Summary of 2014
I was looking at some photos from last year when I got the idea that I should make a summary of the year and post it here on the blog. 2014 was a very good year with a lot of amazing experiences and also some life changing decisions. When the year started I was living in Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Borneo is such a beautiful place and the people I got to know during my time there will always be close to my heart. The year ended with New Year celebrations in Norway together with my Norwegian boyfriend and some of his friends. What a journey! Now I'm going to show some of the highlights from the year 2014.
The year started on top of the world! After spending the Christmas holiday at my parents' place in northern Sweden and New Year's Eve in Stockholm I travelled to Dubai the first day of the year. It was a stopover on the way back to Borneo. In Dubai we visited Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. Some other amazing things that I experienced in Dubai were a helicopter sightseeing, dinner at Burj Al Arab, indoor (!) skiing, a desert safari and giant shopping malls. What a great start of the year!
In February I spent a weekend at Gayana Eco Resort on Gaya Island outside Kota Kinabalu. Nearby the resort is a Marine Ecology Research Centre, which we also paid a visit. To support the work the centre does in coral conservation I 'adopted' a coral fragment that was planted back into the sea by divers. Through regularly updates with photos of the coral I could follow its' progress during the year.
In March I celebrated my birthday with a relaxing weekend at Village House, a luxury home stay in the Santubong area, not far from Kuching, the town I was living in during my time in Malaysia.
In April my friend Linda came to see me in Asia. We went on a little adventure and travelled to Timor-Leste. A country that took us by surprise. An unexplored beautiful country with little other tourists was definitely something for us! After visiting Timor-Leste we travelled around in Indonesia and the highlight in Indonesia was the days we spent in Komodo National Park and the close encounters with the Komodo dragons.
On the top of Mount Ramelau, the tallest mountain in Timor-Leste.
In May we had a public holiday and I travelled to the Perhentian Islands, on the north east coast of peninsular Malaysia. The water surrounding the islands was crystal clear and the islands were lined by white sand beaches. The definition of a vacation paradise!
In June there was another public holiday and this time I travelled to Tioman Island with my friend Didin. We went hiking in the rainforest, visited a turtle conservation centre, tried stand up paddle boarding and swam in the sea.
In July I was moving back to Norway again. I had a lot of mixed feelings at that time, it was hard to leave my closest friends in Malaysia, but on the other hand I was confident of my decision to move back to Norway. I felt that 1 year and 7 months in Malaysia was enough and I missed my friends and family back in Norway and Sweden a lot. On the way home I made a stopover in Qatar and explored this small country during a couple of days.
In August I went to see my family in northern Sweden and together with the rest of the family I went to Hindersön in Luleå archipelago to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday. Back in Norway again I went on a kayaking trip in Kragerø with some friends from work.
Hindersön in Luleå archipelago.
In September Linda and I took the train to Dovrefjell and spent the weekend at Kongsvold Fjellstue. We also went out on a musk ox safari.
In October I spent a weekend in the mountains again. This time I went to Rondane together with my boyfriend.
In the end of October and beginning of November one of my dreams came true when I travelled to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands. I spent two weeks there and experienced a wildlife that is hard to beat. Galágapos is a true paradise on earth!
The year ended with a peaceful Christmas holiday in Oslo together with my family, followed by New Year celebration in Trysil.
The 2014 ginger bread fortress.
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