Posts from the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

New Year’s Travel Resolutions

New Year’s resolutions, they always start out with such good intentions, but by the end of January or thereabouts they’re completely forgotten about. This year Neil and I have only made a couple of promises; kiss each other more often and make a sizable dent in our World Travel Bucket List.  Along the way I’ve vowed to do a few other travel related things as well.

First kiss for 2011

1. I Will Not Over-Pack
For someone as organized as myself you’d think I’d be able to pack more efficiently; not so. No matter how many trips we take I still manage to end up carrying extra stuff. When we arrived in Korea I had a 20kg suitcase filled with what I thought I needed for a year abroad. Turned out, half of the things I lugged with me from NZ haven’t been worn or used since we arrived. Within six months I’d improved my packing ability, taking only two small backpacks with us to Jeju for a week, using the available toiletries where we could and wearing the same pair of shoes for the entire trip. In September we embarked to Beijing for 4 days with just the one backpack. I’m learning to live without the expensive face creams, collections of guide books and mountains of shoes…almost.

2. I Will Take Better Photographs
Sometimes I surprise myself and take REALLY good pictures. However the reality is that most of them are rubbish. This year I will make an effort to seek out photo opportunities and play with all the functions on my camera. Finger’s crossed it will result in something amazing.

3. I Will Learn a Language or Two
When we moved to Korea I promised myself I’d learn Korean. Ten months later I have accomplished that goal; kinda. I can order food, give directions and ask for the bathroom but as soon as someone complicates my spiel of Korean  I am forced to resort to awkward hand gestures and mumbled English. 2011 holds the promise of a lot more countries and hopefully I’ll be able to pick up bits and bobs from a few more languages along the way even if it’s only “hello”, “thank you” and “two beers please.”

4. I Will Eat Like a Local
While it’s nice to say you’ve eaten McDonald’s in 15 different countries it’s far more interesting to eat new and exciting foods. Especially when they’re cheaper and tastier! Whilst I’m not about to embark on a mission to eat spiders and eyeballs I’d like my taste buds to experience the local food and maybe pick up a few new recipes along the way. You’ll never know unless you try it.

5. I Will Relax
As I’ve gotten older (and maybe wiser) this one has become a lot easier but there are still times when I find myself counting to ten and practicing my deep breathing, especially when we travel. Flight delays, lost luggage and weather disruptions are all beyond my control, so relax Geri and try to make the best of the situation.