It’s that time of the year when you pause, reflect, and celebrate! I’ve been meaning to publish this for days, but I’m in the middle of shifting houses, and that caused the delay. Better late than never. 2019 has been such an interesting year. I went to places I never even knew existed, tried foods that were unfamiliar and met strangers who went above and beyond to make me comfortable.
Days I spent traveling in 2019: 30 (excluding my trips to India)
I made 3 trips to India to prepare for my sister’s wedding which happened in November. Well, that was the biggest highlight for our family for 2019.
Countries I visited in 2019: 7
Indonesia (Batam), Philippines(Iloilo), China(Suzhou and Shanghai), Malaysia (Penang), Austria (Vienna & Salzburg), Czech Republic (Prague), Hungary (Budapest)
There are way too many awesome things to cover for me in one post, so I’ll pick the top 6 highlights for the year.
1. Seeing snow for the first time in the #AustrianAlps
We took a cable car up to reach Dachstein glacier. As soon as I get off the cable car, a gush of cold wind touched my face and I saw white blanketed mountains, upon mountains, upon mountains. The feeling was magical. And then we walk for about 30 mins to get to Five Finger's viewpoints. The views of Hallstatt lake and snow-covered slopes from 2100 m height are spectacular.
2. Hitler’s Eagles Nest
Hitler’s Eagles Nest was built as a teahouse for Adolf Hitler in the #BavarianAlps at an elevation of 6,017 ft. It was used exclusively by the members of the Nazi party for government & social meetings. Once you’re at the top, you’ll get a spectacular 360-degree view of the Alps. While the panorama is incredible, what’s even more fascinating is the elevator that takes you up to this place. You have to go through a long, dark tunnel to this amazing, brass-lined elevator that takes you up. The elevator is the same as the one used by #Hitler and his visitors. It is nothing less than an engineering marvel as it cuts across the mountain to take you up.
3. Attending a party in an underground club in #Prague
Prague is a popular destination for partygoers and because of this, many popular bars and clubs become super crowded. So, if you are looking for an off-beaten party scene in Prague, there are #undergroundclubs that offer everything you might imagine. We ventured to one such place which was hidden in the basement of a mall. We had to go through a very tiny entrance and the bar had a rustic theme to it. The band performing was singing English chartbusters in Czech, on the stage, in concert style. And every time they sang a new song, we saw Czech's headbanging and jumping into each other (a very unusual sight 😉)
4. Getting lost in an Alpine village
Anyone who talks about the beauty of Hallstatt has never been to Obertraun. Obertraun is a small charming village on the other side of the Hallstatt lake. We decided to get down at the Obertraun station instead of Hallstatt first to explore the less known side of Austria. The train station was small and quiet and so was the village. Bavarian houses, surrounded by high mountains, river Traun flowing on one side and the two of us, singing and dancing while navigating our way through the woods. It was nothing short of magical.
5. A visit to the Sunflower fields off my list.
Sunflowers are such a happy flower and you can’t help but smile when you see one or an entire field of them blooming when summer ends. And my first experience in a #sunflowerfield was in the Iloilo city. My friends took me to Happy Farms, a family farm in the Iloilo #countryside that stands true to its name. I couldn’t help but smile ear to ear to see so many of them in full bloom.
6. A traditional #ChineseGarden isn’t on everyone’s bucket list, but it should be.
I can say that with confidence after seeing the Humble Administrator’s Garden in Suzhou, China. Suzhou is a major city, 100 miles east of #Shanghai and on my business trip to Suzhou, I decided to talk a trip down to this UNESCO World Heritage site. I spent about 2 hours taking a leisurely stroll in this garden and every inch of it is worth the hype. It’s a traditional Chinese garden with architecture that dates to the Ming dynasty - koi ponds, overhanging trees, bonsai plants, and scenic pavilions that make it look like a painting.
If you are like me, you would have already taken note of long weekends in 2020 (In Singapore, there are 6!) and would have started planning for your holidays. My list includes Switzerland, Langkawi, Leh, and Australia. What’s yours?