My Travel Destinations in 2019 – A Year Lookback

This was a good year for my business and things to form a foundation, then move forward. I joined a company and working full-time currently. Nevertheless, I still tried to travel to many places to keep my dream fulfilled. My travel destinations in 2019 were even more with many new places.

Welcome to my look back, let’s see where I went to in the whole year 2019!

Jan – Dalat,
and Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia

Wow! I’m so surprised knowing that I went to so many places just in Jan. Honestly I’m not clearly remembering all the events happened. But the photos on my phone really help to remind me of the occasions.

So A Trip to Dalat with Family Has Kick-started My 2019

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzXxLyNBdwT/

My family loves going to Dalat. The city has cool weather for anyone, especially the elder, to feel pleasant and comfortable. Just in time my granddad’s brother and his wife visited Vietnam, our family has decided to drive ourselves to visit the place.

It was not kind of an adventure, but more of a relaxing trip. We booked a villa inside the city to fit all the people in the house. Also from that, we could easily go to the main places in the city.

Perhaps I would call this a Dalat food tour. We have been taken to many good restaurants that I haven’t been there before. My family has their friends as the locals there, and they led us to all the really good foods and places to enjoy and relax.

Then the Awesome 5 Days Journey to Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia

This could possibly be my most awesome 5-day trip of the year. I went to Singapore to visit my sweetheart. She took me to places where only the locals know. Then as planned, from Singapore, we traveled to Batam, Indonesia, and Cameron Highlands of Malaysia.

It was my first time ever being in Indonesia, honestly. I was so surprised by their foods at the right beginning. It was somehow similar to Vietnamese cuisine in my opinion, but a mix of Chinese food. And the most unexpected part was, I knew more about the history of Vietnam thanks to visiting the place called Galang Refugee Camp.

Moreover, the trip to Cameron Highlands was truly great as I did try a lot of delicious foods from the locals. It also had many sightseeings that were worth exploring. Particularly, I loved the BOH tea plantation which taught me the process of making tea. They had beautiful tea hills to take pics too.

This was my best travel destinations in 2019 to me. I traveled to many places the first time, tried many new foods, and learned a lot of exciting things.

Apr – Van Don, Ha Long Bay,
and Sapa, Hanoi

The Family Travel to Van Don, Ha Long Bay, and Hanoi

This trip came to me surprisingly. My uncle just suddenly planned the trip about 2 weeks before it started. Then me and my girlfriend joined without hesitation. Because of that quick response to the invitation to travel, I had a chance to visit the new economic area of Quang Ninh – Van Don, and the UNESCO World Heritage Site – Ha Long Bay.

Fortunately, we had a friend here who had been willing to take us around, showing the beautiful landscapes. Additionally, he took us to his restaurants to enjoy the finest foods of the local.

Van Don, and especially Ha Long Bay were spectacular. Nonetheless, it changed a lot since my last time visited the place about more than 10 years ago. It had more artificial constructions over the islands, making them unnatural anymore.

After those two places, our family spent another night at Hanoi to visit another friend. Then we flew back to Ho Chi Minh City on the next day.

A Date at Sapa and Hanoi for the Holiday

Actually me and my girlfriend planned this ‘dating vacation’ before we knew about the Van Don and Ha Long Bay trip. She hadn’t been to Sapa before so I took her to the place.

It was great that I can visit Cat Cat village to complete my goal of travel to the 3 largest villages around Sapa including Ta Van, Ta Phin, and Cat Cat. Even though the main Sapa city was a little bit messy with a lot of constructions, we have spent great times there. Anyway, I caught one of the best sightseeing of Sapa city with the view from Ham Rong Mountain, and reached the peak of Fansipan Mountain.

We moved to Hanoi to finish trying the local foods which we haven’t eaten at the last time. Finally, we found an extremely delicious Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm (fermented shrimp paste noodle) there near the Hoan Kiem lake. And we watched the last movie of the first Avenger series, the End Game at the Capital city of Vietnam.

May – The Start of Many Trips to Nha Trang City

Nha Trang is going to be my second home, as that’s the hometown of my better half. Indeed, I go to Nha Trang 2 times a month. Thus, I’m so familiar with the city. To me, Nha Trang city and its sights are the most regular travel destinations in 2019.

From the best places for mud bathing, or sceneries, to the best restaurants or vendors for delicious local foods, I could know them pretty much. You can just comment on this post if you have any questions about the city.

Just a quick 5s for advertising, my girlfriend has a little Australian confectionery and supplement shop at 118 Hoang Hoa Tham street, Nha Trang called Little Kangaroo. You could come there for something sweet or medicines.

