New Year Celebration infront of Burj Khalifa

25 Days Family Trip on Budget Winter Get-away in UAE
December 11, 2017 to January 06, 2018

Dubai Garden Glow Colorful Night

New Year Celebration infront of Burj Khalifa was the 9th part of 11 major tourist attractions my family have been in the 2017 Winter United Arab Emirates.

WEEK-END YEAR-ENDER ITINERARY TO SIGHT-SEE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES WITH FAMILY
(composed of 2 adult, 1 senior citizen and 2 children (11-yr old and 5yr old)

Day 20 December 31, 2017 Sunday (Dubai)

Regent Palace Hotel (near Burjuman Metro Station) advance booking 1,074 AED
Burjuman Centre Lunch 200 AED
1300H Check-in (200) + 15 AED; Creek Station; Festival City Mall; Krispy Kreme 38 AED
1900H Burj Khalifa family viewing area; Snacks 27AED
New Years Eve Burj Khalifa lights show; Walked to Emirates Towers Station

New Year Celebration infront of Burj Khalifa

My Top Nine Best Travels in 2016

7th year of my travel addictiveness, adventures that made me want to go back there

2016 "the viewing deck" year-ender report

“Take a leap of faith and begin this wondrous new year by believing. Believe in yourself. And believe that there is a loving Source - a Sower of Dreams - just waiting to be asked to help you make your dreams come true.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach

Recalling the moment when I've been asked what are my dream destinations, I told them only the places I think I can possibly achieve that time based on the resources and capabilities I had. Six years after that simple question, I still could not believe I already been visited the places which I only just watch in movies and "Amazing Race" routes. I consider 2016 as "the leap of faith" year of my travel addictiveness because of the following reasons;

1. visited a total of 3 countries, continuation of the Asia tour since I resigned from my work in November 2015.
2. hiked 6 mountains locally in which 4 of them are minor and the other 2 are major.
3. countless beachbumming and island hopping despite of very budgeted trip.
4. no work for almost a year until the "leap of faith" positive result came in October.

My Top Nine Best Travels in 2016

My Top Nine Best Travels in 2015

6th year of my travel addictiveness, adventures that made me want to go back there

2015 "the viewing deck" year-ender report

“Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be alone.” – Wendell Berry

Recalling the moment when I've been asked what are my dream destinations, I told them only the places I think I can possibly achieve that time based on the resources and capabilities I had. Five years after that simple question, I still could not believe I already been visited the places which I only just watch in movies and "Amazing Race" routes. I consider 2015 as "the saga that never ends" year of my travel addictiveness because of the following reasons;

1. visited a total of 22 countries (17 new, 5 revisited), in which the majority has a very developed economy. Thus, high budget is required for any tourist visitors.
2. revisited Japan for the 3rd time but on this time I brought my mother with me.
3. experienced the coldest city capital in the world at around -20'C.
4. adventured Europe for the 3rd time but this time I included those countries not belong to Schengen states.
5. reached my new extreme high altitude level on a mountain in Nepal at 5,550masl. 
6. went to my homeland on 5x because I already resigned to my work.

My Top Nine Best Travels in 2015

My Top Nine Best Travels in 2014

5th year of my travel addictiveness, adventures that made me want to go back there

2014 "the viewing deck" year-ender report

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” - Terry Pratchett

Recalling the moment when I've been asked what are my dream destinations, I told them only the places I think I can possibly achieve that time based on the resources and capabilities I had. Four years after that simple question, I still could not believe I already been visited the places which I only just watch in movies and "Amazing Race" routes. I consider 2014 as the adventure year of my travel addictiveness because of the following reasons;

1. I visited a total of 14 countries (12 new, 4 revisited), in which the majority has a very developed economy. Thus, high budget is required for any tourist visitors.
2. 21.7km biking to Stonehenge in Salisbury to Amesbury, England of United Kingdom.

3. camel back-ride to Sahara desert night camping in Morocco

4. parachute gliding above the cotton castle and balloon flight ride in Turkey

5. Masai Mara safari ride and camping in Kenya

6. 6-days Machame route for 5,895masl trekking of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania

7. family road trip in Northeastern Mindanao (CARAGA Region) of Philippines.

8. adventurous river white-water rafting and tubing in Bali, Indonesia.

9. revisiting Japan for the 3,776masl self-guided solo night trekking to Mt.Fuji via Yoshida trail.

