clog blog: 2023 Year in Review

Chuc Mung Nam Moi, again! It feels like just the other day we were celebrating the start of a new year. Well, to be fair, we do celebrate the New Year twice in Vietnam. But it has also been 11 months since we celebrated the start of the Year of the Cat. While Vietnam was celebrating the Year of the Cat, we felt that the Chinese celebrating the Year of the Rabbit was probably more appropriate. Milo has been enjoying his best life ever and has picked up a few additional nicknames along the way. Butter-Bum-Bun, which we think is self-explanatory, is the one that sums up his year.

Looking back on our photos from over the past 12 months we can say that 2023 was a good year. We were able to visit family, had an amazing holiday in Japan, and reached the end of the year with good health and a general sense of being at ease. Despite all the craziness that is happening in other parts of the world, we still feel fortunate to be living in a peaceful and stable country like Vietnam. And whilst the Vietnamese economy did take a dip this year, the general feeling seems to be that it will improve in 2024.

So here is a selection of photos, most of which we have not published yet this year, which gives a snap shot of our 2023.

Whilst China and other Asian countries celebrated the Year of the Rabbit, this was the Year of the Cat in Vietnam. In about 6 weeks time we will go into the Year of the Dragon.

But in this house it was definitely the Year of the Rabbit.
Daily cuddles on the bed, usually twice a day, has become common place.

With borders once again open, and all covid related travel restrictions finally behind us, travelling for work was once again common place for Justin. The first trip of the year was to the UK, Netherlands and Belgium. In addition to catching up with colleagues and attending various meetings, the highlight was spending time in London with the Finnemore Four. Other travels for work included Shanghai (attending a Knowledge Sharing Workshop on Port Development and Decarbonisation), Sydney (for management meetings), Manila (for an ongoing project and a PIANC conference), and Samoa (for an ongoing project).

A brilliant sculpture by Gillie and Marc just outside St Paul's cathedral.

Visiting the Finnemore Four :D

Brussels in winter is cold and dark.

But still beautiful when the lights come on.

Looking out over the Sydney Opera House from Sydney bridge at sunrise.

Modern Shanghai

In May we enjoyed a trip back to South Africa to visit family. Our time was mainly spent in Hermanus and St Francis Bay. And while we were there we celebrated a milestone birthday with Bron's mom. It was great to be able to enjoy the family time and beautiful nature that South Africa has in abundance. Other highlights from the trip back included catching up with friends and a visit to the Addo Elephant National Park.

Family outing to Struisbaai.

And lunch at the Black Oystercatcher Vineyard was a great addition to the day.

Happy birthday Meeps!

Another family outing involving food :D

A fantastic seafood lunch at Die Walskipper (Jeffreys Bay)

V&A Waterfront.

Always a favourite stop when we are in Cape Town.

One of the over 40 peacocks that visit Meeps farm house on a daily basis.

Action at Addo Elephant National Park

A 25 year school reunion with the guy I have called my best friend for over 35 years.

And then there were a few other trips during the year. In July in Vietnam we enjoyed a peaceful long weekend in Quy Nhon. With long daily walks on the beach, and the rest of the day spent lazing around the pool, it was the perfect mid-year reset. Our main holiday for the year was a trip to Japan in September. We had high expectations for Japan, and it did not fail to deliver. No photos in this blog as we have already covered Japan in 4 previous blogs. If you missed out, and especially if you are thinking of visiting one day, these blogs are sure to inspire you. But before we made our way to Japan, we had Michelle visiting us, and we had a blast. Not only did we get to show her the chaotic city that we live in, but there was also a trip to Hoi An and Hue.

Enjoying our daily sunrise and sunset walks in Quy Nhon.

Twins! And there is a whole blog post with lots more photos :D

And then it was almost the end of the year. Normally Bron would be having to negotiate for time off from work, but in September she decided that she would not renew her contract at the English School where she was teaching. After 4 years of teaching English it was time for a break. Bron is currently enjoying a period of Fun-Employment, but somehow has managed to be even busier now than when she was teaching! With Bron not having to negotiate her leave, and with Justin still having leave days that needed to be taken before the end of the year, we decided to head to Taiwan for the week between Christmas and New Years Eve. A bunny-sitter was arranged, flights and accommodation booked, and we were ready for a week of exploring. I would love to say that we had the most amazing week, that there is a detailed blog post all about Taiwan coming up, and that we now have lots of tips for potential travellers. But unfortunately that is not how it worked out. Less than 24 hours into our trip it became evident that it was not going to work out with our bunny sitter. And with it being the Christmas week and practically impossible to arrange a backup plan at such short notice, we decided to head home early. Although we felt a bit grumpy about the situation for the first day back, we quickly decided that we might as well make the most of being in HCMC during this pleasantly quiet period. We enjoyed movie dates, catching up with friends, reading, lazing at the pool, cuddles with Milo, and just generally relaxing. Not a bad way to spend the last week of the year.

So to finish off our year in review, here are some photos from our 24 hours in Taipei. And hopefully next time we end up visiting Taiwan it will be a bit longer than 24 hours...