With Hong Kong opening up bit by bit, I am so excited to spend the rest of 2022 flying to different places and going on solo trips. I am more or less planning for two to five trips this year.
Here are my dream destinations for 2022 and the reasons why I want to go for a visit.
- Singapore – July, a quick weekend getaway from Hong Kong.
- Thailand, Indonesia or Cambodia – change of scenery.
- Taiwan – TBA, Taiwan Night markets, you are my goal.
- Japan – November/December – Can’t wait to see the Momiji trees and I’ll be back in Spring to see the Sakura bloom.
- The Philippines – December, to visit friends and family. It’s been four years since I’ve been back so I thought it would be a good time to visit the country I was born in.
- Germany – October(?), I might go visit a couple of friends in Germany and spend some time with them while having a stopover in Amsterdam to visit a friend. I do hope that when I visit he’s not there, lol.
I entered my 26th year feeling like crap. I was waiting on a birthday greeting that I knew will not come and well, that was a defined full stop of that grieving part of my life. It was a closure that I needed and that helped me start the moving on process.
Now I’m in a better place, I think. Planning trips, taking up the violin (for some reason, I know how to play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and my mom insists I played the violin but I have no recollection of it whatsoever. It was my siblings who took up lessons), playing my guitar, hikes ( I need to show you Pineapple Mountain, wait for that post) long runs, and having a small garden. OH and, going back to one of my many loves, my fountain pen collection and practising and polishing my penmanship. (Saving up for this beauty here or here or here). Is it obvious that I like to write and that I like writing tools and all of their accoutrements?
Just to give a quick preview of two of my favourite pens right now:
There are so many things I want to work on and I am going to work on them one by one until I reduce my 100 goals to 0. I am not going to stay in Hong Kong forever so I want to relish my time here. I am not yet in Mongolia to learn the Mongolian way of churning but I will get there. Until then, I will learn how to churn my own butter from Bon Appetit (he and I watched a lot of BA videos during our time together) and that applies to life too.
I have never forgotten the joy of the simple things in life but I’m slowly rediscovering said joy of said simple things after a period of bleakness. For whatever reason, it went from 1 satisfaction rating back to a 5 satisfaction rating. It is like a veil has been lifted and I am not numb to it anymore.
I am back to normal – relishing the day to day (except for paperwork) while living and looking forward to the future. There will be daily frustrations and that is to be expected as getting to where you want to be is never linear but I am just happy that my life’s looking a little bit better.
I rest in the fact that I have been through one of the most excruciating pain known to man and I made it out barely alive – hopefully, stronger and wiser. Now to convalesce until it is time for love to rouse and awaken.
Here’s to my 26th year. Cheers!
Sincerely,
A.
Allison Lagarde 