We’ve been documenting the highlights of our annual travels every year since 2015. Purely selfishly, it is so much fun (for us!) to go through these articles every year and reminisce about the adventures we’ve had.

If you’re interested, take a look back to our travel highlights of 2015, 2016 and 2017.

2018 was another exciting year on the travel front. I think we technically went to fewer places than in previous years, but Asia is a big place and plane tickets cost more than lunch (still our favorite thing about European plane tickets!), so we’ve adjusted our travel schedule accordingly.

Our Top 5 Travel Destinations

SURPRISE OF THE YEAR: PALAWAN, PHILIPPINES

Palawan is one of the Philippine islands and it actually has been on our radar for some time. The island has started to surge in popularity and has found its way to various Best Of lists and Must Visit lists across the internet. We had a short visit to Palawan in March with my sister and her fiancé (now husband), and it was simply awesome. We did not know exactly what to expect since we had decided to skip El Nido, the most popular area for visitors. Instead, we booked a remote beach camping site that required a 3.5 hour ride along bumpy, dirt roads to Port Barton, and then a 30 minute boat ride to the property . As our home for the next three days came into view and our taxi boat glided onto the beach, we knew instantly that we were in for a good time.

Maybe it was the beach camping, or the daily kayaking or snorkeling with turtles, or the great company. Perhaps it was wading into the bioluminescent water at night, the water lighting up around our feet with each step or the peacefulness of feeling disconnecting from the real world in this paradise. Putting down our phones and cameras and computers for a few days was good for the soul and we’ve been plotting our return back to this stretch of beach ever since.

BEST HOTEL EXPERIENCE OF THE YEAR: YANGSHUO, CHINA

We finally broke our streak of only visiting major metropolitan hubs in China when we visited Yangshuo over the summer. A mere three hour train ride from Shenzhen, this is the kind of place that inspires art and creativity. The fascinating landscape of karst mountains is out of a movie and it just felt good to get out of the city for a while. There was not a skyscraper or high-end fashion mall in sight.

Instead, we spent an absurd amount of time at our hotel for the weekend, the Alila Yangshuo, which certainly colored our view of the region, in a good way. It felt like an oasis, surrounded by mountains and situated alongside the Li River. It is a converted 1960s sugar mill that has been repurposed into a resort with enough amenities that we didn’t feel the urge to leave. We got foot massages at the subterranean spa in a space carved out from under one of the mountains and even braved a climb – albeit not very high one – up said mountain on the hotel’s rock climbing course. We did make it out eventually, touring the Li River on a bamboo raft and taking a cooking class in the countryside (and picking up some wok cooking techniques in the process), but the trip was really all about the Alila.

ADORABLE IRISH TOWN OF THE YEAR: KINDSALE, IRELAND

Our autumn road trip in Ireland was such a great break from China life, and we soaked it all in. No, literally, we soaked in stews and beer and so many potatoes you can’t even believe it. Ireland is one of the most beautiful countries we’ve ever been to, and Kinsale, a small village on the south coast was the highlight. We adored the twisty streets, abundance of great food, and for all of our Maine friends, it kinda has the feel of one of the mid-coast towns in the off season. It even smells like the sea, in the best way possible. For anyone planning an Irish road trip, you should definitely add Kinsale to the itinerary.

TRAVEL IS BETTER WITH FRIENDS: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

We made our second visit to KL this year, but this time around was a far cry from our first visit. Back in 2011, we were at the very end of a 6-week whirlwind trip around Southeast Asia, and we were exhausted. The highlight of our visit was spending 24 hours in a fancy hotel. This time, we visited our friends who are KL locals, and got a view of KL from the inside. We visited the local club where kids take swim lessons and people relax their summer days away, we had amazing food at hidden gems we would never have found ourselves and we stayed in a residential area, nowhere near the food stalls of Jalan Alor. We made it to the Batu Caves (where Julie had to fend off the frisky monkeys) and toured the KL Bird Garden. As we toasted sunset cocktails on top of an abandoned helicopter pad, we reminisced about the crazy twists and turns life has taken since 2011.

We never thought that we return to KL again. Yet here we were, exploring KL again, but this time with local friends, on a short weekend visit from our expat life in China. What a ride.

UNEXPECTEDLY GOOD AIR QUALITY: BEIJING, CHINA

The first thing we must clear up is the bad rap Beijing gets for its air quality. It has been a major problem in the past but the city is well on its way to cleaning things up. It’s not perfect, but it’s getting there. In fact, during our two visits to Beijing this year, we had the most amazing weather and gorgeous blue skies. It was downright lovely. Beijing is also really different from other major Chinese cities – from the wide boulevards to the distinctive cuisine, it’s grand and open and so, so big. We’ve now sampled many versions of Peking Duck, we made friends with the owner of an amazing craft brewery, and we’ve now both hiked on the Great Wall. Our bucket lists are happy and we’re looking forward to more visits in the future, now that we’re only 4 hours away by train.

THE TRIP THAT WENT AWRY: BALI, INDONESIA

Yes, this is a highlights list, but we figured we should share some bad with the good. Bali was not a total bust, but it was not the amazing experience we were expecting as we began our Chinese New Year’s holiday. It started out well in Canggu, a more hipster, digital nomad destination (think vegan restaurants and smoothie bowls) away from the larger resorts that dot the beaches of Kuta and Seminyak. We were expecting pristine water in a tropical paradise. There were parts that were certainly beautiful, but the trash-filled beaches and murky ocean water left a lot to be desired. The delicious smoothie bowls each morning and healthy eating in Canggu at least made us feel good about ourselves.

What clouds our experience is that Julie badly sprained her ankle on our first night in Ubud, forcing us to cancel a planned snorkelling trip and readjust our schedule. The saving grace is that friends from our days in London were on holiday in Bali at the same time, so when our initial plans went down the drain, we got to spend an extra day with them on a resort in Seminyak. Of course, while at the resort in Seminyak, Julie got mild food poisoning and spent most of a day hunkered down in our room, the final nail in the coffin for this journey. Bali was not very kind to Julie.