Monday, March 10, 2025

Happy 20th Anniversary to My Blog!

Happy 20th anniversary to my blog!


Since I started this blog 20 years ago, I have written a total of 2,046 posts (including this one). This means that I am averaging one blog post every 3.57 days. Not bad.

Considering that I almost stopped blogging more than a decade ago, it's amazing that I have continued to write - sometimes quite extensively - throughout the years. What kept me going was this short post about Valentine's Day. How? I found myself reading some of my old blog posts until I got to this particular post. I realized that I had completely forgotten about it! It was such a wonderful experience to suddenly be reminded of something that made me smile. As such, I declared to myself that I would keep writing so that I could capture more of these memories.

The biggest value of my blog to the people I know has been my travel posts. Whenever I have friends traveling to places I had been to and who are asking for thoughts and ideas, I share my travel posts and usually, they find my posts helpful.

I updated the list of all my travel posts that I wrote in my 15th year anniversary post to include trips I took since 2020. I have also added links to all the throwback travel posts I wrote about during the pandemic.

International travel

KENYA
JAPAN
SOUTH AMERICA
My South America Trip Summary and Final Thoughts, South America Trip of a Lifetime, Prepping for our South America Trip, South American Wildlife, South American Food and Drinks, Challenges before and during our South America Trip, Condor Travel, Journeyou, and Going on a Tour versus DIY
PERU
Machu Picchu!, Aguas Calientes and Getting to Machu PicchuCusco, Sacred Valley, Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba, Lima, Casa Qorikancha in Cusco, Tunupa in Sacred Valley, Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, Palacio Del Inka Hotel in Cusco,
BRAZIL
Rio de Janeiro, Iguassu/Iguazu Falls
ARGENTINA
Perito Moreno Glacier!, Buenos AiresEl Calafate and Patagonia, Museo Del Filete in Buenos Aires, Casimiro Bigua in El Calafate, Loi Suites Iguazu Hotel, Hotel Kosten Aike in El Calafate
RUSSIA
Overview, Kremlin and Red Square, more Moscow sights, Moscow Metro, Sergiev Posad, Vladimir and Suzdal, Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Petersburg walking tour, the Hermitage, palaces around St. Petersburg, more St. Petersburg sights, Russian ballet, final thoughts, navigating the Moscow Metro, Travel tips
ICELAND
Summer holiday in Iceland and Austria, Blue Lagoon and Hallgrímskirkja, Glacier Lagoon, whale-watching in Reykjavik, the Golden Circle, Dettifoss and the Jewels of the North tour, last day in Iceland + suggested itinerary
TOUR OF NORWAY AND SWEDEN
Overview, Oslo, Norway in a Nutshell, Bergen, Stockholm
BRUNEI
Overview, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin and ame'asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosques, Empire Hotel and Country Club, Kampong Ayer and Royal Regalia Museum, Travel tips and suggested itinerary, final thoughts
SWITZERLAND
Lucerne landmarks, walking around Lucerne, Locarno and the canton of Ticino
SOUTH KOREA
2011: Overview, Seoul, Incheon, travel tips and final thoughts
2019: Return to Seoul, Seoul City Tour and the Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul Food, DMZ Spy Tour, Nami Island and the Garden of Morning Calm, U2: The Joshua Tree Tour in Seoul
AUSTRIA
Summer holiday in Iceland and Austria, Overview, Vienna, Salzburg, Sound of Music tour, Final thoughts and travel tips
LEGOLAND AND SINGAPORE
Overview, Legoland Malaysia, Universal Studios Singapore (part 2), Final thoughts
FAMILY TRIP TO SINGAPORE
Overview, Universal Studios Singapore, Singapore Zoo, Suntec City, and the Merlion, Marina Bay Sands
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
Overview, Amsterdam sights, other Amsterdam experiences, final thought
DENMARK
Copenhagen, more on Copenhagen, sights surrounding Copenhagen
LUND AND MALMO, SWEDEN
Lund, Malmo sights, more Malmo sights
BELGIUM
Belgium, living in Brussels 1, living in Brussels 2, Ghent, Bruges
UK

I also have almost 30 posts about my life in Lund, Sweden from January to June 2007. There are too many posts to share them all here so you can look through my 2007 posts to find them. Special mention: Photo finishes at the train station Part 2 still remains to be one of my favorite blog posts ever.

Local travel

SAGADA
Overview, Sumaguing Cave, Hanging coffins and other Sagada sights, Sagada terraces and falls, Banaue Rice Terraces, final thoughts and tips
KALIBO
Visiting Kalibo for Ati-Atihan, Sadsad, Sunday Mass and Final Day Festivities, Primavera, Peil, Ramboy's, La Esperanza Hotel, Final Thoughts and Travel Tips
BORACAY
Boracay, La Cozina, Lemoni Cafe, Epic, Cafe Del Sol, Don Vito, Boracay Mandarin Island Hotel 
BATANES 

*****

I started this blog on a whim and I almost stopped after a few years before I decided to keep posting. Now that my blog is on its 20th year, I am very thankful that I have continued because I can very easily look back at all the amazing things that have happened in my life. I have always known how fortunate I am to have had all these opportunities but getting to read and relive all these incredible memories and experiences I documented in my blog over the years makes me feel even more grateful.

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