I've Bean Travelling

As we approach the tail end of 2022, I am already thinking about travel plans for next year.

We were able to go on two trips this year, out west to British Columbia in the summer and then to the United Kingdom and Iceland in the fall. In my original plans, I had considered a sun vacation in the winter but we’ve decided to forego this and save up for a couple bigger trips in 2023 instead.

Back to London in the spring

If you followed my London blog posts, you are aware that we travelled to London the week after Queen Elizabeth II passed away. We had procured highly coveted tickets to the Arsenal v. Everton football match that was scheduled on Sunday September 11, but this ended up being cancelled. Because we purchased via a third party, we were not offered a refund so still have the tickets on hold for whenever the match is rescheduled. We are hoping that it will be rebooked for around April 2023, in which case we will go ahead with a return trip to London for a couple days to finally fulfil Mr. Chuckles’ dream of seeing a live Arsenal match.

As for me, I hope that I will finally be able to do that tour of Buckingham Palace which I missed on both my previous trips to London. And of course, we will go back to Dishoom for the Indian food that we’ve been dreaming about since our return home.

Crossing the Chunnel to Paris

After a short stop in London, we will take the train over to Paris for our first visit to France. There are lots of bucket list destinations that I’d like to check off here, and we already have a few food stops in mind. I’ll be sure to catch up on posts from blogger friends like Rebecca Goes Rendezvous for more France travel tips!

Returning to Asia in autumn

Travel in Asia was hit hard during the pandemic, but now that things are starting to open back up over there, I’m keen to plan a trip either for late summer or early fall.

At the top of our Asia travel bucket list is a return to Japan. We would definitely like to spend more time in Tokyo, and then add a few days in the northern island of Hokkaido. We will probably take the short flight from Tokyo to Sapporo and base ourselves there for 4-5 days. We plan to eat a lot of seafood and visit some onsens.

I’d also like to tack on a few days in either Hong Kong or Singapore. Currently, Hong Kong still has in place a cumbersome Covid-19 surveillance requirement so I would rule out travel there if that remains mandatory next year. Singapore has fully opened up, so I have been looking into a visit for 3-4 days, mostly to explore the food culture. Singapore Airlines previously had a stopover program similar to the one from Icelandair, which I am hoping that they will bring back.

As always, I’d love to read your thoughts and suggestions on my travel plans!