2010: My Year in Travel

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Visiting Spain was one of my highlights of the year
Visiting Spain was one of my highlights of the year
2010 is a year I am looking forward to putting behind me. The passing of my father was the single biggest event of the last year, which left a scar on everything. It will be difficult for 2011 to be worse.

It was also a year in which I traveled both the more and less than I did in any of the previous four years. Here is a quick summary of the places I visited in 2010:

South Africa was also one of the highlights of the year
South Africa was also one of the highlights of the year
That is a lot of travel for most people, but it really wasn’t that much for me considering what I’ve been doing the last few years.

At the same time, I did an awful lot of flying this year. It was also the first year I gave attention to my frequent flyer programs that I belong to. Believe it or not, during the first two years of my travels, I didn’t pay any attention to earning frequent flyer miles. Lets just say I’m making up for that with a vengeance now. I achieved Silver Medallion status on Delta and Premier status on United. Having elite status has totally changed flying for me.

In terms of travel, the biggest thing for me this year wasn’t where I went so much as what I did. I got to experience some really amazing this year including: covering political protest in Thailand, eating amazing meals in Spain, swimming with great white sharks, hot air ballooning, taking part in an Indian Holi festival. SCUBA diving in Aruba and Curacao, driving 6,000 miles to Newfoundland, speaking at BlogWorld in Las Vegas, eating at my first Michelin Three Star Restaurant: L’atelier, and getting a medical check-up in Thailand.

Changes In How I Travel

My travel year started in Fiji
My travel year started in Fiji
2010 also brought about a change in how I travel. Prior to last year most of my travel was sequential. I’d move from one place to the next and so on. Last year I spent more time jumping around, which is how I amassed so many frequent flyer miles. Part of this is due to getting more offers from destinations to vist their country. I’m able to visit places for much less cost (always a good thing) and get access to more interesting activities than I would if I were traveling independently. Also, just being able to change locations frequently is appealing if for no other reason than it provides a change of pace.

In what would seem like a rather innocuous change, I switched from a backpack to a bag with wheels this year. It has been a major relief on my back. So far, there has been no downside to forgoing the backpack.

As mentioned above, I’m not elite status on Delta and United. Flying with elite status has totally changed my flying experience. While I am still not a fan of flying, not having to deal with lines and first class upgrades makes the entire experience much better. I am an elite status convert and I’m sort of miffed at myself that I didn’t do this sooner.

Travel Plans for 2011

So far, my January is looking pretty boring. I have nothing scheduled and if I go anywhere, it will probably be within the US or maybe the Caribbean.

February and March are looking pretty busy. In February I will be in Puerto Rico and Spain. In March I will be on the island of Lanai in Hawaii, SXSW in Texas, and attending the LA Times Travel Show. There is also the possibility of a trip to Thailand in there as well.

In May I’ll be back to Europe on a cruise from Venice to Barcelona as well as visiting some more spots in Spain. In June I’ll be speaking at TBEX in Vancouver as well as taking a pre-TBEX trip in Canada.

At some point this year I’ll also be taking a tour with Gap Adventures. I’m currently thinking of going to the Galapagos or Antarctica.

I also have some big projects which I’ll be announcing over the next few months.

I’m really looking forward to 2011 and I hope to meet all of you on the road!