It's funny how nostalgic I can get as a terrific year winds its way to a close. But once again, a flood of indelible memories keeps playing on loop in my mind these days, over and over and over. Twelve months spent in eleven countries across four continents (and, for the record, twenty-eight plane rides), an unforgettable strand made up of hundreds of small moments that, when suddenly filed together as part of a larger whole, stops me dead in my tracks as I simply think, "Wow."
While I look ahead greedily with hopes for an even better 2018, I'd like to take a brief moment—as I do every year at this time—to glance back across the past twelve months and pick a single photograph to represent each one. With so many to chose from, this just may have been the most difficult "year in review" yet! (As you'll see, I even had to cheat a bit for August.)
Yes, I can taste the refreshing Beerlao I swilled alongside the breezy Mekong riverside... and feel the aching agony of my hangover—totally worth the torment—the morning after that seemingly endless wine dinner in Macau... and hear horses' hooves thundering on desert sands as Courtney and I gallop about the Giza Plateau encircling the mighty Pyramids...
It takes virtually zero effort to picture the sun dipping beneath the Mediterranean while Sonia and Motez get hitched in a cacophonous, traditional Tunisian wedding in Kerkennah... or to envision that same sun setting in Bali just a few days later as Edouard and Ines tie the knot in an entirely different fashion...
I still smell the aromas of my dad's home-cooked meals wafting out of our New Jersey kitchen while I sit in the living room watching television during my Halloween trip back home... And there are plenty of other memories that would have easily made the cut in any other year but just couldn't wiggle their way in among all these major highlights! Yes, to call this year simply "terrific" seems like a masterpiece of understatement, because—quite honestly—it has almost certainly been my best one yet!
So here they are, the twelve pictures that sum up my 2017, which has pretty easily become my favorite year!
While I look ahead greedily with hopes for an even better 2018, I'd like to take a brief moment—as I do every year at this time—to glance back across the past twelve months and pick a single photograph to represent each one. With so many to chose from, this just may have been the most difficult "year in review" yet! (As you'll see, I even had to cheat a bit for August.)
Yes, I can taste the refreshing Beerlao I swilled alongside the breezy Mekong riverside... and feel the aching agony of my hangover—totally worth the torment—the morning after that seemingly endless wine dinner in Macau... and hear horses' hooves thundering on desert sands as Courtney and I gallop about the Giza Plateau encircling the mighty Pyramids...
It takes virtually zero effort to picture the sun dipping beneath the Mediterranean while Sonia and Motez get hitched in a cacophonous, traditional Tunisian wedding in Kerkennah... or to envision that same sun setting in Bali just a few days later as Edouard and Ines tie the knot in an entirely different fashion...
I still smell the aromas of my dad's home-cooked meals wafting out of our New Jersey kitchen while I sit in the living room watching television during my Halloween trip back home... And there are plenty of other memories that would have easily made the cut in any other year but just couldn't wiggle their way in among all these major highlights! Yes, to call this year simply "terrific" seems like a masterpiece of understatement, because—quite honestly—it has almost certainly been my best one yet!
So here they are, the twelve pictures that sum up my 2017, which has pretty easily become my favorite year!
January
Southern Laos' majestic Bolaven Plateau provided me with a glorious day in the great outdoors as January drew to a close!
February
My Laos trip spanned January's end and February's start, so it gets two photos! Here's one of many Mekong Beerlao breaks.
March
Celebrating my friend Cathy's birthday in early March with a Saturday night tram party!
April
My friends Sven and Vanessa marked their spring wedding on the Aqua Luna in Victoria Harbour this past April!
May
A short but sweet reunion with Ivan and Jackie at the Crystal Jade at the airport during their quick layover en route to Japan!
June
I may have had a hangover the next day, but at least I wasn't pushed through the Four Seasons in a wheelchair like Courtney!
July
I think the picture above speaks for itself. One of the most unforgettable days of my life. Period.
August
I just couldn't pick between the Kerkennian and Balinese weddings, so I created a collage stitching together a shot from each!
September
In memory of the countless brunches I savored in 2017!
October
My first Halloween in the USA since moving to Hong Kong in 2009 was one to remember!
November
My favorite people in Hong Kong help me celebrate my thirty-first birthday with a gluttonous feast at Peking Garden.
My favorite people in Hong Kong help me celebrate my thirty-first birthday with a gluttonous feast at Peking Garden.
December
Since 2014, I've spent all my Hong Kong Christmases on Lamma Island, and this year was another great installment!
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