go and how dangerous it is. Then you can decide if it's a hike you'd like to do, too!
I'm not going to sugar coat this experience. The reality is that I had to fight my way out of a frighteningly strong current while diving in Bali. I haven't told many people about it yet, but I think it's important to share both the happy and scary moments of travel. I arrived in Bali and immediately traveled out to the islands for some diving. Nusa Lembongan was supposed to have some of the best diving in all of Bali. If lucky, I would get to see manta ray and maybe even the elusive, giant sunfish called "Mola Mola."
The most exciting part of my 7 dives turned out to be an unexpected encounter with an insanely strong current while on my last dive of the week. I even lost a fin battling my way out of it with my guide and buddy at my side! At best, this experience was a great lesson in how to (a) not panic; and (b) get yourself out of a strong current while diving. At worst, it was a rude reminder that THIS IS THE OCEAN and it can be unforgiving.
I was going to call this post “Monks and Motorbikes” but then I realized you would all picture monks riding motorbikes around and that would have been completely inaccurate. My in-depth post about my interactions with monks will have to come later. Instead, this post is about the day I got over my fear of riding a motorbike which included a ride up to a Buddhist temple near Chiang Mai.
West of Chiang Mai is Doi Suthep-Pui National Park. Just before the Doi Suthep mountain summit (1676m) is the temple Wat Phra That Doi Suthep—a famous Buddhist pilgrimage site. Other travelers staying at the Julie Guesthouse suggested going there as a fun day trip. They mentioned songthaews and buses as the means to get up there. “Or you could just rent a motorbike,” said one traveler.
Before departing for my Year of Deviation trip, I hiked and camped in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York with four friends from New York City. This weekend trip was the perfect experience to have right before leaving my home country for a year. I am sitting here writing this story in Reykjavik, Iceland, my first Year of Deviation stop. Many adventures await, I am sure of it. But I am still in awe of what we encountered in the Catskills, proving that some adventures can be found in the places we take for granted the most—our own back yards.
Nestled deep in the forest off the main highway surrounded by the Catskill mountains, Woodland Valley campground is run by New York State Parks. Like an outdoor hotel, reservations are needed and made online where you can choose which designated campsite you want to reserve on the grounds. We arrived shortly after check-in at noon.
