As I finished publishing the latest blog post, I glanced at the clock. It’s the second last day of 2018, and with just one day away from 2019, I figured it’s the time for my routine, annual Year-In-Review post!
Every year at the end of December, I take a trip down memory lane, recalling my journey for the year, penning down what I’ve done, where I’ve been, and planning what and where I would head to the following year. It’s a habit ever since I moved to Singapore in 2014. First, as a short post on Facebook, then subsequently turning into a blog post from 2017 onwards after starting this blog in 2016. It’s a tradition I could myself carrying on.
So here goes my milestone of the Year 2018…
Social Media – From Zero Presence to Five New Accounts
I managed this blog for more than a year without creating a Facebook page, an Instagram account, nor a Pinterest account. The only social media platform I ever used to promote this blog was my personal Instagram account. However, a couple of months ago, I figured it’s time to create a social media presence and now Catchingtravels is on the following social media platform:
They are fairly new, and I’m still trying to get used to using all of them, but for now, Facebook and Instagram are the main ones heavily used. If you’d like to follow me on my travelling journey, feel free to like and follow me on those two platforms and if you’d like to subscribe, I’d be more than happy 😊
I’m still getting used to Pinterest, and hopefully be able to find a way to use it often.
Hiking – From Hardcore Hikes to Easy, Scenic Trek
I promised myself to hike a little lesser in 2018 as travelling back and forth Malaysia and Singapore on late night buses took a toll on my body. Little did I know that I ended up knowing the people from Max Mountain Club (MMC), a group of passionate hikers from Johor and Singapore. I got to know them after joining their Mount Angsi hike and has since joined them for a number of hikes this year. In fact, apart from Gunung Semangkok and Telapak Buruk, all my other hikes in 2018 were led by MMC, as it was more convenient to join them due to logistic arrangement. However, much to my surprise, my schedule didn’t quite match to most of their hikes, and coincidentally those I happened to join are mainly waterfalls hikes.
2019 Hiking Trips:
⛰ Mount Angsi Day Hike (Mar 2018) with MMC
⛰ Mount Pulai Day Hike (May 2018) with MMC
⛰ Pelepah Waterfalls (May 2018) with MMC
⛰ Bukit Batu Chondong (Jun 2018) with SLSP
⛰ Tengkil Waterfalls (Jul 2018) with MMC
⛰ Gunung Semangkok (Jul 2018) with Tutters
⛰ Endau-Rompin National Park (Sep 2018) with MMC
⛰ Sungai Bantang Waterfall (Sep 2018) with MMC
⛰ Trans Telapak Buruk (Oct 2018) with Uncle Mak
Running – From Fun Run to A Full Marathon
2015 – 10km
2016 – Half Marathon
2017 – 32km
I started running in 2015 as a mean to lose some weight in addition to achieving a new milestone in life. Somehow, the bragging rights of completing a race and winning a medal appealed to me and I had wanted to do it. Of course, I started with one fun run of 10km in 2015 before doubling up the distance to a full marathon a year later. After completing a half marathon, I thought I was ready for a full marathon and even dared considered an ultra-marathon (luckily, I came to my senses to stop dreaming about that). I was supposed to a full last year, but the event I signed up for got cancelled, leaving me with only a 32km race. Finally, I scrapped off “completing a full marathon” from my bucket list in December!
Run if you can. Walk if you must. Crawl if you have to
Races I Joined in 2019:
★ Aquarius Virtual Run by 42race (Feb 2018) – 20km
★ 2XU Singapore Compression Run (Apr 2018) – Half Marathon (21.195km)
★ Putrajaya Night Marathon (Oct 2018) – Half Marathon (DNS as I was down with a fever)
★ Challenge 32Run (Nov 2018) – 32km
★ Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore (Dec 2018) – 42.195km
Globetrotting – From Asia to Europe
As a wanderlust myself, travelling the world is my ultimate dream but flight ticket isn’t cheap, and I wasn’t expecting a trip to Europe continent so soon, given that there are plenty of countries in Asia itself I’d yet to cover. It came as a surprise to me when I was asked to go on a business trip to Germany for an upcoming project, and needless said, I was thrilled to finally be able to see Europe. And the best part? It’s a business trip, so I’ve got the flight, transport, and hotel fully paid for. Though a very short trip, I enjoyed my visit and I can’t wait to return again to see other places I’d miss. Please oh please boss, please send me back again in 2019!
Trips I’ve taken in 2019:
✈ Sri Lanka (Apr 2018)
✈ Bali, Indonesia (Aug 2018)
✈ Khao Kho, Thailand (Nov 2018)
✈ Munich, Germany (Nov 2018)
Work. Save. Travel. Repeat
2019 – A Brand New Year With Brand New Goals
Travel – A Winter Trip?
I’ve never touch snow my entire life. And I’ve never even seen one until my recent Germany business trip. Unfortunately, I only barely saw it through the window in the middle of my meeting and by the time the meeting was over and I thought I could head out to touch it, it had stopped snowing and all the snow had melted.
All my previous trips have been in the summer and I’d like to travel in winter for once. Hopefully, I could get one plan for the end of next year!
Hiking – Back In The Game
I know, I know… I said I’d go easy on hiking last year, and it did happen in 2018. The hikes I did in 2018 were mostly easy ones with majority of them being waterfalls. But somehow, I missed going for hardcore hikes and one that is slightly longer, where I can spend more time in the jungle, away from urban stress. Hopefully in 2019, I’ll be able to join for more camping and longer day hikes!
Running – Perhaps another marathon?
I always tell my friends that I wasn’t such a big fan of running, and that I was only running to shed some fats and to win some medals. I wasn’t lying. Running short distance was fun, but anything more than an hour starts to bore me and with so many things to do (I’ve got many photos to edit and blog posts to catch up to, apart from overloaded tasks at work), I got anxious about dedicating time each week to training for my full marathon.
I was glad it’s finally over, but somehow, I feel that I could have done better than 6 hours 12 minutes? It makes me want to do another one in 2019, but I’d need proper time management this time around!
But… for now, I’ll just do short runs on a weekly basis as a healthy regime.
Swimming – Let’s get it done!
I’ve said it for years, but never really gotten around to do it.
Procrastination is the thief of time
My excuse for the year is to make all available time to train for my marathon since I really don’t have much spare time. Let’s stop making excuses in 2019. It’s a done deal! I’ll join a class after Chinese New Year!
Blogging – Will I Be Able To Clear All The Backlogs?
I’m always behind schedule in my writing. Different year, same problem.
Let’s see…
At this time of writing, I’ve still got Sri Lanka, Telapak Buruk Hike, Khao Kho and Germany which I’ve yet to finish writing. They are exciting, and I’ve got so many things to share. Hopefully, before I embark on my next adventure, I can share them with you. Wish me luck!
Epilogue
2018 had been a rewarding year. Things happened unexpectedly but it all turned out well in the end, although as usual, I was busy all the time, and couldn’t even get around to finish writing my travel adventures. Fortunately, it was less hectic than previous years as a result of me willing to make sacrifices – trading off the chance for exciting hikes for more time to run, write and rest. It wasn’t an easy decision for someone like me who love the mountain. With the full marathon done and dusted, it’s time to lace up my hiking shoes again, perhaps?
Thank you 2018! What a busy year you’ve been, but a really memorable one. Thank you for treating me well. But it’s time to say goodbye….
… and to say hello to 2019! Let’s get along well! 😎
Happy New Year
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