It is not too late to say Goodbye 2016, isn’t it? As I wrote here last year, I wanted to go to minimum 12 Indonesian cities in 2016… and I made it! I am quite happy with my traveling achievement 2016:
- Penang, Malaysia. Just me and husband, much like honeymoon.
- Korea, solo traveling ha!
- Aceh (Lhokseumawe and Takengon), during Ied Fitri holiday.
- East Java (Surabaya, Batu, Malang), for my daughter’s 2nd birthday.
- Bali, for a business trip.
- Lembang, for my birthday.
- Singapore, for a friend’s wedding. This was my daughter’s first oversea trip.
- Lembang again, for a friend’s wedding.
- Central Java (Semarang, Solo, Ambarawa, Dieng, Purwokerto), our first road trip together.
My baby was getting bigger so we could travel more together. All above places were visited with my daughter, except #1, #2, #5. There were many first-time-things happened in 2016, such as her first time on taking train. We made her passport and traveled abroad with her for the first time. We also had our first road trip together, just 3 of us, when going around Central Java by our own car.
On May last year I went to Korea again and did solo traveling again after 4 years, not only to Seoul but also visited few other cities. Some had changed, some were not. The trip was not only seeing new places, but also mesmerizing the old times and reuniting with the old friends. My husband and my kid did not come with me. It was excited in the beginning, but quite painful towards the end of the journey because I could not wait to get back home to my little family.
That time I realized it’s nice to have me-time sometimes, but should be not too long. My life has changed, I am not one person anymore. I was one and then two and now three and God knows how many more will come. My traveling style has changed. Before I go, mostly I would ask myself: “is this place child-friendly? Will my kid enjoy this place?” Maybe I missed some good places (because it’s difficult to reach with a kid) but I saw another good places too. Do you know Singapore has some places that can be entered only by adults with kid (for example Jacob Ballas Children Garden)?
I am still half a type of checklist-ambitious traveler, who’s marking all the places I should visit. However half again has turned me into an easy wanderer. Many times during traveling, I spent times on changing diapers, feeding my kid, waiting her sleeping… that I could not finish going all the places I planned to visit. I just enjoy the moments being with loved ones. Like people said, traveling is all about the journey, not a destination, right?
That sums up my 2016 traveling journey. I guess my 2017 will be quite the same with my 2016. Motherhood does not mean you have to give up traveling. Motherhood means traveling is gonna be much more fun.