The year 2025 was pretty crazy and full of experiences and adventures. Where to even begin?
This year I left Hong Kong and am in the process of moving to Austria. I have lived in Hong Kong on and off for 12 years, and have considered it my home and my base for a very long time, and so I is a bit sad to have to say goodbye. During the months of departure, I have tried to visit more of Asia to see as much as I can.
I also encountered unexpected challenges. This year I managed to get stuck because of a regional war in the middle east, and ventured all over the place, through Europe, Africa, Middle East, and finally Asia again. Chaos. I have a hard time keeping track of all that I’ve done myself. But, everything did work out at the end, so I consider myself very lucky, and am feeling very grateful.
New European life and adventures ahead, I’m curious to see how that would play out.
Overall
This year I’ve explored a bit more of my Hong Kong base, with return visits to Israel (x4), Portugal, mainland China (x3), Vietnam, Macau, Thailand (x2), South Korea, United Arab Emirates (x2), Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, and first visits to Qatar, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kenya.
Was an insanely busy year, so have not had much time to post on the blog to update on all these destinations, feel like it’s getting more difficult to keep track of things with the blog. I’m hoping that some vibe coding tools I developed will help me do a better job in 2026, we’ll see. Still, regardless of the low posting, I wanted to wrap up and mention the posts I did do, and try to get a feel for it all. So, here’s a quick summary of my 2025 in travel.
January
I started this year in Israel, having to remain there for very long unexpectedly due to personal circumstances.
I spent a week in Portugal and at the end of the month had my first visit ever to Doha, Qatar, before making my way back to Hong Kong.
February
Spent most of the month in my Hong Kong base, with a quick visit to Shenzhen, China.
March
Visited Vietnam, Phu Quoc island, Halong Bay, and Hanoi, with one quick visit to Shenzhen, China.
April
Visited Macau, Phuket in Thailand, and Jeju Island in South Korea.
May-June
Visited Austria and Israel. Got stuck in Israel for much longer than I intended due to the regional conflict with Iran and all flights being cancelled.
July-August
Visited Azerbaijan and Georgia, brief stop in Israel again, then Germany, and Czech Republic.
September-October
Visited Hungary, Kenya, Dubai, and Israel.
November
Visited Romania and UAE.
December
Visited Thailand and Hong Kong.
Summary
Managed to have lots of nice adventures (compare that with 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009). Lots to cherish and be grateful for from this year.
In the year 2026 I will be starting my European life in Austria, hoping to see a lot more of Europe. Not sure how things will turn out, looking forward to many new adventures to come.