Aug – Let’s Explore Every Corner of Singapore

I came to Singapore one more time with my girlfriend for her final test in school. In addition, we tried to find Instagram-worthy spots to take pics of ourselves. We also wandered around to find the good foods that we haven’t eaten, and went shopping.

The trip, overall, was memorable with a lot of new experiences. So we discovered the ArtScience Museum, watched the rain vortex at Jewel Changi Airport, took beautiful pics at the Fort Canning Park’s spiral staircase, visited the cool CHIJMES, and went shopping at the Marina Bay Sand.

Nov – Taiwan, and Mui Ne, Vietnam

Here We Go Taipei and Taichung

Alongside the trip to Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia in Jan; I would rate this as one of my most awesome travel destinations in 2019.

So this was my first time ever visited Taiwan, particularly to Taipei and Taichung. Fortunately, my girlfriend had come to the country before, so we didn’t have to book a tour and follow strictly their calendar. Instead, we had more time to discover the places ourselves comfortably.

I could remember that we travelled to so many places in the country. As well, we ate a lot of local foods. And they were all so tasty. We even came to the old town Jiufen, and tried their traditional Taro and Sweet Potato Balls Dessert. OMG its yummy was hard to find elsewhere. That day wandered around Taipei was so fun, although it was so rainy and windy that we couldn’t participate in releasing sky lantern at Shifen Old Street.

At Taichung, we just had time to explore a small part of the city. Notwithstanding, it was enough for us to take so many beautiful pictures at places, especially at the Rainbow Village, and Gaomei Wetlands. They were definitely the must visited spots in the city for everyone.

After all, what’s kept in my mind until now is the Taiwanese cuisine. I can still remember the flavor of their foods, and drinks. If anyone asks me, I would recommend trying Din Tai Fung restaurant, all the foods at night markets, and especially the combo of breakfast and milk tea at the Ga Shang Bao restaurant, located at No. 91, Section 1, Chongqing North Road, Datong District, Taipei City.

This trip was significantly exciting. I will write a post about that soon!

Team Building at Mui Ne

This was an expected trip in the year. Nevertheless, I didn’t anticipate it was a little bit boring and not meticulous, although I knew my company tried to plan carefully.

Anyways, I was grateful that my company had hosted an occasion for me and my colleagues to spend a great time together. The Pandanus Resort was nice also, even the foods weren’t delicious a bit.

Perhaps I will share the itinerary soon.

Dec – Vung Tau, Dalat, and Buon Ma Thuot

3 destinations within the last month of 2019, it was so great! Although those were all short trips, it was exciting and enjoyable as always.

One Day to Vung Tau to Kickstart the Month

I’m not so sure if I should say this as one of my travel destinations in 2019. Actually, me and my family planned to go to Vung Tau for business. Then, we made the trip less boring by going to Chi Linh Tourist Village to relax and enjoy the beach. Of course we didn’t miss some of the place’s iconic foods, the Bánh Khọt, the Salted Egg Sponge Cake, and the seafood.

Spending the Weekend at Dalat with My Cool Colleagues

This could be the most expected trip of the year. Me and my colleagues had thought about this for nearly a year, and the team raised from 7 people to 13 people joined the trip. As everyone had their own life and many things to do, it was really hard to set up days that people could all join the tour.

Anyway, we had a truly fun and memorable trip. We did the whole food tour of the most delicious local Dalat foods. Besides, I have visited Cau Dat Tea Hill again after many years. It now has a very nice coffee with a view of the whole plantations. And many great corners for taking pics too.

Attending a Wedding at Buon Ma Thuot

This was a very meaningful trip to my family in general, and to me in particular to end the year. Making it one of the best travel destinations in 2019.

So my cousin did her wedding in Buon Ma Thuot, her hometown. She’s a member on my mom’s side, so a lot of people on the family side joined the occasion. And that was the only moment that I had the chance to meet everyone. Because we live kinda far from each other so this time was extremely valuable to us.

Of course, I also took advantage of the trip to visit some attractions in the city. The destination is well-known with coffee. Hence, I visited the Coffee Village, and Coffee Museum, which all belonged to a business group named Trung Nguyen. This is not an advertisement, but the places were really nice to visit, and to learn more about the coffee industry.

Wow, the year 2019 was so great, in overall, with some new places visited. Hopefully, I could put my steps on farther and new lands in 2020.

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READ MORE RELATED POSTS

How do you think of my travel destinations in 2019? If you would love to read about the places mentioned in this post, here are the related posts:

• 5 Days Trip to Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia
• Nha Trang Food Tour, 12 Awesome Dishes You Must Try
• The 5 Days 4 Nights Itinerary to Travel Taipei and Taichung
• A Guide to Travel Dalat City
• 5 Days Trip to Sapa City