Our top 10 travel highlights of 2018

An unforgettable year

Two weeks into the New Year we are still thinking about all the amazing experiences we had in 2018. That said, I decided to start 2019 listing our top 10 travel highlights of the past year.

It was a year of intense travelling, meeting lots of incredible people and organisations and living enriching experiences.

More importantly, it was a year of testing limits, adjusting lifestyle, personal growth and coming to important realisations.

 Let’s first see a summary of our top 10 travel highlights of 2018.

 (Read all or click on a travel highlight of your choice)

1 – Four months on Langkawi Island, Malaysia

2 – Meeting founders of Trash Hero in Koh Lipe, Thailand

3 –  Meritin Hotel Kuching, Malaysia – Home away from home

4 – Discovering the Tzu Chi Foundation in Kuching

5 – Three Animal rehabilitation and conservation projects in Sabah, Malaysia

6 – Back to Island of The Gods, Bali, Indonesia

7 – Island hopping around Bali with Natalia and Adrian

8 – Discovering Melaka (or Malacca), Venice of Malaysia

9 – Celebrating my birthday at the Sama Sama Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

10 – Swimming in the North Sea in North Norfolk, UK

1 – Four months on Langkawi Island, Malaysia

We arrived on Langkawi Island on December 30th 2018 full of hopes, dreams and expectations. At midnight of the following day, we were on the buzzing Cenang Beach with thousands of people releasing our wishes with paper lanterns.

Although, overall, things did not go exactly as we had envisioned, our experiences by far offset some of our frustrated expectations.

We had agreed to spend the first week of the year recovering our energy prior to getting back to work. Our modern studio, facing a lush and vibrant forest provided the perfect setting for a total chill out.

As soon as we arrived we made acquaintance with our forest neighbours, the docile, curious yet shy dusky leaf monkeys. For three months we spent morning after morning observing each other’s habits. They watched our routine while we watched them and their growing family. Over time, they gained terrain and our familiarity culminated in a hilarious episode shortly prior to our departure. We will be releasing the video on our Youtube channel.

 Had we not been blessed enough with our new monkey friends, January ended with a magnificent blue moon, a total lunar eclipse.

New friends, vegetable fried rice (or noodles!), banana fritters, beach clean-ups, work sessions at the beach and amazing sunsets, populated the first four months of the year.

2. Meeting founders of Trash Hero in Koh Lipe, Thailand

In Malaysia, visitors can only stay for longer than three months if they hold a work or retirement visa. Since we had neither when March came along we had to leave the country to renew our passport stamps.

The selected destination was the island of Koh Lipe, in Thailand, just a short boat ride from Langkawi. The island is absolutely stunning, with crystal clear turquoise blue water. It was a good time to relax and take a break from the intense work schedule (Yes, we were still working hard. Very hard, as a matter of fact!).

Chilling out and snorkelling are the most recommended activities on the island. For us, however, the travel highlight of this quick getaway was to meet two of the founders of Trash Hero. Darius and Mark told us how their efforts to clean up Koh Lipe from plastic waste resulted in the creation of the NGO. Nowadays, Trash Hero is an organisation with worldwide affiliations acting in various fronts to prevent unnecessary waste, especially plastic.

We left Koh Lipe inspired by the people we met and committed to spreading the word about their work.

3. Meritin Hotel Kuching: home away from home

During our trip to Koh Lipe we decided it was time to move on to look for new experiences. We stayed an extra month on Langkawi Island and at the beginning of May we took off. The new destination was Kuching, the city of cats, in the Malaysian part of Borneo. The decision to return to Kuching was not random. We had been there the year before and knew we wanted to go back.

This time we chose to stay at the Meritin Hotel. It will suffice to say that an initial booking of five days ended up being extended to two weeks. Olivia, the manager, and her family and staff made us feel so at home that we decided that Kuching will be part of our Asia routine stop in the future.

Our time in Kuching was enough to see old friends and explore a bit more of this lovely waterfront city. We were even invited to an Indian wedding! And on one occasion, James adventured into an exciting unofficial trekking trip that left him almost barefoot and with a story to tell. That day I had to stay in the hotel recovering from a bad cold and catching up with work.

4. Jing si Books and café – Tzu Chi Foundation in Kuching

One day, while taking an afternoon walk in the proximity of the Meritin Hotel area, we spotted a bookstore across the road.

