The year is ending and how will you celebrate your last few days of 2017?  Some of you may probably be busy setting up get-togethers with your group of old friends or maybe planning a quality time with your family? Whatever it is let’s end it joyfully!

2017 has been a game changer for me. It all started when I left my corporate job last mid-December of 2016 then took a winter break in Japan during the holidays. Who knew that I will start the first day of my year 2017 in my most favorite country? Even I was not expecting this opportunity, much less visiting Japan.

My year 2017 started out GREAT! And so, I have decided to end it with a great big BANG!!! Hail and hooray for these cheap promo fares. It’s thanks to them that I get to travel a lot! These few weeks, I was so busy booking our activities and accommodations here and there. Due to this busy schedule, I haven’t posted a blog this week at all and on any of my social media.

So what’s with my year-end 2017?

This is only the first of the few good things I have this December 2017!

I will be visiting 2 countries in a row!!! I know many travelers have done this before, but it’s my first time! That’s why I’m really excited to share this!

The original plan was for me and my friend to visit Malaysia again, specifically Langkawi and George Town. We already went there last 2015, and we were in George Town for just a day. This time we wanted to stay for a 2 day trip in George Town and 3 days in Langkawi. BUT we find our schedule too tight due to the fact that we’ll be wasting hours on flights in addition to taking other transportations. We just scrapped this idea in the end.

The final destination we’ve decided is to spend our 5 days in Langkawi! Yay! And this time we’ve got a new companion, so it’s us three against Langkawi!

Since there was a sudden change in plans, I’ll be traveling solo for a day in Kuala Lumpur before meeting my friends in Langkawi. I can’t change my flight schedule since they’re too expensive now and I don’t want to pay a rebooking fee. So I just stuck with my original flight since it only cost me Php800 from Manila to Kuala Lumpur. Then on my second night, I’ll be hopping places from Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi. If only there was a cheap direct flight from Manila to Langkawi then I can spend my days there earlier.

I really only want to do zip line activities in Langkawi but I got so amazed at the spots we can see and activities to do at this little haven. We’ll go island hopping riding a jet ski, cross bridges atop the mountains, visit a geo-forest park and etc. I can’t wait to splurge on some cheap foods at the night market there! I definitely will be buying lots of sweet stuff! SO watch out for my post about Langkawi around the month of January!

So what’s the second country? Well, it’s not that big a deal because it’s just…

Since airfare from Kuala Lumpur directly to Manila was already too expensive, I just decided to land in Vietnam first. Visiting Vietnam only costs a little from KL and upon adding the total fare, it costs less rather than booking a direct flight to PH. I just needed to add a little more budget in touring Vietnam, but it’s not that much at all. Touring for a day is enough and I found some cheap accommodations as well, so double yay for me!

Sad news is, it’s another solo trip for me, which means I have no one to take pictures of me. I’m kinda shy asking strangers to take a shot of me and I’m not that comfortable being my actual self when photographed by others. It just feels weird and I’m sure some of you can relate to me in this kind of situation.

I forgot to mention that I will be in Ho Chi Minh, I did my research and most fun things are in Hanoi. I wanted to book Hanoi but it’s more expensive. But, oh well, at least I still can visit Vietnam. I actually second guessed if I should buy a ticket from KL to Vietnam since I think there aren’t a lot of places in Ho Chi Minh that sparked my interest. I just decided to see what beauty lies in Ho Chi Minh. Who knows, maybe I’ll fall in love with this country too. Let’s wait and see about it.

Recently, I noticed that my travel expenses are so high that it leaves me with no savings at all. In the end, I just decided to-

When I get reaaally serious in my travel plans, I find other sources of income aside from my monthly salary. The fastest way is to do eCommerce! I started just recently, I’m still at the stage of figuring things out along the way. My target was to open my online store before Christmas, but due to shipping and preparation issues seems like it’s highly unlikely. Plus, it’s the peak season there will be a lot of challenges and high volume of delays in shipment.

My only regret is I should have started this sooner. I do have an online business before, but I haven’t been active for a few months now. This old business of mine requires a lot of my attention which I can’t now due to my work and other kinds of stuff that needs priority. This new business requires a lot of work when starting out but can be a breeze when it goes well. I’ll post an update on this one when it booms. Wish me luck! 

I regret nothing when I decided to just work at home. The best reason why is I can sleep in late when there’s not a lot of work to do. Plus, I don’t need to wake up so early to prepare myself for office work and get stressed by the hellish commute. If I compute the number of hours of these activities, it’s around 6-8 hours of wasted time. And this wasted time from before is gone, I’m spending my days being productive all day right now. I can do my blog, freelance, business and have more time learning other kinds of stuff.

Let’s just say I really love working, maybe I should say working is my passion in life. I think this is a better term. One thing I miss when working at an office is the rows of food shops I pass by the area. But more than that I am so glad there are no bosses to follow, no hellish commutes, no stressful clients and most of all no wasting of my time every single day. My time now can be put to good use like doing what I want in life, my dreams and adventures.  Let’s just say I’m not really suited for office life. I think I realized this when I first worked at an office.

Truthfully, I’m a real picky person, not just on foods, but also on people to follow. Sometimes I think, is this person even worthy to be my boss or the leader in some cases. I only found a few people I am willing to follow or work with. Usually, these people are hard to find. Oh, and I have no trouble with my co-workers they’re all great guys, more of an issue to us are our boss’.

When it comes to home based work I’m so free from the power ladder environment. What I can say is, this is far better than when I was in the office!

As for blogging, at first I was sure about doing this, but then… I am not that good at writing essays or long paragraphs like this. But I am still learning and doing the best I can. My English may not be that great or perfect, but I hope I am delivering what I want to my readers.

Starting this blog was kind of rough, in a day there were only less than 30 people viewing my blog. I’m just happy that this time it’s double the amount. I did stop blogging for a month since I need to organize my summer trip in Japan, it was a busy week during those days.

This 2017, I am just so proud of myself for trying to do new things. One is travel blogging, second is trying to do e-commerce business. The third is, I think I got promoted at work? It didn’t feel like that so it’s still a question to me. Plus the additional experiences I have done this year! Like when I crossed a volcano via a ropeway, watching a robot dance, eating at a sushi bar. Oh! And touring Ikebukuro alone and going to an owl café. I may say that this year was such a productive and thrilling one. Add to these my Langkawi and Ho Chi Minh City tour too!

What have you got this year 2017? Are there also new things you tried or already started? I hope we all will have a very beautiful and a full happy year this 2017.

The year is ending so what are your new plans now? Time flies fast does it not? Even I have repeatedly said that this was such a fast year. Comment below and share your thoughts. How was your year?

LET’S GET PRODUCTIVE!

How will you end your year?

As for me, my year 2017 revolved around travel, business, work, and blogging! And I LOVE IT!!

• What are your plans for 2018?

• Are you excited to welcome the coming year?

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