2025 Year In Review – Finally Slowing Down…

Travel Stats

As usual, you can find all my travel stats for this year on my About Me page which I always update as I go along.

In a year where I didn’t travel much I still visited 9 countries plus the UK. I took 33 flights across 8 different airlines. I haven’t quite made it yet, but my next flights will mean I retain my airline status for another year.

I’ve stayed in 15 hotels, 7 guesthouses, 6 AirBnb’s, a cottage in Scotland and my current rental property in Thailand. Additionally to that, I stayed in a hostel in a shared dorm for the first time in a few years this year in the remote Kyrgyz town of Karakol.

Some other random numbers you might be interested in: I’ve written more than 80 blog posts for this website (even though I took 6 weeks off writing in October and November), I’ve had a reel on Instagram go viral with nearly 1.5 million views and I’ve done all of that whilst working 40 hours per week in my day job for most of the year (more on that below…)

Note that every blue link on this page will take you to one of the more than 80 posts I’ve published this year and a more in depth post related to the destination, flight, experience that is mentioned if you really want to get into the detail of where I’ve been this year.

It was also on 9th June 2025 that I celebrated my 10 year travel-versary. On 9th June 2015, I got on a one way flight from London to India to start backpacking Asia “for a few months” on a travel journey that has never really ended.

You can read more on the last 10 years with these posts:

• 10 Years On The Road: The Long Story
• 10 Years On The Road: Top 10 Highlights
• 10 Years On The Road: How Have I Changed?

Starting the year on the beach

I rang in the new year of 2025 in Langkawi, the place I had decided to make my base for a good few months. There are many reasons I love Malaysia, but getting a 90 day visa on arrival is one of them so I could stay in Langkawi for a long time.

I lived in a small guesthouse next to the coworking. I would wake up and do a bit of work, go for an early lunch, head to the gym, go back to the beach for a couple of hours, then back to work again in the late afternoon until it was time for dinner at one of the many great night markets in Langkawi before finishing up another couple of hours of work.

Rinse and repeat.

It was a great routine.

On the weekends, I would take my scooter and explore some of the many hidden beaches on the island, explore some of the waterfalls or work on this blog for a bit. I even made it to some of the remote islands a short boat ride away from the main island of Langkawi such as Pulau Tuba. I don’t think there is much in Langkawi I haven’t seen now.

It was a simple life but one I loved and one I craved at the time. There were a few other travellers passing through, but I spent a lot of time by myself.

At the end of those 90 days of relaxing hard, it was time to go back to somewhere I hadn’t been in a while.

Good morning Vietnam!

I knew I had to go somewhere and I chose the city of Hoi An on the coast of central Vietnam. I decided on Hoi An as it is a great place to get tailored clothing at very affordable prices and I needed a new suit. However, in the end I didn’t even get a suit made for myself!

I had been to Hoi An as a backpacker when I had travelled around South East Asia in 2015 but going back as someone who is living there for a month is a bit different. I had a beautiful apartment in the middle of the rice fields and worked at Hub Hoi An, and equally beautiful coworking space.

After the solitude and peace and quiet of Langkawi, Hoi An was a welcome release with events, meals and nights out being arranged with the community of digital nomads that stayed at the coworking with seemingly something going on every night of the week!

I explored the old town and tried all of the local food, but I’ll be honest and say I didn’t have a very local experience in Hoi An. What I did have was an amazing time with a great group of people I met and got to hang out with every single day and it taught me that variety can be the spice of life and that wanting to do nothing for a couple of months and then wanting to be incredibly social for a month and playing pool Tuesdays, going for dinner Wednesday, drinks on Thursday then out late on Friday night is also a good balance.

Back to the beach then going east

I returned from Hoi An to Langkawi for another two and a half months on the beach and back to my routine or work, gym, eat, beach, sleep.

I took a couple of trips to Kuala Lumpur to catch up with friends and experienced some of the rooftop bars for the first time. One of the downsides of solo travel is not having the chance to go to places like that. I’m sure there are people who would go to a rooftop cocktail bar by themselves, but I’m not that person!

