Howdy all. Yes it’s time for a ‘vanilla’ post for you. Just checking in here. Keep in mind that this was written a little while ago now, but nothing much is likely to have changed in that time I suspect. It is the middle of September and I have just moved. JUST. A new apartment, not too far from where I was living previously. Closer to a train station which is nice.

Moving is a big thing in life and frankly I have sworn already I won’t be doing that again for at least ten years. We had people come in and put flooring in beforehand, it’s been an expensive and incredibly tiring exercise. But I’m hopeful we’ll be settled now for quite some time.

What else here is news? This post will appear just before the American election. Who knows who will win and what it will mean for the rest of the world. It looks like it will be an incredibly decisive election, but it may be that in reality not that much will change at least for those living outside the States. Or the new President may well make some significant policy shifts in terms of the rest of the world. Anyways, whatever your political affiliations are, the sun will surely rise the next day.

So 2024 has been a huge year for me. A trip to Japan and South Korea and a move. That’s enough in one year for anyone frankly. The upshot in terms of travel is that I am not planning any travel for the rest of the year, whether it be domestic or international. I’ve taken time off for the move and also for travel in April-May, time to start building my leave again.

Luckily for the blog I still have my Japan and Korea trip to detail weekly, more photos to share and the like. My vlogs from Korea will continue into the New Year, probably finishing late January or early February – I won’t post for a few weeks here or YouTube over the Christmas/New Year period as usual. I plan to shoot a few more ‘Andy’s Food Bites’ vlogs too here in Melbourne, and at some point I presume I will do a few more ‘Melbourne Revealed’ episodes as well. I am thinking about doing a regional train trip too and vlogging that.

Then comes 2025. Well, at this stage nothing is booked but I am planning a massive trip next year. I have long service due as of a couple of months back now and I can hopefully combine that with annual leave and travel for a few months. I have been dreaming more than planning and I have been saving using as many methods as possible other than taking money from my salary. Home ownership is seriously way too adult for me but here I am with a mortgage now and more household expenses to pay as well such as council rates etc.

So anyways, a quick summary of where I am at right now. To say I am somewhat overwhelmed would be quite fair. Hope wherever you are in the world you are happy and safe and have a trip to look forward too! Take care wherever you are in the world – May the Journey Never End!