Travelling Minions 2023, a Year in Review

2023 seemingly feels like a bigger travel year than others in the past. While I didn’t go on as many trips, the ones I did go on felt pretty grand and I’m not upset by it! Traditionally, I’ve tried to have one “big” trip and multiple smaller ones throughout the year. However, this year it feels reversed with multiple big trips and only a few smaller trips.

Even with a pause in travel in order to renew my passport, looking back there is still plenty to write about!

Without further adieu here are my 2023 travel memories:

Japan

In late January/early February of 2023, I head to Japan to attend the Sapporo Snow Festival. I spend two weeks exploring and eating my way through Japan. I start in Tokyo then visit Hakone before heading to the Hokkaido region for the festival. In addition to visiting Japan, I also spend a few days exploring Jakarta. Getting to and from Asia are also experiences in their own right. On the way there I get to fly on the longest commercial flight in the world via Singapore Airlines. Whereas on the way home, I finally get to try out ANA’s first class suites. If you’re interested in reading about this trip, click here. Or if you want to read a brief wrap up, you can click here.

Whistler, BC Canada

In July, the Sister and I did a small sibling trip to Whistler Canada. This is a familiar travel destination for my family and a very easy and enjoyable trip to do. Having visited Whistler many times before, we don’t have too many concrete plans. We mainly want to relax, hang out and eat! We do get in a bit of a walk on one of the days, but we’re mainly at restaurants, happy hours and watching TV at the hotel.

Edmonton, AB Canada

In August,  Marriott has a promotion where if you complete two stays they will award a free night certificate. Trying to take advantage of this, I find that the cheapest hotels in Canada are in Edmonton Alberta. So I make the bookings and decide to make a weekend of it in Edmonton. Coincidentally there is a Caribbean festival happening on the same weekend which further adds to the fun. While it’s a short weekend trip, it’s still pretty eventful and a good brief getaway.

Morocco & Bahrain

In September, Gimpy and I embark on an adventure to Morocco. This trip has been a year in the making and we’re glad it went so smoothly. We spent a little under two weeks in this wonderful country. We explore numerous historically significant sites and sample some of the super tasty local cuisine too. After Morocco, I fly east to Bahrain to check another country off my list and explore this tiny oil rich state. Finally, I take the long way home getting to try out JAL’s first class across the Pacific! To check out this trip, click here. The wrap up can be found here.

Europe & Abu Dhabi

For my final trip of the year I head to Europe. The genesis of this trip is around a First Class birthday flight I booked a year earlier. Its not an easy redemption to secure so once confirmed, I built a European trip around it. I end up visiting the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg before taking the flight down to Abu Dhabi. I didn’t know what to expect whilst travelling through Europe. But now, I’m still enchanted by how well they “do Christmas” there! Exploring the festively decorated streets and wandering through the different Christmas Markets is something I wouldn’t be against doing on an annual basis. I really enjoyed it. Then waiting for me a surprise upgrade to the flight and a spectacular few days in Abu Dhabi.

The trip blog can be found here. And the wrap up is here!

2024

South East Asia

Oddly enough, 2024 holds virtually no travel plans for me at present. I have one aspirational flight booking on Qatar Airway’s Qsuites to South East Asia. That’s about it. Potentially I’ll look to turn it into a trip around the region. Potentially finally being able to visit Vietnam and Cambodia but right now nothing is confirmed.

Additionally, there has been talk amongst my immediate family of doing a family trip with my sister and parents. I’ve done trips with my parents on a few occasions and I really treasure these times. Being able to go as a family unit with the Sister is going to make it even more special. While still in the idea stage, this is a trip likely slated for late spring.

Generally, I’ve found myself wanting to spend my valuable travel time with others more than solo lately. This is probably because over the past few years, I’ve been immensely fortunate to check off so many bucket list items. So, these days I more and more want to seek travel experiences with those near and dear to me. So perhaps this year you will see more and more trips taken with friends!

Regardless of my lack of future travel plans, this gives me more flexibility to jump on more spontaneous trips with others or capitalize on travel deals. For that opportunity I’m eager to see what 2024 has in store. Until then, I continually look back at 2023 and come away feeling appreciative AND blessed. Being able to do and see the things that I do, I am very fortunate and that sense is never lost on me. So with that in mind we will bid adieu to 2023 and look forward to 2024, wherever it will take us!