In February 2018 I arrived into Xieng Khouang province. With that, I had finally been to all 17 provinces in Laos (well, except for dodgy Xaisomboun). The best nine 2018 photo collage sums me up: an overindulgent full fat Canadian lobster roll in the middle surrounded by Laos and Lao noodle soups.

This year it was about going to places I had always wanted to (Brittany, Barcelona, Namibia, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, Berlin), places I wanted to revisit (Paris, but a terrible idea to be there during a heat wave), old haunts (Toronto, Algonquin Park), necessary stopovers (New York, Miami, Bangkok, Zurich) and spending a generous amount of time in Switzerland and Luang Prabang. It was also a big year for necessary change, moving from Turks & Caicos back to Vietnam.

I travel. A lot. Today there are more people travelling than ever. Travel is supposed to open eyes, but I’m disheartened (and I’m sure I’m not alone) by what’s happening in the world: xenophobia, metoo, borders closing, murdered journalists — and the loss of humanity in the face of all this. This mentality is one of the many reasons why I left Turks and Caicos, an island swept up in its own myopic nationalism and vile rhetoric. An island where bodies of illegal migrants wash up on their famed beaches and some locals applaud, saying “the only good Haitian is a dead one”.

I’d like to think that we small potatoes can have a tiny impact that grows when we make conscientious decisions. Where should we put our money, time and energy? I write travel stories to illuminate. I write travel guides to point people in the right direction to find their own illumination. I’m lucky enough to be in a position that I can write about places I want to.

Fellow travellers, let’s make a resolution to try to support local (or support those who support local), tread lightly and make conscious choices. Every year I reread Jack Layton’s final letter to Canada.

“My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.”

Who’s with me?

Happy New Year from Laos,
Cindy