My Top Nine Best Travels of 2014

My Top Nine Best Travels in 2013

4th year of my travel addictiveness, adventures that made me want to go back there

2013 "the viewing deck" year-ender report

"Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living." - Mary Ritter Beard

Recalling the moment when I've been asked what are my dream destinations, I told them only the places I think I can possibly achieve that time based on the resources and capabilities I had. 3 years after that simple question, I still could not believe I already been visited the places which I only just watch in movies and "Amazing Race" routes. I consider 2013 as the diamond year of my travel addictiveness because of the following reasons;

1. I visited a total of 19 state countries (17 sovereign, 2 observer), in which the majority has a very developed economy. Thus, high budget is required for any tourist visitors.
2. I went back to my homeland for four times.
3. Despite of the unmanageable difficult bosses and enormous ups and downs at work, I still pursued to continue itinerary planning. Output was very far than I expected.
4. Conquered the world's most strict airport security on my own, highest summit reached at 4,095.2 meters and lowest place on Earth at -394.5 meters.
5. For a budget Filipino solo backpacker, I consider all places I visited in 2013 as impossible dream destination (Great Wall, Mt. Kinabalu, Japanese Castles, Eiffel Tower, Neuschwanstein Castle, Leaning Tower of Pisa, St. Peter's Basilica, Jerusalem, Dead Sea floating, etc). Imagine as a corporate slave forcing myself to ask and spend my LEGAL vacation leave while practicing the enormous budget planning.

my greatest nine globe-trotting destinations of 2013

My Top Nine Best Travels in 2012

3rd year of my travel addictiveness, adventures that made me want to go back there

2012 "the viewing deck" year-ender report

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." - Henry Miller

the viewing deck super nine unparalleled wanders of 2012

I ranked these posts based on the adventure i have encountered, budget and how happy and satisfied i am through the planning, journey and the outcome.

9th: Zambales -Tarlac (bakasyonista united)

August 20-21, 2012

- this trip is astonishing because this was my 1st time to travel patterned on a very laidback itinerary, as in we just sit, dip and talk any things out of work.

8th: Davao (2-days family trip)
August 02-04, 2012

- this trip is astonishing because this was my 1st time visiting the Mindanao archipelago with my family and even make fun to the cascaded waterfalls of samal island

My Top Nine Best Travels in 2011

2nd year of my travel addictiveness, adventures that made me want to go back there

2011 "the viewing deck" year-ender report

"I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine." - Caskie Stinnett

My luckiest and extravagant year ever, traveling has never been like this. again, I didn't imagine that this destinations will be possible. this includes the 7 consecutive weekend getaways that surpassed the last year's 5. Undeniably, priceless memories and remarkable experience at 100% very budgeted itineraries.

32 journeys... 38 Philippine provinces... 8 countries...
9 solo backpacks... 14 with bakasyonistas... 6 with family... 2 with 1st-time meet-ups...
1 with coworkers... 9 self-organized tours...

the viewing deck best 9 adventure journeys of 2011

I ranked these posts based on the adventure i have encountered, budget and how happy and satisfied i am through the planning, journey and the outcome.

9th: Iloilo - Guimaras (bakasyonista 1st year anniversary special)
May 13-15, 2011
- this trip is astonishing because after 365 days of being travel friends that assembled via online forum, we still manage to have that bond and even surpassed the time we met. Our first domestic travel that has more than 10 bakasyonista affiliates. My 2nd attempt of cliff jump which i repeated for 3 times.

8th: Iloilo - Dumaguete - Cebu (around the visayas region for 2 days only)
September 24-25, 2011
- this trip is astonishing because I travel around the main cities of visayas region in just 2 days just to finish-off the last 3 remaining stamps on my lakbay-rizal quest. There was this instance in Dumaguete city where in I arrived in the evening and yet I uncompromisingly force the authorized personnel there to have my dumaguete stamp.

My Top Nine Best Travels in 2010

1st year of my travel addictiveness, adventures that made me want to go back there
2010 "the viewing deck" year-ender report

"Traveling is almost like talking with men of other centuries." - René Descartes

the viewing deck top 9 remarkable travels of 2010

I ranked these posts based on the adventure i have encountered, budget and how happy and satisfied i am through the planning, journey and the outcome.

9th: Mt. Pinatubo (4x4 experience unleashed)
June 26, 2010
- this trip is remarkable because we challenged the real adventure of riding a 4x4 vehicle with the strong rains and crossing the strong current flow of the river.

8th: Mt. Pulag (1st-time organizing for strangers)
August 28-29, 2010
- this trip is remarkable because I single-handedly brought 16 unknown 1st-time fun-hikers to trek on budget d.i.y where I was a 1st-timer too and on the rainiest month of the year. Though we felt the most gruesome experience in trekking due to the continous rainfall, heavy fogs and chilling atmosphere, we still have the passion to dream going back.