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Miami to Maldives, Abu Dhabi to Hong Kong: Travel blogger’s year in review, pt 1.

shinjuku hanazono shrine torii, red shinto gates

Ready to ring in the New Year?

If you’ve been following my blog for some time, you’ll know it’s time for my annual Year in Review. This gives me a chance to reflect on the past 12 months, and share some bonus photos with you. So let’s head straight (or gaily forward, as my friends would say) to the first half.

art deco girl, 1930s hair curls

My site’s focus and projects grew significantly in 2013. At this point, I’m traveling at least once a month to a far-off place, usually with my film team or a TV show. It’s my passion to report first-hand on alternative cultures around the world.

Last January, I escaped the cold at Miami Art Deco Weekend. I caught up with friends and did this retro 1920s photoshoot with Mayleen G. Enjoy the Florida posts, including a Bettie Page runway show, in this category.

david bowie theme restaurant cafe

I’ll never tire of going to Tokyo. I continue to be in Japan several times a year for television hosting and arranging jobs. Each time, there’s something new to experience, like the David Bowie cafe, Alphonse Mucha exhibit…

pirate themed restaurant japan

… and King of the Pirates theme restaurant. Best of all, I get to have fun with my friends. (Interested in hiring us? Learn about our TV production and consulting services.)

maldives boat ride

Next, my filmmakers and I were invited to a very special place: the Maldives. We fell in love with eco-luxury resort Gili Lankanfushi, and I got to live out my Treasure Island fantasies. Here’s our Maldives video and all the sunny photos.

abu dhabi head covering mosque

We also landed in the Middle East for the first time. Dubai was a sci-fi wonderland, and I loved walking through the egg-like Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi. Discover the Arabian peninsula’s grandeur in these blog posts.

montreal bagel shops

There’s no need to jet to far-off places to have an adventure. I featured my home country – Canada – in a series about Montreal’s Goth culture and Kinetik Festival. One of the highlights was bagel-tasting with Aesthetic Perfection’s Daniel Graves.

hong kong model, fashion blogger

It appears a lot of people read my site for the Hong Kong travel guides, which makes me happy. This city is full of energy and pop culture oddities, like cute food and giant floating ducks. (Intrigued? Then see my Hong Kong tips.)

japanese prayer cards, shinto ema

I leave you with an image from Shinjuku’s Hanazono Shrine. Shinto worshipers write wishes on these little wood plaques (called ema), and leave them for the kami to hopefully deliver.

On that note, do you have any New Years resolutions? What do you hope to achieve or improve in 2014?

british shorthair coupari fold

I think we can all resolve to take care of ourselves, do meaningful work, and treat our furry companions like the kings they are! I’m shooting everything with DSLR now, so you can expect more images like the one above.

Coming up next: part II of my annual reflections.

27 Comments

  1. Sakura
    Posted December 27, 2013 at 11:37 pm | Permalink

    Beautiful pictures!! Love them!

  2. Ry
    Posted December 27, 2013 at 11:54 pm | Permalink

    Happy Holiday

  3. Yukiro
    Posted December 27, 2013 at 11:55 pm | Permalink

    I wanna travel with you in 2014, miss youuu <3

  4. nala
    Posted December 27, 2013 at 11:56 pm | Permalink

    :-)

  5. James
    Posted December 27, 2013 at 11:56 pm | Permalink

    Merry Christmas!

  6. MelissaR
    Posted December 28, 2013 at 12:17 am | Permalink

    I love this! What a fantastic year 2013 has been! Can’t wait to see everything that 2014 has in store! xoxo Happy New Year’s!

  7. Tomff
    Posted December 28, 2013 at 2:21 am | Permalink

    I love seeing how your hair and style changes over time.

  8. To
    Posted December 28, 2013 at 2:50 am | Permalink

    Happy new year you crazy kids ;-)

  9. Fran
    Posted December 28, 2013 at 2:51 am | Permalink

    O wish I knew u were in Miami

  10. Kristen
    Posted December 28, 2013 at 9:22 pm | Permalink

    you look good

  11. berry
    Posted December 28, 2013 at 9:23 pm | Permalink

    like it

  12. Pinto
    Posted December 29, 2013 at 7:13 am | Permalink

    i like the little fuzzy out of focus foot!

  13. Tordy
    Posted December 29, 2013 at 7:13 am | Permalink

    Baby love to you Basil. I want to bury my face in your fuzz and never look up.

  14. Jill
    Posted December 29, 2013 at 9:36 pm | Permalink

    Nice life

  15. KP
    Posted December 29, 2013 at 9:36 pm | Permalink

    Thanks for the good times over time.

  16. Dahlia
    Posted December 29, 2013 at 11:46 pm | Permalink

    It’s a wonderful life gal

  17. Isa
    Posted December 29, 2013 at 11:46 pm | Permalink

    Great cool

  18. Eki
    Posted December 30, 2013 at 5:01 am | Permalink

    ワインのうんちくとか語ってるより気楽に飲もうや♪

  19. Alexa
    Posted December 30, 2013 at 5:01 am | Permalink

    beautiful pic

  20. jennifer breton
    Posted December 30, 2013 at 6:04 am | Permalink

    awesome.
    jen

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