My 2024 Travel Recap: Everywhere I Went This Year

2024: the year I finished up my year of full-time travel.

It was a busy year, with lots of travel through exciting destinations in Asia and lots of time spent settling back into my home in the USA. Plus, a few short visits to great domestic locations!

Like many people, I love using the end of the year to look back on what’s happened in the last twelve months. Here’s a recap of everywhere I traveled in 2024!

January

After spending much of 2023 in Europe, I headed home for the holidays and began the year at home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania — though I quickly set off for a weekend in New York with friends. We saw several shows — the baffling/fascinating Here We Are and the incredible Merrily We Roll Along — and ate great food.

In the middle of January, I left for the last leg of my full-time travel experience: four months in Asia.

I started in India, where I toured for two weeks with Intrepid Travel. It was an absolutely wonderful experience! We explored crowded Delhi, saw the Taj Mahal cloaked in a thick layer of smog, and made our way through Rajasthan. For me, highlights included walking through the pink city of Jaipur, watching the sun set from a hilltop fort in the middle of nowhere, drinking coffee beside the gorgeous lakes of Udaipur, and more. I would recommend this trip to anyone who wants a great introduction to India!

People walk through a busy street in Delhi.

The many-windowed facade of Hawa Mahal in Jaipur.

The shadow of a person holding up a peace sign over a brightly colored striped tent.

Buildings at the edge of a lake in Udaipur.

February

At the end of January, I flew from Delhi to Colombo, where I began three weeks of travel in Sri Lanka.

I enjoyed my time in Sri Lanka quite a lot, although I think my expectations were honestly a bit too high. From reading other reports by travelers to Sri Lanka, I sort of expected it to feel relatively undiscovered and untouristed — which could not have been further from my experience. Trust me: Sri Lanka has been discovered by many, many tourists.

Nonetheless, Sri Lanka was still beautiful and incredibly interesting. I loved the colonial architecture of Galle Fort, the hills and waterfalls of Ella, the train between Ella and Kandy (yes, it’s as great as everyone says it is!), the majesty of Sigiriya, and the elephants of Udawalawe.

A street filled with large signs in Colombo.

A group of monks, dressed in bright orange and yellow and carrying umbrellas, walks through Galle Fort.

A monkey walks along a rock. In the background, Sigiriya Rock rises out of the forest.

A blue, red, and white train drives over an arched bridge.

People standing atop a mountain, with endless hills in the distance.

March

I spent the last week of February and most of March in Vietnam, which turned out to be my favorite country in Asia (so far!). I started in the south, in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon (which I loved) and Can Tho (which I didn’t), then made my way north with stops in Hoi An (gorgeous and overcrowded) and Hue (hot and historic) before I landed in Hanoi. After spending a few days there, I zigzagged in and out of Hanoi a bit with visits to Cao Bang and Ha Long Bay.

Motorcycles, flowers, signs, and lanterns fill a street.

A building with many stories covered in signage.

Motorcycles parked on an alley in Hoi An.

People walk across a red bridge reflecting in a lake.

From Vietnam, I headed to Singapore, where I spent just a few days. It was…okay! A lot of foreign visitors really seem to love Singapore, but I didn’t click with it in that way. I loved the food and some of the more authentic corners of the city, but hated the heat and largely bristled at the wildly popular tourist attractions like Gardens by the Bay.

Large, artificial trees in Singapore's Gardens by the Bay.

Close up of a white building with windows lined in red, orange, and yellow trim.

A building striped with blue, yellow, white, and red, behind a row of old buildings.

I wrapped up March in Malaysia, which was a mixed experience. Kuala Lumpur, like Singapore, was not my fave. However, I really liked George Town on the island of Penang. After spending a week surrounded by skyscrapers, the charming streets and colonial architecture were a welcome change of pace. (And the banana bread at Urban Daybreak, an Australian cafe, was definitely the best I’ve ever had in my life.)

A large golden statue stands beside brightly colored steps leading into a cave.

A man looks at the Petronas Towers through a window in another tower.

A long building with a tall tower in the middle sits in front of a grassy square.

People sit at tables below a sign that says "The Jetty Food Court."

April

The month of April was all about Thailand, which is a huge favorite of so many international travelers — though it turned out to be a little lower on my list. I didn’t dislike it, exactly — I just didn’t fall in love with it, I suppose. A big problem was that I’m not a big fan of beaches or water activities (especially when traveling solo), and that’s such a large part of most trips to Thailand.

Plus, I was starting to experience some real travel burnout. Not too surprising, given the pace I had been traveling at! So I chose to take it pretty easy in Thailand, and while I still visited a number of places, I didn’t actually do very much during most of that time (other than develop a serious love for mango sticky rice). It worked for me, even if it’s not how most people experience Thailand!

I began in Koh Lanta, where I plopped myself down in the tiny town for almost a week and didn’t leave once (no, not even to find a beach). From there, I went to gorgeous Railay, where I luxuriated at a lovely little resort (leaving only to watch the sun set over the water!).

