Howdy all. Well, tomorrow sees us make it to Christmas yet again, and a week later it will be New Year. I will be taking my customary break from today until mid-January from blogging, and I guess I will beginning 2025 with a few retrospectives from 2024 for you.

Hopefully over the holiday period you are connecting with loved ones regardless of whether you celebrate or observe Christmas. It’s been a funny old year and I think one I’ll be glad is over as we move into a new one. Had some bad news over the last couple of months in 2024 and have been feeling a deal of uncertainty which definitely won’t be about to go away because the calendar changes, but at least there is a chance to take a deep breath and re-focus.

2024 hasn’t been a year without achievement I guess personally, as readers would know I bought my first apartment at the super young age of ALMOST 50. Next year I will, all things being equal (never take ANYTHING for granted) make it to 50. And so the plan is for, as you might expect, to celebrate with travel. I have a number of months of long-service leave owing to me – which we receive in certain jobs in Australia after ten years of service. I plan to take full advantage of that as long as things are okay here in Australia. Some tickets, at least half, are booked. Find out in 2025 what the details are and expect many vlogs!

I am hoping 2025 will bring me my 100^th country. I try not to mention countries by number as it doesn’t quite seem right, but 100 is a significant milestone I guess so why not have it as a goal and celebrate it. For the record I am at 91 with the Republic of Korea being my 91^st country, the only new country I visited in 2024. Well, I only visited three this year and basically have had no domestic travel. It’s all been about saving and buying the apartment!

I did also visit Taiwan, if you like you can count it as my 92^nd country but… I am playing it safe! In many ways Taiwan clearly does think of itself as China I found when I was there. So it’s a funny one. I do count England, Wales and Scotland as three separate countries too instead of one under the United Kingdom banner which I think is the right thing to do.

Where did I most enjoy travel to this year? Well, although my travels were packed and busy, I found Japan, Korea and Taiwan all to great destinations. I got to make so many vlogs and explore and experience so many things in under 3 weeks, I really pushed myself I don’t think there was a single day I didn’t shoot a vlog or two! The weather was seriously variable, sometimes pouring rain in every city I went, sometimes cloudless skies. Perhaps the best day was the day when I explored Itoshima, Kyushu Japan and saw temples, waterfalls and amazing views.

Seoul was a rewarding city to visit and like Tokyo, but perhaps not quite with as many things to see and do (they both have heaps) and so this was another highlight. Certainly the week I had there went super-fast and I left with more to do. Tokyo I have been visiting since 2011 and I still haven’t seen it all yet. That would be probably 6-8 visits at a guess.

Korea, Japan and Taiwan are pretty easy countries to visit, have excellent public transportation, are clean and well laid out. If you’re thinking of going to any of those places well, don’t hesitate!

Once I’ve done a little reflecting on the blog in January, I’ll go back to writing about my time in Japan, then Korea and Taiwan. I’ve still got plenty of images to share to. On YouTube I have already shot a couple of vlogs in Melbourne for 2025, but I also have three main vlogs from that trip which include a review of Korean Airlines, a Day in Taiwan and a review of China Airlines Business Class. I have plans to try a few things out around Victoria and Melbourne to keep the content flowing until I get aboard my next flight too!

So there’s plenty to look forward to in 2025 for me. How’s you 2025 shaping up? A big thanks to all who have supported my blog in 2024. I’ve seen significant improvement in my stats in the second half of the year. I don’t really know why because I haven’t been doing anything different and this blog has been out there for a long time now. Like over 10 years! No idea when my ‘blogaversary’ is, sorry! But I know I started with WordPress before leaving Japan in 2014.

Please take care over the holiday period and remember there are people out there who struggle through it and if you know someone who does they may need a little support, and if that’s you I hope you have the support you need. Take care wherever you may be, look after yourself, be kind to others and yourself, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Holidays, and May the Journey Never End!