It was very hot and we could use a break from the heat, so we crossed the road and took refuge from the sun inside the shop. The quiet and fresh ambience with peaceful oriental music on the background transported us into a new dimension. A friendly employee welcomed us at the reception desk and told us to feel free to look around. He further explained that the shop includes the bookstore, as well as a vegan shop and a café.

We felt so good that we could stay there for hours.

The bookstore belongs to the Tzu Chi Foundation founded by Venerable Dharma Master Cheng Yen. The Taiwanese Buddhist nun has dedicated her life to practising compassion through humanitarian causes.

On our following stop, Kota Kinabalu, we had the opportunity to visit a larger and more complete version of the Jing si Bookstore and Café.

5. Three animal rehabilitation and conservation projects in Sabah, Malaysia

After the state of Sarawak, in Borneo, we flew to the opposite side to visit Sabah for the first time. Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan were the two main cities we visited.

The travel highlight of this part of our trip was to visit three conservation projects. Namely, the Sepilok Orangutan Foundation, the Bornean Sunbear Conservation Center and Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkeys Sanctuary. These projects are dedicated to offsetting the negative impact of the palm plantation activity on local wildlife. (More details about each one coming up soon)

6. Back to Island of The Gods, Bali, Indonesia

Going back to Bali after three years was one of the ultimate travel highlights of 2018. The first time we visited Bali I left in tears. With all the good and the not so good, that island and its people conquered my heart.

This time, we arrived at the beginning of June and immediately noticed a significant increase in the number of tourists. The impact of such an increase in tourism was also notorious, mainly in traffic and on the amount of garbage.

Most importantly,during almost two months, we had the chance to learn a bit more about the rich Balinese culture. Their dedication to their religion, Balinese Hinduism, and their welcoming nature surpasses any downside of mass-tourism.

Bali is a blessed land of creative minds inspired by spirituality.

7. Island hopping around Bali with Natalia and Adrian

After the first month in Bali, we decided to find a hotel in the surroundings of busy Ubud centre.

On the first day at Villa Sekembang Ubud we met a young couple from Slovakia, Natalia Ancinová and Ádrian Cuj. They are about twenty-five years younger than us thus young enough to be our kids! However, we got along so incredibly well that we decided to go island hopping together. (These guys were the highlight of our travels this year!) 

For two weeks we visited Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Penida, Nusa Ceningan and Gili Meno. It was like the house was on fire with positive energy and good vibes! We were on constant hype. They injected us with youthful enthusiasm and we share with them a bit of our travelling wisdom. It was just perfect. (By the way, we are already planning another trip together, hopefully for 2019!)

8. Discovering Melaka, the Venice of Malaysia

Known as the Venice of Malaysia, Melaka was a pleasant surprise, again, in spite of the volume of tourism!

Throughout the centuries Melaka was occupied by the Portuguese, Dutch and English, resulting in a rich and varied culture.

Melaka was rebuilt after the destruction by the Japanese during World War II giving rise to a vibrant waterfront city.

From the famous Jonker Walk to monuments, museums and a vibrant waterfront full of bars and restaurants Melaka has plenty of entertainment for all tastes.

9. Celebrating my Birthday at the Sama Sama Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Seven months went by very quickly and before we knew it the time to leave had arrived. We were booked to fly to the UK from Kuala Lumpur on the day of my birthday. You may think “Bummer!”.

Wrong! James had made previous arrangements at the Sama Sama Hotel, a five-star hotel in the Kuala Lumpur airport. It was the best gift I could have wished to wrap up seven months of travels and to prepare for a big house move!

10. Swimming in the North Sea in North Norfolk, UK

At the end of our trip, prior to going back home to Portugal, we decided to stop in the UK. For two weeks, we touched base with family and friends and drove around to explore housing possibilities. Though we initially considered setting up base in the UK, it did not take long before we changed our minds.

Nonetheless, we spent a couple of wonderful days enjoying the stunning countryside views. The travel highlight of our UK trip was the charming coastal town of North Norfolk, around two and a half hours north of London. I was surprised to find such a creative and eclectic community, mostly of well-achieved middle-agers escaping from the London hype.

The ultimate and courageous adventure for me was to dive into the cold waters of the North Sea. Anyone who knows me knows that I stay well away from any water under 25Cº and that was nowhere near it!

Prospects for 2019

We returned home to organize a big house move, which has grounded us in Portugal for a while. Needless to say, we already have itchy feet and cannot wait to start planning our next trip.

We will be exploring the surrounding of our new hometown, the World Surfing Reserve of Ericeira, thirty minutes from Lisbon. Needless to say, you can expect some posts about Portugal.

In the meantime, stay posted!

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