A hammock on a porch is visible through a window.

A red motorbike sits on a pier in Koh Lanta.

A number of longboats floating at the edge of Railay Beach.

Then I spent several days in Krabi, where I did not a single tourist activity, before heading to Bangkok. There, my dad flew over to join me, and together we explored Bangkok (it was okay, but I didn’t love it), Sukhothai (we did the BEST cycling tour there), and Chiang Mai (maybe my favorite destination in Thailand?). After my dad flew home, I spent a few days in Chiang Rai, where I visited its famous temples.

A busy Bangkok street full of vehicles and signage.

A stand selling pomegranates and fruit juice.

Miniature tuk-tuks made out of aluminum cans, lined up for sale at a market.

May

From Chiang Rai, I crossed the border into Laos, where I spent one night in Huay Xai before boarding a boat for a two-day journey down the Mekong River. This was fabulous — one of my favorite experiences from my entire year of travel! The boat took me to Luang Prabang, which was wonderfully charming (though I unfortunately got food poisoning and wasn’t able to fully enjoy my time there). I then spent several days in the gorgeous Vang Vieng, where I took an absolutely spectacular air balloon ride, before I finished up my time in Laos in Vientiane.

Longboats sit at a pier in Pak Beng, Laos.

A small tree on top of a stone hill beside the Mekong River, as seen from inside a boat.

Several people on a motorbike drive past a building in Luang Prabang.

The words "Ho Phra Keo" on the outside of a building.

A red and yellow hot air balloon that says "Above Laos" floating above karst formations.

A monk carrying an umbrella walks past a temple.

The last country of my year-long journey was Cambodia, which I liked quite a lot. I started in Siem Reap, which is famous for Angkor Wat and many other incredible ancient temples. From there, I traveled to Battambang, which is much less visited by tourists, before heading to my final destination: Phnom Penh.

Angkor Wat reflecting in a pond at sunset.

Stone monkeys sit at the entrance to a temple building.

Tuk-tuks and motorcycles are parked in front of a market building with a tall clock tower.

Three monks in red robes walk through a group of pigeons.

A sign states: "Would you please kindly show your respect to many million people who were killed under the genocidal Pol Pot regime"

Near the end of May, my travels had come to an end and I flew back to Pennsylvania!

June

In June, I was just happy to be home. I did take one weekend trip — to Knoebel’s Amusement Park, where my extended family has camped for a weekend almost every summer for the last 30 years! But I was eager to stop living out of suitcases and settle back into Lancaster.

Close up of the top of a colorful swing ride.

Half of a Ferris wheel in front of a blue sky.

July

Since I was ready to be home for a little while, I didn’t intend to go anywhere in July, but then I was shocked to be named a finalist for Best Travel Photography in the inaugural TBEX Travel Creator Awards. What an honor!

As a finalist, I was offered a free ticket to the upcoming TBEX, which is a conference for travel bloggers and creators. It was very last minute, but a perk of being unemployed is being able to make last-minute plans — so off I went to San Juan, Puerto Rico!

This was my first visit to Puerto Rico, and while most of my trip was occupied by TBEX events, I did get to spend one day exploring Old San Juan — I loved it!

Buildings along the coast of San Juan, with a fortress in the background.

The U.S. flag, the Puerto Rican flag, and the Cross of Burgundy.

People pose for photos beside a large Puerto Rican flag painted onto a wall.

A woman walks through a park in front of a blue building.

October

After returning from San Juan, I spent the next few months largely doing lots of touristy things in my own hometown, like visiting Wheatland (the home of President James Buchanan) and exploring Stoudtburg (a tiny village built to look like Bavaria).

I did spend another weekend in New York, though — it’s an easy train ride from my home city, so I typically go a few times a year. October is such a lovely time to be there, though it was a bit warmer than I would have preferred this time around. A friend and I enjoyed lots of New York cliches, including walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, visiting Central Park and the Met, buying books at the Strand, and — of course — seeing some shows on Broadway (& Juliet and Stereophonic were both highlights!).

A large apartment building with two towers stands over trees and a lake, where people are rowing boats.

People walk through the white interior of the Oculus, with a large American flag at one end.

November

For my last travel of the year, I spent a weekend in Denver with my lovely college roommates. We hadn’t all been together since March 2020 (yes, it was basically the last thing any of us did before COVID lockdowns started), so it was really special to reunite. And it was my first time in Denver! We did some hiking around Red Rocks and a nearby lake, enjoyed a genuinely fantastic food tour, saw a Candlelight Concert, visited Boulder (fun pedestrian mall! AMAZING teahouse!), and more.

Brightly colored mural with abstract shapes.

Looking ahead to 2025

In 2025, I’m returning to work! I’ve continued to live off my savings since returning to home in May, but that ends in January, when I’ll go back to my legal career. I’m looking forward to it in lots of ways!

Of course, I’ll also continue to travel as much as I can. Though I’ve thoroughly scratched the long-term travel itch, I have plans for a few shorter international trips in 2025 — including one to France and Switzerland and another to Italy!