But after nearly 7 months in total on Langkawi, it was time to move on. I love Langkawi and it will always be a special place to me, but after all that time I was ready to go somewhere new. I was getting annoyed at small things there, things a tourist wouldn’t even notice, but that build up over time and was starting to leave a sour taste.

A taste I didn’t want. So I departed before it got too strong.

I had seen nearly every part of Malaysia, but there was one part that I had yet to touch. The east coast of Peninsula Malaysia.

I flew to Kota Bharu and spent a night in a town that still uses Jawi, the traditional Arabic script of Malay, before getting a bus to the Perhentian Islands.

The Perhentian Islands are some of the most beautiful islands I have been to. There are no roads on the islands, but the islands are so small you can walk all over them in a few hours or take taxi boats to where you want to go.

You may have thought that I was bored of islands, but not at all! I went SCUBA diving for the first time in years and spent yet more time relaxing on beaches. After a few days I headed inland on local buses to Taman Negara, the oldest rainforest and national park in Malaysia before heading back to the coast and Kuala Terengganu.

Kuala Terengganu is another very conservative Malay city. I wouldn’t recommend it to the usual tourists to Malaysia but as a country I love, I really wanted to get under the skin of every region that I could. Apart from the Crystal Mosque and the state museum, there wasn’t too much there. I then spent one night in Kuantan purely so that I can say I have now been to every single state in Malaysia, the first country I have been to where I have ticked that off the list.

We’ve won it all

I flew from Malaysia to Berlin on some very special flights which you can read about here and here. (These business class reviews also happen to be two of my most read posts on this blog this year.) I then took a bus to Wroclaw in Poland to watch Chelsea win another European trophy.

Combining sport and travel is one of my favourite things to do and I realise how lucky I am to watch such meaningful football matches and finals all over the world.

I then headed back to London to spend some time with the family for the first time in a couple of years and to go to a wedding.

It was at this time that my company and my 40 hour work week, and potentially my lifestyle, nearly went tits up. My company had some layoffs with a lot of people losing their jobs. I didn’t lose my job, but I did have my hours cut and I was now only working 20 hours per week.

Basically a 50% pay cut.

I was in the fortunate position of already having paid for most of my upcoming plans and I was staying with my parents whilst I was in the UK. But now I had a few decisions to make.

As I was in the UK I decided to apply for the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) which allows remote workers to stay in Thailand for up to 6 months at a time for a total of 5 years. Thailand had never been that high on my list of places to go even though I had spent some time in Phuket a few years ago. It didn’t have the same appeal to me as off the beaten path destinations.

But sometimes you have to do the sensible thing, think longer term, and realise the situation you are in. With the cheaper cost of living, I could afford to live in Thailand whilst working reduced hours.

Decisions, decisions

I visited my third Scottish city of Edinburgh and realised how beautiful it was. I highly recommend people to go and it was a reminder that I need to explore more of Scotland. I was only up there for a few days for a wedding but I really enjoyed my time there.

But it was when I was north of the border I had a realisation.

I’ve always said that if I lost my job, I would take some time out and travel longer term.

I hadn’t lost my job, but I was in a sort of in between position. I had made some loose plans of where I wanted to go between July and November, so why didn’t I just stick with those?

Sod it.

YOLO.

Why not?

And all the rest of the things people say before they make these sort of crazy decisions.

I dipped into my savings and bought a ticket to Almaty in Kazakhstan.

Central Asia calls

Central Asia had been on my radar for a while and is one of the last big regions of the world I hadn’t touched.

With the vastness and geographical harshness of Central Asia, there are only certain times of year when it is best to visit so you don’t get hit with 40 degree heat or -20 degree cold. And I had timed it perfectly.

I loved Almaty. It felt like an Eastern European city like Sofia, even though I was close to China than anything remotely like Europe. There were endless museums, street food stalls, wide open pavements to walk down and a really good metro network to get around. It combined the old with the new, the Soviet with the future.

