Jo’s Travel Log: December 2023

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a wonderful festive holiday season and got some well earned R & R!

As I said in last months travel log, my daughter & I headed off to a very chilly Tokyo for a few days before Christmas, which was fantastic!

However, having just been to Japan, I was very sad to hear that they had a 7.6 magnitude quake on the 1st which so far has killed 57 people and then a Japan Airlines flight collided with a quake relief plane as it was coming into land. Thankfully all 379 people in the airbus were unharmed, but 5 crew member in the Coast Guard plane were killed. 

What a tragic start to the New Year for all involved.

One thing I love about Japan is the people. They’re so friendly, helpful and welcoming. It’s so desperately sad to hear of tragedies like this anywhere in the world, but even more so in places you recently experienced. My heart goes out to them. ❤️

Kokoda Trail

So it’s the 3rd January as I write this, my husband has already left Phuket and headed off to Australia in heavy training for a 100km hike along the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea in April.

Interestingly – the Kokoda trail was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Japanese and Allied – primarily Australian – forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua.

As a born and bred Aussie, it’s something my husband has wanted to do for a long time, although trekking through a hot jungle in a volatile country doesn’t sound much fun to me!

In the meantime in less than a week in Oz he’s happened upon a business opportunity we’re seriously considering. I won’t say too much at this stage, we’ll see how it pans out. But if it does go ahead, it could mean a slight change in our travel plans over the next couple of years. More on that next month!

Goal Setting for 2024

Have you set your intentions and goals for the year ahead yet?

I always tend to sit down between Christmas and the New Year and envision where I want to be a year from now, set some loose measurable goals for the end of the year, and then create an action plan for Q1.

I don’t plan much beyond Q1 as life happens, things change, some goals get moved or booted altogether and so on.

I wrote down my step by step dopamine powered planning strategy for both setting and sticking to goals (the important part).

I find that almost all goal setting strategies leave out one very important part of the puzzle which helps you to actually achieve the goals you set, so check out the post here and make 2024 your best year ever!

A 4 Step Plan for Dopamine Powered Goals You’ll Actually Stick To

A Wintry Magical Tokyo

My daughter & I flew over to Tokyo on 16th and stayed just 5 days (which for me in the cold was enough).

We explored the city, wandered through all the amazing Christmas illuminations, and spent a couple of days at Tokyo Disneyland and Disneysea.

Here’s an overview of our trip in pics;

Cerys at the dog cafe in Tokyo
My daughter Cerys at the dog cafe in Tokyo
Yomiuriland Tokyo
The amazing illuminations of Yomiuriland Tokyo
Yomiuriland Tokyo
My daughter & I at the amazing illuminations of Yomiuriland Tokyo
Roppongi Hills Lights
Roppongi Hills Lights with Tokyo Tower in the Distance
Shibuya Blue Cave
Shibuya Blue Cave
Tokyo Disneyland
Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights
Tokyo Disneyland
The iconic Cinderella Castle
Tokyo
My daughter and I wrapped up warm!
Mount Fuji
A very distant Mount Fuji from the plane window on route home.

Closing Thoughts

So that’s it for this month!

Thanks for reading.

January will mainly be an industrious month over here in TWT HQ, Phuket, Thailand. My daughter has all her final year exams coming up, I have this blog to grow, plus lots of other stuff to get on with, so not too much travelling happening this month.

I do have a diving trip booked for Friday at Phi Phi which I’m certain will be amazing, so I look forward to sharing some pics from that next month.

Also be sure to follow my FB for updates!

In the meantime, have an amazing start to the year!

Chat soon.

Jo 🙂


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