As we approach the end of 2018, it’s time for me to reflect on the past year and to look ahead to 2019. I didn’t travel much this year, but next year is going to be completely different.

This year has been a bit of an odd year for travelling for me. I did a whole lot of planning and researching for next year, but I didn’t spend much time abroad. I visited two music festivals (in Germany and in Belgium) and had a fantastic time at both. Besides that, Holland was blessed with a long and warm summer, so it really wasn’t the worst time to skip the trips abroad.

Despite the lack of travelling, it’s been a great year. Thanks to the two festivals I visited, I enjoyed a lot of live music. I made some new friends. I started a new job. I spent a lot of time walking, the highlight of which was a 20km walk from Amsterdam to Zaandam with my dad. He and I also started walking the long distance walking route “Pieterpad”, which begins in the north and ends near Holland’s southern border. In March I finally saw my best friend again, which was a great surprise, since I didn’t expect to see her until my trip to Hong Kong next year. We celebrated Easter together and I loved showing her my home. I also ticked off some bucket list items this year, the best of which was the experience of driving a bus for the first time. Driving a bus might sound really uncool to a lot of people, but I’ve always wanted to give it a go, and I had lots of fun.

Lastly, I spent quite a bit of time researching next year’s trip. I will be travelling all the way from Holland to Hong Kong by train over the course of roughly six weeks. It’s going to be one of those “once-in-a-lifetime” experiences, so naturally, I have already done a lot of reading. I have booked the train tickets and I’ve acquired a backpack, so the real fun can begin now. However, it’s gonna take a bit longer before I’m entirely comfortable with the idea that everything I need will fit into that backpack. It looks so small all of a sudden…