I also got out of the city and explored Charyn Canyon, Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes and drove for hours on the barren steppe. Kazakhstan blew me away with how much I enjoyed it.

I crossed the border from Almaty to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan where I based myself for a month and got myself back into a good routine of gym and work but with a lot of free time to explore. The centre of Bishkek is a beautiful modern city but once slightly outside the centre, you realise that it is a poor country and some of that Soviet architecture is starting to crumble.

But the main reason to travel to Kyrgyzstan is to see the stunning scenery that it has to offer. I took a long weekend to Karakol and saw Jeti Oguz and Skazka Canyon. I wish I could have hiked to Ala Kul Lake but unfortunately the weather wasn’t on my side and I wasn’t prepared to hike in a snowstorm.

With side trips to the Burana Tower and Ala Archa national park, you won’t be bored in Kyrgyzstan. The people are friendly, the nature incredible and it is a relatively affordable place to travel. It’s already a growing tourist destination and I predict it will only become more popular in years to come.

I flew from Bishkek in the north of Kyrgyzstan, to Osh in the south west of the country as it was a 1 hour flight or a 13 hour bus journey on some hair raising roads.

From Osh, I crossed the border into the Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan. But when I got to my hotel, I had a message saying I had left my spare phone in Kyrgyzstan. As a solo traveller, I have a lot of backups, and one of those is travelling with my old iPhone as my spare phone with an extra sim card in it for emergencies.

The short story is: I got my phone back thanks to the incredible kindness of a girl that worked in a hotel in Osh.

The long story can be read here.

I found myself exploring the Fergana Valley, one of the least visited parts of Uzbekistan, for a few days visiting the Yodgorlik Silk factory where they still make the silk that gave the Silk Road that runs through this part of the world its name.

I then took a 20 hours sleeper train from there to Khiva in the far west of Uzbekistan where I stayed for just one day. I actually loved Khiva and it was one of my favourite places in Uzbekistan so I should have stayed for longer but Bukhara and Samarkand were calling before a few days in Tashkent to round off my Central Asian adventure.

These few short paragraphs can’t do justice to how much I enjoyed travelling around Central Asia. I loved the people, the subtle differing cultures between the countries, the ever changing landscapes and I loved the people that I met, the adventure travellers who are like me and enjoy going to places like this.

I spent just over 2 months in the three countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan but I’m sure it won’t be the last time I’m in the region.

Chiang Mai – the opening act

I flew into Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, a place I had never been before, but one I could soon be making my home.

After getting the DTV, I spoke to a lot of people and they all suggested I stay in Chiang Mai. For the people, community, ease of travel, cost of living and one of the most important to me, a great place to network for people who work in my industry.

I booked an AirBnB for 6 weeks a short distance away from the Nimman area of the city, a hub for digital nomads. I spent a week doing not a lot, easing into my new neighbourhood. I spent the next week exploring the centre of Chiang Mai, walking past temples and backpackers in elephant pants.

I just couldn’t get the city though, it wasn’t what I came here for.

I wasn’t really interested in temples or muay Thai or all the markets that are on offer. I’ve seen it all before. It’s one of the downsides of long term travel.

It was only when I caught up with a mate and shared my doubts that they were alleviated. “Oh no I don’t like any of that stuff either, but I’m here because it’s a great place to be with great people in it”, he said. And from then my mindset shifted and I learned to enjoy Chiang Mai, not for what it offered, but for how it suited me.

I’ve compared it to peoples university experience. Is the university town you stayed in the best place in the world?

Probably not.

But did you have a good time there because of the people you met, what you learned and the period of your life you were there?

Probably.

And Chiang Mai is right for me at this moment in time to slow down, network and enjoy life a little bit.

I spoke to my AirBnB host and managed to extend my 6 week stay into a one year lease. I bought cleaning products I knew I wouldn’t throw away. Multipacks of toiletries that won’t go to waste. I stocked my fridge knowing that the condiments can sit there for months.

To most people, that is a normal feeling. To me, as someone who has lived out of a backpack for 4 years, it was genuine excitement.

