Top Trips of 2008

As I mentioned two posts ago, one of my top inspirations is definitely traveling. Hay, what would I be without my obsessive planning for the next trip, di ba? 2008 saw me planning - and implementing - many of them, and I could not be more than thrilled.

It has been a generally satisfying year travel-wise. Again, I paid attention to diversity, which meant that I mixed a few locations and themes (talagang themes no?), i.e. beaches, mountains, heritage sites.

So today, I end my "best list" with my top trips for 2008. (Click on the links for the posts about these trips.)

Second runner-up: Phang Nga - Phuket - Krabi (March 2008)

I like this trip because it was one of my first ventures on traveling without a fixed schedule. It was also the first time I traveled with Bubbles and he convinced me to just hop on a bus and give way to spontaneity. In the end, we covered a lot of must-see places in the south of Thailand.

First runner-up: Vientiane - Luang Prabang - Vang Vieng (August and September 2008)

I took this trip with Fuchsiaboy and the Czarina of Cavite (not Penang anymore) and you know how freaking gay Laos was because of our presence. Now I've lost count of exactly how many leaping shots we took during that one-week trip. And how about the consequent uproar (uproar kung uproar ito ning!) we made on gay blogdom? Fierceness!!!

And the winner is...

Vietnam
(April and May 2008)

Vietnam certainly is special. Such a wide variety of things to experience. Its natural wonders and man-made heritage all took my breath away. And picking up bits and pieces of history along the way, I have a deep admiration for what the Vietnamese have achieved, from its tenacious fight for independence to its ascent as an economic powerhouse.

And who can resist sitting in a coffee shop in Hanoi, sipping amazing Vietnamese coffee, and watching gazillions of motorbikes speed by? Obviously I fell in love with Hanoi and will surely find my self back there soon.

Besides Hanoi, for two weeks I traversed through the northern and central part of Vietnam. I traveled alone and it could not have been any better. See the separate segments of that trip here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

So there, those are my top three trips this year and hopefully I can spread more campiness in 2009... definitely crossing my fingers to see Indonesia and India next year. Anybody wants to come with me?