You can read more about why I moved to Chiang Mai here.

Caribbean calling

I did have one final travel adventure before the year ended.

At the start of the year, I booked a flight from London to Australia so that I could watch The Ashes cricket down under. I booked it from London so I could leave the day after my mums birthday.

I won’t say how old she is as she reads this and will kill me, but let’s say its a BIG important birthday and as a good son, I should have been home for it.

But halfway through the year, she ruins my plans by inviting the entire family to join her in Guadeloupe for her birthday.

Many English speakers have probably never heard of Guadeloupe, nor know where it is, but it is a French island in the Caribbean made famous as the setting of a British TV show (Death in Paradise for anyone wondering).

As a good son, I cancelled my flights to Australia and had to go on a Caribbean holiday instead with Mum, Dad, my brother, his girlfriend and my uncle.

It wasn’t my sort of thing at all when you compare it to my normal travel style. We stayed in a resort and spent the days sitting my a pool, reading, talking, sipping cocktails. And I absolutely loved it.

Being away from home means I don’t get too much time with family, and I loved spending the entire week with them. No work. No travel planning. Just relaxing.

My Mum had a fantastic birthday and we all had a great time.

Back to Chiang Mai to slow down…

I flew back to Chiang Mai on the 1st December, moved into my apartment and made it my home.

I’ve got into a good routine. There’s a gym I’ve signed up to for 3 months. A coworking I go to every day a short walk away.

I have my local noodle man. I’ve met some great people across all walks of life.

I have a buzz about work and about this blog and maybe some new projects I’ll take on.

I’m excited for what’s to come.

I spent Christmas in a villa with a pool a few miles outside the city with a bunch of friends I didn’t know just a few short months ago. We played games, ate local food and had a few drinks in the evenings, then relaxed by the pool during the day.

Life is good.

More of the same next year?

How this blog went in 2025

This year has been my most successful to date. I’ve published over 80 blog posts on a variety of topics from all the countries I have visited as well as also branching out into hotel reviews after seeing the success of some of my flight and lounge reviews.

You may even notice a new logo at the top of the page. It’s only taken me 4 years to make one for this site…

In 2024, this blog had over 77,000 page views. This year, in 2025, it has more than doubled to over 156,000 page views! My earnings have gone from the tens of pounds per month to the hundreds. I think it’s important to be transparent to help other bloggers that may be in a similar situation.

With the growth of AI (yawn, is anyone else bored of the statement) many sites are having their pages views decrease. Nobody knows what will happen next with it. I’m hopeful I will continue to grow as I have written every single word on this website and haven’t used AI to write anything on here. All images on this site are mine as well as I think it’s important that you’re getting a real humans experience, and not some AI slop, and that will always be the case.

When you read anything on this site, you know it is my honest opinion that I have expressed myself.

What’s next in 2026…

If you look back on my previous posts from 2024, 2023 and 2022, you’ll see that my goals have been to slow down my travelling. But for the first time in all that time, I think I actually will.

It doesn’t mean I’ll stop travelling, but I’ll just travel in a different way. I’ll have my base in Chiang Mai and I’ll go off to explore another country for a short while and then return.

I’ve even written a guide on where I think the best places to travel to in 2026 will be if you’re looking for your own inspiration.

I have one trip booked in January 2026, but that is just a short 2 week trip to a new country for me and then I’ll return to Chiang Mai. I will probably do that many more times over the coming year.

It doesn’t mean I’ll stop travelling and I plan on exploring more of northern Thailand as well as side trips, so if you’re here for the travel content that won’t change. I’ve also got a massive backlog of posts that I need to get out so there will be a lot more to come on this blog and on my social media channels. I also have so many ideas for different posts on Chiang Mai that I’ll write over the coming months, but let me know if you want anything specific written about.

Safe travels,

Dan

Dan

Dan is an avid traveller from London. His first big adventure was in 2010 living in Malaysia for 3 months. He has been on the road almost constantly since 2015 travelling to destinations that aren’t on the mainstream tourist trail and working full time and travelling since 2021.